Alpine Weather?

[cranky1]

Hello

We are planning a trip to the Alps next year and are considering going in September - Mid September, has anybody out there been at that time of year and if so what was the weather like particularly up on the tops of the high passes.

[rualexander]

We cycled through the alps from Geneva to Nice, last three weeks in september, in 2006. Weather was mostly good with warm sunshine, a few showery days, and a couple of days of solid rain in the last week where we stayed in the tent in Barcelonnette until it cleared up.
The high cols were quite cool at the top and you'll need something warm for the descents, we had fog at the top of the Galibier but it was clear on the other side. From Barcelonnette we had planned to go over the Bonnette but it was closed as it had snowed at the top when we got rain in Barcelonnette, so we went via the col de Cayolle instead.

[snibgo]

In September 2000 I crossed the Hochglocknerstrasse (the highest road pass). The wind was about 120 mph, with snow.

[eileithyia]

As anywhere mountainous.. expect anything.
Have been to the pyrennees ( yes i know it's not the alps but similar terrain) twice in september and had very different weather on each occasion, cold and torrential rain or hot and sunny.

[cranky1]

In September 2000 I crossed the Hochglocknerstrasse (the highest road pass). The wind was about 120 mph, with snow.

That sounds fantastic! and the name of the hill is the same sort of noise that I make as I struggle ever upwards.

[stewartpratt]

This:

As anywhere mountainous.. expect anything.

Could be anything from blazing sun to howling snow.

[edwin]

This:

As anywhere mountainous.. expect anything.

Could be anything from blazing sun to howling snow.

That's it!
Although September is the favourite month for hiking in the alps.
Last years August, we had 70cm of snow in the German Alps (at 2000m altitude.) The beginning of september, everything was nice.
In other years it is just vice versa.

[snibgo]

It was fantastic, but in a very scary way. "Hochglocknerstrasse" was the sound my aged Land Rover made as we crept along, generally not knowing where the edge of the road was in the white-out. I've never tried to cycle in such wind, but I doubt that I could. The valley before the climb was like a normal UK sunny day.

[iviehoff]

In September 2000 I crossed the Hochglocknerstrasse (the highest road pass).

It is the highest in Austria, not the highest in the Alps. According to Wikipedia, the Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse (to give it its correct name) is 2572m. There are plenty higher than that elsewhere in the Alps.

Cime de la Bonnette at 2802m is usually given as the the highest paved road pass in the Alps. (But this is often confused with the nearby Col de la Bonette, which is only 2715m - Cime de la Bonette is a pointless loop road which goes off the Col de La Bonette, built as a vanity project to cross the 2800m contour, as you can see on google maps - this name is itself often confused with the 2860m mountain of the same name, which the road loops around). There are several slightly higher unpaved dead end roads. I find this a good database http://home-1.tiscali.nl/~edwinsel/index.htm as it allows searching by altitude order, but oddly it appears to have an erroneous height for the Grossglockner.

[cranky1]

This:

As anywhere mountainous.. expect anything.

Could be anything from blazing sun to howling snow.

That is exactly my concern as I am trying to persuade a group to commit to this and take advantage of relatively cheap accomodation I wouldn't want to bear the blame for the weather being - well -weather.

By the way what are you raising the money for? as the sub script link dosn't say.

[aprildavy]

We've been to the Austrian/German border area (Saltzburg) in late September twice. Also to Grindelwald at the same time. Beautiful weather, cool in the evenings, recent snow on ground at 2000m, so yes, snow is a definte possibility by Septmber. haven't tried cycling though, only walking. There are tons of lower level routes, still well up at 1000m right in the Alps or loads of rountes lower down. You don't have to go in for high altitude passes to experience the Alps - there are a lot more places to drink beer, coffee, and eat the suberb cakes lower down!

[cranky1]

there are a lot more places to drink beer, coffee, and eat the suberb cakes lower down!

That sounds like my type of cycling!

I think I might need to be a bit more specific however as most of the replies so far have been for the German Alps, we are aiming for Bourg d oisons and wanting to take in some of the climbs of le tour. Does anybody have experience of this area in September or is one alp much the same as another?

[nirakaro]

The tiresome fact is that, whenever and wherever you go at altitude, all that anyone can tell you about the weather is that it will be unpredictable! I made the mistake of pitching my tent at the top of the Great St Bernard in glorious June sunbathing weather; then spent most of the night wondering if the tent - and I - would survive the battering the wind and the rain were giving it.