The fate of Fort Chaberton was sealed in a matter of minutes. On the afternoon of 21 June 1940, the French first destroyed the vital material ropeway with targeted shots from rapid-fire mortars, followed shortly afterwards by the Italians' eight mighty artillery towers. The French had patiently waited until the fort at 3136 metres above sea level was ready for action and then calmly positioned their own four destructive guns - invisible to the Italians - deep in the valley behind a rocky outcrop. With Fort Chaberton, one of the most spectacular military installations in the Alps fell without ever having been properly deployed.
The fort was not even built for the Second World War. The Italians began building the bulwark in 1898 in order to be prepared for the looming conflicts against France. The summit of Mont Chaberton was removed and the foundations for the eight mighty turrets were laid behind it. To this day, the man-made mountain peak resembles a crown. So mighty that you can even see it from the valley. Hence the name "King of the Cottian Alps". A 14-kilometre road was built for the construction work, which winds its way from Fenils up to the summit in 72 hairpin bends. On this road, or rather on its relics, we now fight our way metre by metre towards the summit on our e-MTBs.
With a classic bike, the ascent is one of the toughest in the entire Alpine region. But even with an e-MTB you have to struggle. The bikes constantly threaten to spin out on the steep, loose gravel - an energy and power-sapping endeavour. And as we only have two spare batteries for four people, we try a special swap system. As soon as the first one only has three bars left, we swap. Because saving power with low support levels only works on the few flat sections. In the saddle, we only manage the last section to the Col du Chaberton pass with the turbo. Here, the path shows its teeth in the form of rough gravel banks that force you out of the saddle. At one point, just before the famous "split rock" at an altitude of 2370 metres, the track has even broken off completely, forcing us to shimmy along on a steel cable over the abyss. It's hard to believe that this route was still passable in the 1980s with a small Suzuki jeep, as another e-biker tells us later on the summit. However, the military road has been banned for motorised vehicles since 2003 and has since been left to nature. While we had the Italian Alps behind us up to the Col du Chaberton and barely had time for the panorama anyway due to the effort, the view of the Western Alps opens up from the top of the pass.
The last hairpin bends to the top floor of the pyramid-shaped mountain are still technically challenging, but we are now coping well with the loose scree. What's more, the fear of empty batteries diminishes with every metre, and so we now dig our way through the last few metres of deep scree in turbo mode. Finally, anti-tank barriers and rusty barbed wire barriers line the high alpine path. Then we stand stunned on the summit plateau. A clear view in all directions, with the Susa Valley deep below us and the Italian Alps behind us. On the other side are the four-thousand metre peaks of the French Alps. The crown of the king is even more imposing than we had imagined: The huge turrets tower metres high in front of us, reminding us of the brutality of war.
The first section of the descent after the top of the pass is also brutal. We already know the first few metres from the summit to the pass from the ascent. But from the top of the pass, the path veers to the left and soon challenges our equipment and riding technique. As a former enduro pro, Maxi excels with daring trial interludes on a path that is actually more of a climb. He skilfully circles through the hairpin bends on the front wheel, cheats gravity on steep steps and pulls bunny hops over sharp-edged rocks. For everyone else, pushing is the order of the day, at least in some places on this high alpine rock slide. However, after 120 metres downhill, the trail becomes tamer again and meanders funnily along above a stream. A little later, we return to civilisation in Claviere. A quick pizza, then it's time for the long way back to the starting point. Unfortunately, we can't avoid some roads with car traffic on the way back to Fenils, but we still find some worthwhile sections of trail here. We reach our car at dusk and with empty batteries. Wisps of cloud drift high above the Susa Valley and envelop the mountain and the crown of the king. Mont Chaberton truly deserves its name.
Info about the Mont Chaberton Supertrail Tour
- Length: 32.3 kilometres
- Uphill: 1945 metres in altitude
- Difficulty: difficult
Tour description
Many an ambitious mountain biker has had to abandon the conquest of Mont Chaberton exhausted. The military road dating back to 1891 is steep, rough, impassable and dangerously broken in a few places. There are no climbing aids and no refreshment stops. Fountains or streams? Not a thing. So you have to take enough provisions with you and a heavy rucksack doesn't make the uphill adventure any easier.
You are therefore much better off with an e-MTB. However, given the length of the climb, you should definitely take a second battery with you.
Starting point: The tour starts in the valley town of Fenils in Val di Susa (Piedmont).
Refreshment stop: Only at the end of the descent do you roll through the village of Claviere, where there are two restaurants.
