Col du Tourmalet
| Col du Tourmalet | |
|---|---|
 Col du Tourmalet
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| Elevation | 2,115 m (6,939 ft) |
| Traversed by | D918 |
| Location | Hautes-Pyrénées, France |
| Range | Pyrenees |
| Coordinates | 42°54′29.5″N 0°8′42.4″E / 42.908194°N 0.145111°ECoordinates: 42°54′29.5″N 0°8′42.4″E / 42.908194°N 0.145111°E |
Col du Tourmalet (elevation 2,115 m (6,939 ft)) is the highest paved mountain pass in the French Pyrenees, located in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of the way up. The village of Barèges lies on the western side, above the town of Luz-Saint-Sauveur.
Tourmalet is also a cheese made from sheep milk produced in these mountains.
The Col du Tourmalet is the highest paved mountain pass in the French Pyrenees. However, in contrast to frequent claims (see for example ), it is neither the highest paved road in the French Pyrenees, nor the highest mountain pass in the French Pyrenees, nor the highest paved mountain pass in the Pyrenees. Paved roads leading to the mountain lakes Lac de Cap-de-Long and Lac d'Aumar in the same French Department Hautes-Pyrénées are higher, as these lakes are at altitudes of 2,161 m (7,090 ft) and 2,192 m (7,192 ft), respectively. However, these roads are not mountain passes. Departing directly from the Col du Tourmalet we find a road to the mountain pass Col de Laquets with an altitude of 2,637 m (8,652 ft) However, this road is not paved. Finally, the highest paved mountain pass in the Pyrenees is the Port d'Envalira in Andorra with its altitude of 2,407 m (7,897 ft).
Some Frenchmen believe that Tourmalet translates into "bad trip" or "bad detour" because in French Tour translates into "trip" and mal translates into "bad"; however, the correct language to translate from is Gascon, not French, because of the mountain's location in the Gascony-region and the "du" in the name, which is the Gascon pendant to the French "de". Then Tour becomes "distance", which is spelled "tur" but pronounced "tour", mal is translated into "mountain", and et becomes "the". The translation from Gascon to English then becomes "The Distance Mountain".
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