Overview
Pass Signs on tops

Signs on top can't have the purpose of knowing that you are on the top. That's clear seems me, at least for cyclists. They can however serve as proof of being (not cycling?) on the top to show your heroic ride to your friends at home.
Each country has it's own signs in many shapes and colors. I like to show you my collection of signs, not to show you how good I am (most of the climbs I didn't ride myself) but just for fun.
In the name of the pictures you can see the source.

If you have pictures of special signs, please send me (I'll mention your name)

At Alpentouren you can see a weekly new sign

Signs per country

Andorra

Old sign?

Andorra has few passes. The Port d'Envalira is the highest pass in the Pyrenees.

Text on signs:
- altitud: altitude

Austria

	Unique signs:	Hochtor (Grossglocknerstr.)	Plöckenpass/Monte Croce Carnica (on Au/It. border)

I haven't cycled a lot in Austria but so far I have found 2 main types of signs: black on white and white on green.

Text on signs:
- seehöhe: altitude above sea level
- ü.d.M. = über dem Meeresspiegel: above sea level

France

Common signs

Older signs
Regional signs
Vercors: green, modern signs	Vercors: forrestal information	Corsica: 2 languages	Pyrenees: blue/white (Col Houratate, Ander Guaza)

In France allmost every pass has a sign on the top. They contain the complete name and the altitude. There exists severals sort of signs mostly depending of the age of the signs. The oldest signs are the ones on a stone cross (mostly in white) and the ones with italic-handwriting font (blue,white).
The signs in white on black or black on white with the modern font are the latest signs

Texts on signs:
- Alt(itude)
- Other: name of county ('commune'), 'departement'

Rare & Unique signs

Col d'Aubisque (Pyrenees)	Col de la Cayolle (Alps)	Col du Granon	Col de Peyresourde (Pyrenees)
Col d'Izoard (Alps)	Ardeche?: Col d'Autuche		Pyrenees
Signs for walkers/hikers (below)
	Col de Cheveres (Old,Vosges)	Col de Cheveres (New,Vosges)	Grand Colombier (South Jura)
Col de la Chamboite (Massif Central)	Pyrenees-Orientales
	Cevennes
Wooden Signs (below)
Cormet d'Areches	Hourquette d'Ancizan	Col de Pause (Pyrenees)

Germany

Black Forrest: signs for walkers		Unique signs:	Kreuzweg (Black Forrest)

In Germany the signs I have seen most are the small signs for hikers/walkers. The other ones are all different.

Text on signs:
- ü.M. = über dem Meeresspiegel: above sea level
- ü(ber). N.N. = über Normalnull: above sea level. I don't know what the reference point (Normalnull) is.
- höhe: altitude

Italy

Common signs

	Trentino-Alto Adige: 2 languages	Around Sella massif: 3 languages Ladin, German and Italian
			Old sign

In Italy allmost every known pass has a sign which is reliable in name and altitude. Texts on signs are there in many flavors but colors in 3 types. In the Trentino-Alto Adige (Alps and Dolomites) you find the white/brown signs in 1, 2 or 3 languages (Italian, German and Ladin - a small language spoken in valleys around the Sella massif). Other colors on signs are the white on blue, black on white or (light)yellow.

Text on signs:

Rare & Unique signs

Col Agnel/Colle Agnello (post on French border)	Colle del Nivolet
Wooden Signs (below)
Arcu e Tascusi (On Sardinia)	Passo del Mortirolo (old sign?)	Passi di Gavia (Giro d'Italia,1996)	Piccolo San Bernardo
sign for walkers Viote di Bondone	Colle di Sampeyre		Passo Fangacci
On the Slovenian side of the border?	Bocchetta di Altare (on stone) border of Alps and Appenines

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein has only one climb which is not a pass: to the ski village Malbun

Portugal

Portela de Leonte

Portugal has a few passes above 1000 (of which some on the island Madeira).

Spain

Common signs

		Northern Spain: with black/white mountain	Darkbrown signs
Basque country: 2 languages

In Spain there are a lot of passes with no signs and if there is one, it's allways a suprise what's the text and altitude on the signs. There exists many differences with maps and other sources. Names on signs regularly miss prefixes or altitude. Some altitudes are more than 100m lower than the given altitiude on the sign because this is the altitude of the nearest summit. I tend to trust the Michelin maps (1:400.000) the most.
The white on brown signs are the most common.

Text on signs:
- Alt. = Altitude

This is an example of strange Spanish altitudes on signs. Col d'Ares is a pass in the Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain between Prats de Molló (Fr) and Camprodon (Sp). The difference between the 2 altitudes is quite big. Allmost all other sources mention 1513 as the altitude (Michelin, Firestone T33, Altigraph) Only Firestone R1 Catalunya mentions 1610 but on the other maps this is the altitude of a top nearby.

Rare & Unique signs

Basque country: signs of stone
Coll de Jou (for walkers)	Coll de Mola (unpaved)		Venta Luisa

Switserland

sign for walkers (Pragelpass)	Grand Col Ferret	Jura	Jura

All the big Swiss signs are as far as I know in black/white or white/blue color. The signs on stone are usually white and mention the altude in English feet. There are also passes with signs for walkers: the passname is on a white sign in the middle (with the altitude) and left/right are the small direction signs in yellow.

Text on signs:
- Alt. = Altitude
- ü.M. = über dem Meeresspiegel: above sea level
- ft or feet: altitude in English feet (1 feet = 0.3048 m)
- A.C.S. = Automobile Club de Suisse: a Swiss automobile association (the other one is the T.C.S. Touring Club Suisse)

Sign 'hooliganism'

Who are these people daubing, breaking and shooting signs? In Corsica and Sardinia they like to shoot wholes in signs maybe just for fun or as a protest against the goverment I don't know.
A collection:

Col de Sorba (France - Corsica, old sign)	Alto de Cordal (780) (Spain - Asturias)	Puerto de Manquillo (Spain - Sierra de la Demanda)
	Pragelpass (Switzerland - Alps)

Information signs

Besides the information signs regarding opening/closure of the pass there exits signs with extra usefull information about the climb espcecially for cyclists (altitudes, %'s, distances). These signs are at the start of a climb and sometimes also all along the route to the top (every x km or in the bends).
As far as I know these signs can be found in the French Pyrenees and in Switzerland.

		Klausenpass