Best Of: Aiguilles Rouges
Mini-guide to the best climbing in Chamonix's smaller mountains
The Aiguilles Rouges are the mountains on the north side of Chamonix accessible via the Brevent and Flegere ski areas. They are part of the wider Chablais range that stretches from Chamonix to Lac Leman. In the Chamonix region, they are predominantly made up of pretty good quality Gneiss, a nice contrast to the Limestone found in the Arve and wider Chablais and the Granite of the Mont Blanc Massif.
For most people, coming to Chamonix means climbing in the high Alpine and on the granite. However, the Aiguilles Rouges provides a good alternative for shorter days, where all the routes are accessible as day hits and the climbing fairly easy to read and technically pretty similar to what you would find in a climbing wall (i.e. good wall climbing on crimps). The Rouges, being all rock routes, are pretty much climbable from late spring through to first snow in winter and so just require dry conditions. The aim of this article is to highlight some of the best crags and routes in the area with an emphasis on good, quality climbing in good positions with a strong line.
The Brevent
Very obviously visible from the valley and one of the most easily accessible mountain crags in Chamonix, the Brevent is home to some fantastic multi-pitches on it’s South and East faces. The South face is particularly stunning being unbroken by ledges for 8 or so pitches – one of the bigger faces in the range. All the routes finish close to the lift which is nice on the legs an all are bolted with the exception of Ex-Libris, Retour a Bretagne and Premier de Corvee which require a small rack.
Best Routes
East Face:
- Frison-Roche (6a) – classic, old school route that is often very busy.
- Piste Oubilee (6b) – good alternative to F-R if it’s busy
- Ex-Libris to ledge and then top of Retour a Bretagne (6b+) – good trad climbing up an obvious corner and then a cool crack system.
- Premier de Corvee (7a) – nice corner climbing with a crack pitch at the top and a bolted sport pitch to start.
South Face:
- All three routes on the South Face are great – Poeme a Lou (6b) is the easiest, Fin de Babylon (6b+) crosses under a big roof in cool positions and the new Piola route (6b+/c) (currently unnamed) is probably the best.
The Pouce
Probably the most remote wall in the Aiguilles Rouges, The Pouce is accessed by scrambling over the Col de la Gliere from Flegere. It is a big wall comprised of large slabs and capped by a big series of roofs. Nothing too hard on the wall but some long routes with a cool atmosphere – all require a small rack.
Best Routes
- Voie des Francais (6a) – easier, classic rock weaving through impressive terrain.
- Pouce Cafe (6b+) – direct line on the wall tackling the roofs pretty head on.
The Belvedere
The most underrated of the cliffs described in this article – The Belvedere’s South Face is home to some of the hardest climbing in the Aiguilles Rouges. Situated just under a couple of hours walk from the Index lift – the cliff presides over Lac Blanc and can either be approached by first walking there and then up or by a short cut close to the Tour de Crochue. All the routes are fully bolted and of high quality – just a shame the large cliff is split by an enormous ledge at half height (which can be skied in winter…). Well worth the trip for those looking for athletic, adventurous, long sport routes.
Best Routes
- Braisiers Orageaux (6c) – the shortest of the main routes tackles the big roof on the right of the face.
- La Marriage de la Terre et du Vent (7a) – sustained, athletic, fingery climbing.
- Pour Avoir Trop Reve (7a+) – similar to the above but slightly more sustained. Can interchange the top and bottom parts of the routes.
The Perrons
Really a series of cliffs (Pain de Sucre, Pointe Vouilloz and Grand Perron) that make up the South Face of the Perrons above Vallorcine provide a range of stunning long routes on big walls – you get a good look at the walls from driving over the Col des Montets. Access is from the Emosson Dam car park and then is a couple of hours walk in. Not being reliant on lifts and south facing make these a great option in shoulder seasons. Arguably the climbing here is the best in the Rouges for shear size and quality and is definitely a more quiet spot than some of the others in this list.
Best Routes
Grand Perron:
- Balade des Gens Heureux (6a+) – classic, easier route not sustained.
Point Vouilloz:
- Grevolle Direct (6b) – probably should be a trad route as follows obvious features.
- Squatters de Lune (6b+) – nice line up the lefthand side of the wall.
- Bada Bing (6c) – probably the best here, brilliant second half.
- Bada Boom (7b) – hard line for the Rouges with a cool crack pitch.
Pain de Sucre:
- Bigger Bang and Brown Sugar (7a) – sustained climbing without the intro pitches of Vouilloz.
Other
Whilst this list focuses on the best pure rock climbing routes on the biggest cliffs in the range, beyond that scope, there are a range of other good routes with a more mountaineering focus or on smaller, more broken cliffs. Below are some of the best:
- Cocher-Cochon/Clochetons (5c) – old school climbing broken by ledges then fun traverse.
- Chapelle a Gliere (5c) – classic mountaineering line with some cool airy pitches.
- Index (4c) – the cool tower above the lift.
- Tour de Crochue – easily accessible crag with a couple of nice, steep routes on jugs like Piano Forte and Atom Crochue.
- Mesure & Praz Torrent – long walk up from Col des Montets with a couple of nice routes – bit of a trek.
- Ete Indien (6a) – bolted multi-pitch in the pretty Vallon de Berard.
- Acqua Concert (6a) – long route overlooking Lac Emosson.
- Traverse of the Perrons – sub alpine scrambling.
More information and topos for these routes can be found in the new Rockfax Chamonix guidebook (https://rockfax.com/climbing-guides/books/chamonix) or across Piola’s two Aiguilles Rouges books. A lot of info is on CamptoCamp too.