Rockfax Description
II, 220m. A great route if you like your climbing traditional.
1) 4c, 25m. From the ledge, scramble up to the slab and rock over onto it. Follow a crack out right and then come back left more easily to belay beneath a wide chimney.
2) 5b, 45m. Climb easily up to the left of the chimney to reach a ledge. (There is a belay on the right of the ledge if you want to split the pitch but, provided you manage your gear and avoid rope drag, it's better to carry on.) Go to the far side of the ledge and climb the steep wall on the far side of it, clipping a couple of pegs on the way. Step left at the top onto a slab. Cross the slab leftwards and get onto the ridge crest to belay at a block just to the left of a large flat terrace.
3) 5b, 25m. Go onto the north side of the ridge and climb the staggeringly polished corner-crack. This has been the scene of many undignified scrabbles and is one of the classic pitches in Chamonix. Whether you enjoy it much will depend on your tastes but you certainly won't forget it in a hurry. A couple of big cams will ease the pain and there is also a peg on the left wall near the end. Belay at the top on a ledge in the shade.
4) 4c, 30m. Climb the chimney and twin cracks above the belay and then step onto the slab on the right. Climb this for 4m then come back left and head up the thrutchy open groove. Above this, 10m of easy ground leads to a ledge at the foot of a short, steep wall.
5) 5b, 25m. Instead of climbing the cracks directly above the belay, follow the ledge to its leftmost end and head up the crack there, which is marked by some pegs. Above this, go up a layback crack and then cross a slab rightwards easily to belay beneath a chimney with two chockstones in it.
6) 4c, 20m. Climb through the chimney onto the North Face by passing between the chockstones. This may involve taking your rucksack off and those of a more 'powerful' build might not fit even without a pack! Once through the chimney, cross a ledge on the North Face and belay beneath easy ground.
7) 3c, 50m. Climb the easy ground just right of the ridge crest and then get onto the crest itself and follow this to the summit. © Rockfax

A. Contamine 24/Aug/1948.

Ticklists

Rebuffat's 100 Finest Routes in the Mont Blanc Massif , Alpine Progression , Gwen Moffat: Space Below My Feet , BMC - Easier Classics in the Mont Blanc Range , Summer easier alpine , TM Alps

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