Rockfax Description
III, 650m. A classic route taking an amazing line - just look up from Chamonix town centre at sunset and you will instantly want to climb this. The West Face of the Charmoz catches the evening sun and the Cordier Pillar is the prominent line. It is an alpine route and all the belays are on pegs. It is advisable to carry some spare tat to potentially back some of these up if they are looking worse for wear.
Two possible starts depending on glacial conditions:
1) 6a+. The traditional start follows a crack system up to a ledge and then a steep finger crack up to easier ground above in 3 rope lengths.
1a) 4c. Start higher up the glacier on a ramp system that trends leftwards, first up broken ground then up a spur left of a depression to easier ground in 2 rope lengths.
2) 6a. From the back of the easier ledges, move left and then right again to climb cracks up a right-trending groove line for two pitches. This takes you to easier ground.
3) 4c. Trend up and right across ledges to a crack system on the right-hand pillar.
4) 5a. Follow the crack system up for 2 -3 rope lengths until past several pegs until a corner/depression leads out to the left, splitting the face.
5) 6a+. Climb across the diagonal corner system to where easier ground leads to a large system of corners heading straight up the face.
6) 6a. Follow the corner-crack system for 3-4 rope lengths passing many pegs. Eventually, you will hit a small roof, pass this on the left to easier ground.
7) 5c. Once on slabbier ground, look out for a large flake crack on the left and follow this up, passing two distinctive parallel flakes on the right before moving back to another flake crack on the left. Follow this to a large ledge system.
8) 3a. Follow the ledge system up and right for 60m to meet blocky ground above.
9) 4a. Follow the easiest ground up through the blocky ground for 2-3 rope lengths to reach a chimney system.
10) 5b. Climb the chimney to the top of a vague pillar.
11) 6a. Climb the finger crack above.
12) 5c. Climb an easier crack above to gain the base of a wide crack.
13) 6b. Climb the wide crack. Bigger gear can be useful.
14) 5a. Climb the corner above exiting right.
15) 3c. Easier ground leads to the summit ridge and then another rope length can lead to the summit itself. © Rockfax
UKC Logbook Description
An awesome climb, following a series of interesting cracks to a two-thrid height ledge. From here you have some of the best climbing of your life to the top, from finger-locking to off-widthing, every kind of perfect jamming can be experience.
****!
Addison, Cordier, Fagard and Jouty 06/Jul/1970.
Ticklists
ROCKFAX Chamonix: Top 50 , Big Routes , Alpine Grande Courses , Alpine Dreamz , Big Alpine Routes , Nick and Tom's awesome Ticklist , Road to the Walker Spur , Alps 22 , BMC - Easier Classics in the Mont Blanc Range , TM Alps 2023
Feedback
| User | Date | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisjthomas | 11 Jul, 2022 |
Show βeta
βeta: Amazing route, some loose sections but mostly good granite with old school climbing. Went off route a couple of times but we followed the tat and got back on track. Abseil was arguably harder with 3 rope snags :/ The approach was scary in the dark although earlier the better for rockfall. Saw and heard lots of big rock fall the previous evening | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Amazing route, some loose sections but mostly good granite with old school climbing. Went off route a couple of times but we followed the tat and got back on track. Abseil was arguably harder with 3 rope snags :/ The approach was scary in the dark although earlier the better for rockfall. Saw and heard lots of big rock fall the previous evening |
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| Seán Fortune | 9 Jul, 2022 |
Show βeta
βeta: Highly recommend taking the lower approach. Takes a good bit longer (little over an hour for us on the way from the bivy) than the higher approach, but less objective danger. Higher approach is quicker, but has the glacier machine gun firing range to negotiate, and even before that, there's hanging snowfields above the buttresses that looks like they protect you; saw several rocks firing down across the path from there. Going down and crossing at l'M has a couple of crevasses to negotiate, but felt much more controlled risk and less exposed to the glacier dumping on you by staying on the snowfields on climbers left | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Highly recommend taking the lower approach. Takes a good bit longer (little over an hour for us on the way from the bivy) than the higher approach, but less objective danger. Higher approach is quicker, but has the glacier machine gun firing range to negotiate, and even before that, there's hanging snowfields above the buttresses that looks like they protect you; saw several rocks firing down across the path from there. Going down and crossing at l'M has a couple of crevasses to negotiate, but felt much more controlled risk and less exposed to the glacier dumping on you by staying on the snowfields on climbers left |
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| Ben Schuster | 27 Jun, 2022 |
Show βeta
βeta: Double 0.3s is useful for the first '6b' pitch. Don't worry about big cams for the offwidth, its pretty hard to fall out of. | ||
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Show beta
βeta: Double 0.3s is useful for the first '6b' pitch. Don't worry about big cams for the offwidth, its pretty hard to fall out of. |
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| Jackob | 18 Jul, 2019 |
Show βeta
βeta: Be careful of the beta on the mountain-spirit guides. The green line for pitch 19 (upper section) is actually wrong that is a very difficult hand crack. The real line is even further left. The rockfax line is also wrong but the description is good. There are also random peg belays everywhere so be careful not to assume you are on the right belay!! | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Be careful of the beta on the mountain-spirit guides. The green line for pitch 19 (upper section) is actually wrong that is a very difficult hand crack. The real line is even further left. The rockfax line is also wrong but the description is good. There are also random peg belays everywhere so be careful not to assume you are on the right belay!! |
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| roym | 1 Jul, 2019 |
Show βeta
βeta: Rockfax description is good but topo is out. The start is further right and up the snow (although the other parties on the route took a direct start which avoids the steep snow/ice to get to the 4c ramp). Pitch 10 is a fantastic slab with corner crack (not that obviously below a roof). Pitch 11-14 follow the obvious shadowed corners to the left of the topo line. Fair amount of loose rock on the easier pitches and definitely run back across the glacier! | βeta? | |
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Show beta
βeta: Rockfax description is good but topo is out. The start is further right and up the snow (although the other parties on the route took a direct start which avoids the steep snow/ice to get to the 4c ramp). Pitch 10 is a fantastic slab with corner crack (not that obviously below a roof). Pitch 11-14 follow the obvious shadowed corners to the left of the topo line. Fair amount of loose rock on the easier pitches and definitely run back across the glacier! |
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Logged Ascents
Guidebooks for Charmoz Grepon
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South Diedre
Grade: TD+ ***
(Grandes Jorasses)