Minaret – Rasta Metal (Mont Blanc Massif)
Pascal and I went back to the beautiful Southeast face of Minaret to climb another great route: Rasta Metal. The route is the last one on this wall, on the right of The Rebuffat – Mazars and offers sustained climb on a perfect granite. Thanks again to Fred and Béa for their kindness at the […]
Le Pouce – Voie des Francais (Aiguilles Rouges)
Le Pouce is one of the great peaks of the Aiguilles Rouges Massif. It has an impressive South face with some very good routes. The rough approach and the return along a ridge offers a full mountain experience. Le Pouce – Voie des Français (© P. Gatta)
Aiguille du Refuge – Vive la jeunesse (Mont Blanc Massif)
Aiguille du Refuge, route Vive la jeunesse is a short and convenient route for a half day climb. Perfectly located 20 minutes above the comfortable Argentière hut. The route offers a mix of cracks, slab and overhangs on a perfect red granite even though I have a preference for Doux Refuge, a bit easier but […]
Minaret – Voyage en Pierre Sainte (Mont Blanc Massif)
Voyage en Pierre Sainte in Minaret is a new route, opened by E. Moro and D. Boroch in 2016. Located just right of Versant Satanique, it is very close in style with the two crux pitches on wide cracks, it is a bit harder and a top quality route. Voyage – Minaret (© A. Gatta)
Diamant des Flammes de Pierre – Les Flammes du Désir (Mont Blanc Massif)
We were excited to go the the great wall of Flammes de Pierre to climb a route that looked promising: Les Flammes du Désir. Unfortunately the weather has been unstable, the schedule from/to Montenvers was a bit tight and the route was far from nice: many cracks were full of grass, many anchors are old […]
Minaret – Versant Satanique (Mont Blanc Massif)
Versant Satanique in the South face of Minaret is a classic route, offering some unique wide cracks on a perfect red granite. Preparing the gear for two days in Argentiere (© P. Gatta)
Aiguille de la Glière – Les Portes de la Chapelle (Aiguilles Rouges)
The Aiguille de la Glière can be quickly reached from the Index chairlift. Looking for a more sustained climb than the famous South ridge, we chose the Les Portes de la Chapelle, a TD+ route.
Aiguilles de Van – Acqua concert (Aiguilles Rouges)
We climbed Acqua concert in Aiguilles de Van (Perrons). The route is not the best we have done but it offers the stunning views.
Perrons de Vallorcine – A Bigger Bang (Aiguilles Rouges)
There are multiple great routes in the Perrons de Vallorcine and A Bigger Bang is definitively one of them with its memorable 7a pitch.
Aiguille du Midi – Kohlmann route (Mont Blanc Massif)
The Kohlmann route is probably less known than the Rebuffat but as nice in my opinion. It is a short route, easy to find, on good granite with a climb mostly on corners.
Aiguilles Crochues – Ravanel route (Aiguilles Rouges)
We did another fun climb in Aiguilles Rouges: the Ravanel route in the South summit of Aiguilles Crochues. 15 pitches/400 meters easy and very scenic, relaxing after the crimps of Aiguille du Belvédère.
Aiguille du Belvédère – Mariage de la terre et du vent (Aiguilles Rouges)
Aiguille du Belvédère (2,965m) is a peak in the Aiguilles Rouges massif. The 300 meters of its Southeast face are steep, compact and home of half a dozen of difficult routes.