Granite rock and scenic hikes in Chamonix
Editor’s Note: What’s all the rave about climbing and trekking in Chamonix? Well, ACC Ambassador Nancy Hansen has written the perfect overview about why it’s so good. From speedy cablecars, flawless granite to luxuries at altitude, Chamonix aims to tick all the boxes.
Whether you’re getting a little tired of long approaches and Canadian Rockies choss, or you’re just looking forward to planning your next overseas vacation, read on to get all the details on Chamonix!
Welcome to Chamonix
There are many incredible granite rock climbing areas on the planet and I’ve had the good fortune to spend time at several of them. For consistently perfect rock, variety of grades, ease of access, scenery, and just plain Type-1 fun, the Mont Blanc area in the Alps rates at the top of the list for granite climbing destinations.
This photo of Ralf and Teddy was taken in the carpeted gift shop at 3,842 m during a ski tour a couple of years ago.
Never mind that you will find yourself gasping in the thin air at almost 4,000 m, and that you simply won’t be able to transfer enough oxygen from your wide-open mouth to your forearms. Never mind that you just paid $100 for a terrifyingly steep cable car ride that whisks you up 2,800 vertical metres in just 20 minutes. Never mind that the lift deposits you at a beer garden and carpeted gift shop close in altitude to the summit of Mt. Robson in the Canadian Rockies.
Despite the disdain of most Canadians against this type of development in the mountains, I promise that you will (even if secretly) very much enjoy drinking a beer or coffee on that panoramic, high altitude terrace after your climb.
Climbing on perfect granite spires
The very best-of-the-best granite is contained in a relatively small area running from the Aiguille du Midi cable car station at 3,842 m to just past the Grand Capucin (3,838 m). The gold, orange, and red granite spires, sandwiched between brilliant blue sky and pearly white glaciers in this ~2 km stretch are truly breathtaking. There is no lichen or loose rock, and the granite is course-grained, but not sharp. It is heavily featured, with cracks, corners, and jugs, and there are few slabby sections (a bonus, in my opinion). Belays are bolted, but the pitches between are traditionally protected. Routes range from 5.6 to 5.hard. Most of the climbs get all day sun, which is much appreciated at this altitude! The scenery is to die for – climbers are surrounded with views of some of the most famous peaks in mountaineering history – Mont Blanc, Dent du Géant, Grand Jorasses, The Dru, Aiguille Vert, and more.
Granite towers and ridges galore! The Grand Capucin is the tall one in the back.
The Grand Capucin (3,838 m) is the tallest tower in the centre of the photo. The Swiss Route goes up the snow ramp on the left side, then follows the left skyline of the tower.
I had dreamed of climbing the spectacular granite spire called the Grand Capucin (3,838 m) ever since I’d first seen it in 2007, when ACC member Jackie Clark and I were climbing the near-by Pyramid du Tacul (a super fun, 8-pitch, 5.6 route) and the classic Rebuffat Route on the Aiguille du Midi (9 pitches, 5.10a). So in the midst of a sweltering heat wave last August, my husband, Ralf Dujmovits and I jumped on the cable car in Courmayeur, Italy, and found ourselves standing at the base of the Grand Capucin a couple of hours later.
As a warm-up and to acclimatize, we first climbed the highly recommended “La Bonatti-Tabou” route on the Chandelle du Tacul (5.10d, 8 pitches), just left (south) of the Grand Capucin. http://chamgranit-topos.com/topos/englishtopobonattitabou.pdf
Perhaps the best pitch of the summer was on the Bonatti-Tabou route, Chandelle du Tacul. Grand Capucin in the background. Photo by Ralf Dujmovits.
Spectacular positions on the Chandelle du Tacul.
We spent the next day lounging around, building red blood cells, and enjoying the scenery. While the heat wave made for extremely pleasant temperatures for rock climbing at almost 4,000 m – it also made for constant and sometimes extreme rockfall, as can be seen in this video taken by Ralf.
An early start on the third day found us tiptoeing in our rock shoes to the dripping end of a small, thin tongue of snowy ice that almost, but not quite, bridged the gap between glacier and the Swiss Route on the Grand Capucin. The step across the void was the mental crux of the day, but it was quickly forgotten as we scrambled up to the start of the steep climbing. 11 pitches of fantastic rock – which we had all to ourselves - brought us to the scenic, knife-edge summit of the Grand Capucin – a dream come true!
The crux of the day was an easy, but heart-stopping step across a big hole.
What luck Ralf and I have, in so many ways!
Spectacular views of the Chandelle (centre), which we had climbed a couple of days before, and the Trident (left).
The Tour du Mont Blanc
While we were recuperating between climbs in the valley bottoms, we spoke with hikers who were undertaking the “Tour du Mont Blanc” – a circumnavigation of the Alps’ highest mountain (4,808 m) on trails connecting France, Switzerland, and Italy. There are a myriad of ways to complete the hike that, in its entirety, is about 170 km long with 10,000 metres of elevation gain and loss. It can be done in as little as six days by using bus, taxi, and cable car assistance, but the purists do it all by foot over 9-12 days. If you are short on time, you can always enter the annual Tour du Mont Blanc Ultra-Marathon and run it in just over 20 hours (!) It is Europe, so you can expect to only ever carry a daypack and enjoy comfortable accommodation and great food every night. Just bring lots of money. You can join a guided group or do-it-yourself by using one of many informative guidebooks and maps for the trek.
The spectacular Tour du Mont Blanc covers 170 km with 10,000 metres of elevation gain and loss!
The lovely Courmayeur on the Italian side of Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco). The Tour du Mont Blanc trek passes through here.
Another way to experience the beauty of this area is to walk across the Vallée Blanche / Géant glaciers between the Aiguille du Midi cable car station (3,842m) and the Pointe Helbronner cable car station (3,462m). Again, you can join a guided group or do it yourself if you have lots of glacier travel experience. Either way, make sure you are acclimatized beforehand so you can really enjoy it!
More beauties in Chamonix
If you do the glacier trek between the Aiguille du Midi and Pointe Helbronner, you will be rewarded with views like this – the famous Dent de Géant (4,103 m) on the west end of the also famous Grand Jorasses (4,208 m).
Two more granite routes completed our Mont Blanc area vacation this summer. The 8-pitch Contamine Route (5.10c) on Point Lachenal (3,613m) is a popular and busy route with excellent climbing, easily accessed from the Aiguille du Midi cable car.
On the Contamine Route, Point Lachenal. The views are almost enough to make you forget about the thin air. Photo by Ralf Dujmovits.
Even though I’ve done this several times now, I can never quite get over the oddity of leaving behind hundreds of inappropriately dressed tourists, walking out a man-made ice tunnel, and stepping directly onto a knife-edge ridge. You: wearing a harness, helmet, and crampons, standing in the freezing wind on an narrow, exposed ridge. The tourist: still in the tunnel, 50 metres away, wearing sandals and shorts, and gaping at you like you are the (wo)man on the moon. It is somehow always entertaining.
Does it get any better than this? Photo by Ralf Dujmovits.
Sport climbing!
On a day with less stable weather, we caught a lift up the Brévent side of the valley from Chamonix and climbed a 5-pitch combination of Poème à Lou and La Fin de Babylone (5.11). These fun and engaging routes are on bolt-protected, steep, featured granite with unforgettable views across to the Mont Blanc range.
Climbing under the paragliders. Photo by Ralf Dujmovits.
Fun, bolted granite face-climbing on the Brévent above Chamonix.
Climbing around Chamonix = Type 1 Fun!!