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.Snow, Ice and Mixed Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in .Snow, Ice and Mixed

Ecrins Range 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 4 / 4

La Grave 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 2

Mont Blanc Range 32 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 33 / 0 / 26 / 47 / 47

Queyras 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 3

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Elevation:	13,768 ft	4,196 m
GPS:	45.85673, 6.88774 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	65,438 total · 507/month
Shared By:	Rui Ferreira on Jul 31, 2015
Admins:	David Riley, Luc-514 Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

Long before France was known as a rock climbing destination it was the high alpine summits that drew climbers to this country. Today this tradition continues with climbers from all over the world coming to France to bag a high summit or test their mettle on one of the famous alpine north faces. This area is organized by mountain ranges and depending on their size they are further organized by valleys or glacial basins.

Getting There

The best way to access the French Alps from abroad is to fly into Geneva, Switzerland or Lyon, France. Geneva airport, on the border with France is the closest airport to the Mont Blanc range and has multiple transfer shuttles to Chamonix. Rental cars are also available and cheaper if rented from the French sector of the airport; you will require a vignette to travel on Swiss highways, or stick to French roads in and out of the airport (not easy to program on the GPS).

Lyon is an easy airport to navigate and offers plenty of connecting flights to other major airports in Europe. Lyon is the closest airport to access the Ecrins range, Belledonne, Chartreuse, etc. Lyon to Chamonix is a bit over 2 hours by car on toll roads.

56 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at .Snow, Ice and Mixed

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

Easy Snow PG13 27 ● Arête des Bosses / Goûter Route Snow, Alpine Mont Blanc Range > Mont Blanc N Side
AI4 M3 38 ● Goulotte Chéré Mixed, Ice, Alpine 8 pitches Mont Blanc Range > Upper Vallée Blanche…
AI4 M5+ 9 ● Vent du Dragon Mixed, Ice, Alpine 4 pitches Mont Blanc Range > Aiguille du Midi N Fa…
AI2-3 Steep Snow 12 ● Tour Ronde North Face Ice, Snow, Alpine Mont Blanc Range > Italian Frontier
AI2 M2 Easy Snow 7 ● Contamine Grisolle Mixed, Ice, Snow, Alpine Mont Blanc Range > Upper Vallée Blanche…
Mod. Snow 12 ● Trois Monts Snow, Alpine Mont Blanc Range > Mont Blanc N Side
WI3+ M4 9 ● Pellissier Gully Trad, Mixed, Ice, Alpine 5 pitches Mont Blanc Range > Tacul E & Pointe Lach…
AI4 M4 Steep Snow PG13 4 ● Gabarrou-Albinoni Trad, Mixed, Ice, Snow, Alpine 5 pitches Mont Blanc Range > Tacul E & Pointe Lach…
AI5 M6- Steep Snow 5 ● Modica-Noury Trad, Mixed, Ice, Snow, Alpine 4 pitches Mont Blanc Range > Tacul E & Pointe Lach…
AI3 M1 Steep Snow 7 ● Contamine-Mazeaud Trad, Mixed, Ice, Snow, Alpine 7 pitches Mont Blanc Range > Upper Vallée Blanche…
5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a AI2 Steep Snow 5 ● Mallory-Porter (rectified) Trad, Ice, Snow, Alpine Mont Blanc Range > Aiguilles de Chamonix…
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b AI2 M4 Mod. Snow 115 ● Cosmiques Arête Trad, Mixed, Ice, Snow, Alpine 2 pitches Mont Blanc Range > Upper Vallée Blanche…
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b Easy Snow 8 ● Aiguille de Entreves SW to NE tr… Trad, Snow, Alpine Mont Blanc Range > Italian Frontier
5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b AI2 7 ● Kuffner Ridge (aka Frontier Ridge) Trad, Ice, Alpine Mont Blanc Range > Italian Frontier
5.9- 5c 17 VI 16 HVS 4c AI3 M4 Steep Snow 17 ● Frendo Spur - Aiguille du Midi Mixed, Ice, Snow, Alpine Mont Blanc Range > Aiguilles de Chamonix…