Avg: 3 from 7
votes
Big, wandery route.
Hop off the glacier and onto the rock. After 2-3 pitches there's a large ledge. Angle up and left towards a big chimney system where the climbing steepens.
It is still not straightforward - routefinding was our crux, but it is less wandery. Simply difficult to pick which crack system to use, as none continue perfectly.
Take the lift to the Plan de l'Aiguille, walk up a hill and to the base of the route.
Many bolted anchors early on, fewer higher up.
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Eugene, OR
Great route, the approach is very short by Chamonix standards, the rock quality on this route is top notch, and the climbing is varied and interesting. It does not lead to a major summit, but the position across from the Aiguille du Midi is incredible and easily makes up for that. I give it 3 stars because there are even better climbs in Chamonix, but this climb would be considered super classic in almost any other area and I recommend it to anyone looking for a moderate route of a medium length for Chamonix.
Approach: From the Midi Plan station, follow a good trail up and right towards the Glacier des Pélerins, eventually gaining the moraine top. You will pass the Arête des Papillons on your left, and the southwest face of the Gendarme Rouge of the Aiguille du Peigne will come into view on the left, as seen in the photos. Climb a steep snowfield up to the base of the route, which reaches approximately 40 degrees near the top. Consider crampons and an ice axe mandatory for this final bit of approach. The route starts on the left side of a nice collection of parallel cracks, though the condition of the snow moat might force an alternate start, none should be very hard.
The route: Follow the crack system up for a couple of pitches until a prominent ledge system is reached. This ledge has some bolted anchors on it as it is also the start of some hard modern slab routes. Traverse on the ledge to the right past these until a series of ramps and corners is reached. Follow these up and left for about 3 pitches towards a very obvious dark chimney system. The chimneys are one of the route's highlights and are honestly not nearly as bad as they look, perhaps 5b/c (5.9) at most if you have decent chimneying technique. After a couple of pitches in the chimneys, head up and to the right for short and easy pitch to find another bolted anchor. After this comes the route's crux, which is about 6a (5.10a/b). Head up to the roof immediately above the anchor and turn it on the right via a lovely hand crack and head up towards a much larger overhang. Sneak past that by traversing on the face under it to the right, and enter another big set of cracks and chimneys. 2-3 pitches go straight up this chimney system which is never harder than about 5b (5.8). Once these peter out into more level ground, turn right and head for a big set of gray slabs which can be climbed on their left side, passing to the right of a prominent red tower on the summit ridge. Gain the summit ridge, and traverse easily to the far right side and an anchor.
Descent: There are two options. From the anchor at the top right of the ridge, you can do a long series of double rope rappels via anchors of varying but never terrible quality all the way back to the start of the route. Bringing some cord to back up old weathered slings is a very good idea here. Alternatively, one can head over the backside of the ridge and join the Peigne normal route for the descent, which I haven't done and therefore won't describe. The rappel descent allows one to carry a light pack on the route, and while not traditional is therefore something I'd tend to recommend.
A couple of pieces of advice: Don't expect bolted anchors on the route but there are definitely a fair number of slung block or piton anchors. The bolted anchors are pretty much all part of more modern routes that cross that Contamine Vaucher. Simul climbing is a very good trick to have in your bag, as there is quite a bit of 5.6-5.7ish terrain that would be very time-consuming to pitch out, especially in the bottom and top thirds of the route.
Route finding is indeed one of the main challenges of the route, but the key is to remember that the route was put up in the 1950s and it was the first route on the face. Don't follow nice-looking thin cracks or slabs, the first ascentionists were looking for big grooves, chimneys, and wide cracks to follow. When in doubt, try to get into that old-school path of least resistance mindset.
Gear: Cams to 3 inches and a set of nuts. It can be useful to double up on medium and hand cam sizes to link pitches or do longer simul blocks but it is not essential. Crampons and ice axe for the approach. Jul 26, 2021