La Piste Oubliée

A good alternative to Frison-Roche (which tends to be busy) and, arguably, a better and more interesting route. Though definitely harder and somewhat heady in a couple of spots due to slightly weird bolt placement. Should probably be solid at the grade before attempting.

Pitch 1 (5.10a/b, 45 meters): Follow the left line of bolts on the right wall of the gully that separates Frison Roche from the wall to the right. Trend left and up. The right line of bolts is a different route (Fleur de Roche).

Pitch 2 (5.9, 30 meters): Follow corners, side pulls and a few crimps up and left.

Pitch 3 (5.10a, 30m): The wall gets vertical at this point. Follow bolts mostly straight up following jugs, side pulls and crimps. Felt quite techy for the grade. Great view of climbers on Frison Roche from the last 3 pitches.

Pitch 4 (5.10b/c, 40m): By far the crux of the route. Steep jugs, crimps and side pulls with a couple of traverses thrown in. Somewhat techy and the weird bolting makes this pitch unnecessarily heady. Very exposed belay on a small ledge with amazing views.

Pitch 4 (5.9/10a, 30m): Follow bolts mostly straight up. Similar to previous pitches but easier and watch out for loose rock as this pitch feels a bit more crispy than others. 2 bolt belay right over the lip but one of the bolts was missing a hanger in August 2023 (wired nut worked well on the bolt).

Descent: Walk over to Brevent and ride the cable car down. Or hike down, your choice :) 

See approach description for Frison-Roche. This route starts at exactly the same spot but climbs the wall to the right of the gully whereas Frison-Roche goes up the wall on the left.

14 quickdraws