Aiguilles d‘Arpette
Enjoyable granite climbing above Champex, in the Mont Blanc massif. Orange, grippy rock like Chamonix — only quieter and a bit easier.
Route: From the Cabane d’Orny via the South Ridge (normal route) — 4b, 265 m of climbing.
Approach
Start at the bus stop “Champex, télé”. From here you hike up to the Cabane d’Orny (4 h). The small chairlift cuts about 800 m and 2 h off the approach — handy if you want to do the climbing as a day tour.
Up the South Ridge to the Aiguille d’Arpette
From the Cabane d’Orny (CAS) you first reach its climbing garden no. 2. From the top of the routes, head towards the crest of the ridge. At its base, climb a slab up the middle (3b). Then follow the ridge all the way to the south fore-summit. Descend along the ridge into the col between the two summits. Traverse a few metres right to a bolt. Now comes a homogeneous, well-protected pitch in the upper 4th grade. The next short, steep pitch is very loose and is best bypassed on the right over scree. Continue over the ridge to the summit of the Aiguille d’Arpette (3059 m).
After the fore-summit you can exit through an easy couloir on the west flank (a rappel station is set up there). From the summit, descend westwards along the left edge of the scree flank (faint trails).
Times and descent
The climb itself takes 1–2 h (265 m, 4b), and the descent back to the hut another hour or so. You can spend the night here and go climbing on the nice sport-climbing walls around the hut the next day. If you head back the same day, a long descent awaits you — but buses run until 8 pm. Total walking and climbing time: 10–11 h, 1500 m up and 1500 m down.
Hero image: Simon Broccard, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
