Pilier Franco Salluard (Val Ferret, Courmayeur) · Aosta Valley · Italy
Easy to bailBolting confidence: high
Rated 'great' on camptocamp: a wild setting with a short, easy approach from Lavachey. It climbs edgy granite slabs and a pillar crest, with a three-star exposed slab on P9.
The route
Il Gatto e la Volpe climbs the Pilier Franco Salluard, a granite pillar on the Frébouze slabs above Lavachey in the Italian Val Ferret. It has 11 pitches and about 350 m: edgy slabs low down, then steeper walls, a small overhang and a pillar crest, with two short walking links. The key pitch is P3, a long, thin and sustained 6a+ slab. Since the 2017 rebolt the equipment is described as solid and well thought out, and the approach is only about 20 minutes, so it is a relaxed day in a quiet, wild setting. Expect three pitches of 6a+ with 5c obligatory.
In pictures
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4a | 15 m | – | Up a corner to a stop, then traverse 7 m left to belay R1. Gulliver gives 25 m. |
| P2 | 5c | 25 m | – | A fine slab on small edges. Reported hard for the grade, with one thin move. |
| P3 | 6a+ | 35 m | 14 bolts | The key pitch: a superb slab trending right, long, delicate and sustained. 14 bolts, not counting the directional. The crux comes after the third bolt. |
| P4 | 5b | 20 m | – | One hard move, then slab to R4. |
| P5 | 6a+ | – | – | An awkward overhang, turned on the left, then slab to R5. Gulliver gives 6a/6a+. |
| P6 | 5b | – | – | Link pitch to the base of the pillar crest, with one rock step. |
| P7 | 5c | – | – | Up the crest of the pillar. R7 is an intermediate belay; with a 70 m rope you can run on to R8. |
| P8 | 5b | – | – | Continue up the crest to R8, then walk on to the two trees at the foot of the last wall, where belay R8' is. With a 50 m rope you cannot reach R8' in one go. |
| P9 | 6a+ | – | – | A good slab, an exposed passage out right through a bulge, and the exit to R9. |
| P10 | 6a | – | – | A slab on good edges and a corner to R10. |
| P11 | 5c | – | – | A slab with some lichen to the final belay R11. One party thought it not worth doing if short of time. |
Getting there
From Courmayeur drive up Val Ferret through La Palud and Planpincieux to Lavachey. Park in the small car park (about 20 spaces) on the left just before the bridge leading to the Lavachey chalets, or in the larger roadside car park before the Pont de Frébouze. Parking is pay-and-display (16 € for the day reported in June 2026). Only official car parks may be used; campervans must stop at Pra Sec, 1 km before Lavachey, and vans have been fined here. From late July to late August the road is closed above the Pont de Frébouze from 9:00 to 16:00. A seasonal bus runs from Courmayeur. The road is closed from Planpincieux in winter.
About 20 min. From the car park follow the dirt track for 300 m to a left turn towards a concrete water-intake outlet. Go up above it for 50 m to a small cairn on a big boulder. Follow the cairned path that leads towards the Frébouze slabs to roughly half height, then cross the dry stream bed leftwards (small cairns) to the start. A 2026 party had to wade a shallow boggy patch on the way. The line is clearly visible from the approach.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
GPS line: one party's recorded GPS track of the whole day, including the climb and the descent. One party's recorded day in July 2026, arriving by bus: walk-in from Lavachey, the lower part of the climb and the return. The track's high point is about 400 m from the crag point shown on the map. Do not follow it blindly.
GPS line: lipsum, adrieD · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0Parking
Lavachey / Pont de Frébouze (camptocamp access point)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 790072
Contains the route point, parking and a GPS line. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 45.85327, 7.01323 (crag) · Parking: 45.85304, 7.02517
Getting down
Abseil the route from the bolted belays. Gulliver and the Spanish Camptocamp text say a single 70 m rope is enough. The last two abseils are offset to the right of the line of ascent. Parties describe the abseils as a bit laborious, with wind and vegetation; one party took 1.5 h.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Yes. Abseiling the route is the normal descent, and the belays are bolted and equipped for it. A single 70 m rope is enough. Parties find the abseils a bit slow because of wind and vegetation, and the last two are offset to the right of the climbing line.
Safety
Sun and weather
South facing; the base is at about 1,800 m. Summer route: trip reports run from late May to early September, and the valley road is closed in winter. Dries fast: dry the day after rain, and P3 dried quickly after a shower. Often windy and cold higher up. Mosquitoes can be vicious at the base. Usually quiet, though one July 2026 party met four other teams.
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun (usual season) | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 3 | −1 |
| Mean daily low °C | −8 | −8 | −5 | −1 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 2 | −4 | −8 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1489 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
70 m single rope, 15 quickdraws (P3 has 14 bolts), abseil device. Helmet.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Il Gatto e la Volpe.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Italy · Aosta Valley
This is the most-climbed route on the Paretone. It gives sustained, varied slab and crack climbing on good gneiss, and the hardest moves are a fine crack on P2, a slanting corner and a punchy wall. Queues are common on good days. The Mani Nude guidebook grades it stiffly; camptocamp's Italian page calls it sustained at 5b–5c+ with a single 6a.
6a10 pitches290 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Aosta Valley
Along with Bucce d'Arancia this is the Paretone's other great classic (first ascent 1977, later retro-bolted). It climbs big, juggy, non-athletic slabs on beautiful rock up the centre of the wall to near the summit. Expect a few metres above the last bolt in places.
5c+9 pitches250 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Aosta Valley
A long, easy-angled outing up the full height of the Paretone. A steeper lower half with an exposed pillar on P5 leads to sculpted slabs and broken steps higher up. It's a good first big multipitch.
5c13 pitches400 m
Italy · Aosta Valley
A pretty plaisir route on edgy, quartz-studded granite slabs beneath the Mont Blanc massif. The crux is a short bulge and steep juggy wall on P4. Camptocamp rates it 'great'.
6a7 pitches180 m
Around 6a+ · about 11 pitches
Spain · Vega Baja (Orihuela & Callosa)
The classic of Redován: ten pitches and 300 m of steady grade 5 with three steeper pitches on red rock. The eighth pitch, a traverse right into an overhanging corner above the orange cliffs, is the one people remember. Closed from January to June for nesting eagles.
6a+10 pitches300 m
Germany · Berchtesgaden & Bad Reichenhall
A long-day alpine-flavoured plaisir route on the Untersberg's summit wall. Pitches range from UIAA 5+ to 6+ (≈5b–6b), with 5+ obligatory.
6a+10 pitches250 m
Spain · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys)
Varied, sustained limestone of chimneys, dihedrals and compact fluted slabs high above the Tena valley. Bearded-vulture nesting closes the face from 1 Dec to 31 Jul unless lifted early, so check montanaregulada.org.
6a+10 pitches265 m
Read the cautions
Austria · Inntal (Haiming Geierwand)
Billed as probably the best mid-grade multipitch at the Geierwand (UIAA 6/6+, 5 obligatory). It starts with steep, juggy climbing, and the upper pitches are rough pocketed slabs. It can be combined with Alhambra's upper pitches.
6a+12 pitches345 m
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.