Le Brévent (Aiguilles Rouges) · Chamonix valley · France
Bail not documentedBolting confidence: high
The great classic of the Aiguilles Rouges: six varied pitches of gneiss, ten minutes downhill from the Brévent cable car and finishing at its top station, with Mont Blanc opposite. The crux is a short, physical corner crack and the last pitch is a long, clean corner. It is extremely popular.
The route
The Frison-Roche climbs the south-east face of the Brévent in six pitches: a steep pillar, a rising traverse on a green slab, a chimney-corner, grey slabs leading to a vertical corner crack (the crux), a walking link along a ledge and a long corner to the top. The approach and return are as short as they come, which makes the route very busy; reports describe queues before the last pitch in high summer. The climbing is good from pitch 3 onwards. Come out of season or at off-peak hours if you can.
In pictures
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a | 45 m | Take the left-hand line of bolts up a steep pillar (5b), cross a smooth slab with one move of 6a, avoidable on the left, then follow a ledge to belay below the next step. Watch the rope drag. |
| P2 | 5c | 35 m | Up through broken blocks, then a rising traverse right across a green slab to a ledge. A local guide's topo gives 5b. |
| P3 | 5c | 30 m | Straight up, then the obvious chimney-corner to a good terrace at its top. |
| P4 | 6a+ | 40 m | Right onto the spur and up fine grey slabs, move right (5c), then 10 m of wide crack in a vertical corner: the crux, physical and well equipped. Belay on a wide terrace. The guide's topo gives 6a. |
| P5 | 2 | – | A walking link: go left around the smooth wall of the direct finish (7b) to the foot of the big cracked corner. Clip the bolts on the ledge so the rope does not dislodge stones. |
| P6 | 5c+ | 35 m | A magnificent long, continuous cracked corner to the top. |
Getting there
Take the Brévent lift from Chamonix: gondola to Planpraz, then cable car to the summit (2525 m). The lower station is up the steep road beside the church; there is paid covered parking and a shuttle from the town centre. A party in August 2026 paid 43 euros per person. Camptocamp mentions a special climbers' fare (up to the Brévent, down from Planpraz).
About 10 min, downhill. From the top station go down the Charles Bozon piste, pass the Brèche du Brévent and, between the second and third hairpins, turn right into the scree to pick up a steep path (visible from the cable car) that crosses a gully and leads along the foot of the face. The start is at the foot of a small spur almost level with the path, with one bolt to clip in to; do not go too low.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Téléphérique du Brévent (camptocamp access point)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 39717
Contains the route point and parking. 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: 45.93393, 6.83783 (crag) · Parking: 45.93366, 6.83745
Getting down
From the top of the route it is about two minutes to the cable car station.
Retreat
Bail not documented
Retreat is not documented: every source describes finishing at the cable car. The belays are bolted, but nobody says whether they are rigged for abseiling, and with the single 50 m rope the route is normally climbed on you could not abseil the 35 to 45 m pitches in one go. Once you are on the terrace above pitch 4 the top is one walking pitch and one 5c+ pitch away.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-east facing at 2300 to 2525 m. Late in the season the sun leaves at about 14:00 and pitch 4 is in shade. The route depends on the cable car, which camptocamp says opens at 8:00 or 8:30 in summer; trip reports run from late June to early September.
Sun on the wall · SE-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 | −4 | −3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 1 | −4 |
| Mean daily low °C | −12 | −11 | −8 | −5 | −0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | −1 | −7 | −11 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 2011 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
A 50 m rope and 12 quickdraws, some extendable (a local guide suggests 11). 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 Voie Frison-Roche.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
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Nineteen very short pitches of easy slab above Les Bois, never harder than 4b and bolted like a climbing school. It is the standard first multipitch of the Chamonix valley, long enough to feel like a real outing and finishing at a mountain café with a view of the Mer de Glace.
4b19 pitches260 m
France · Chamonix valley
A short, friendly slab route on the sunny gneiss of the Chéserys, facing the Mont Blanc range. Five pitches with one vertical step of 4c, chain belays and an abseil descent make it a standard introduction to multipitch climbing.
4c5 pitches150 m
France · Chamonix valley
A direct line up the big south-facing slabs of Barberine: three pitches of friction slab to warm up, then steeper, technical walls on small holds. The two top pitches are graded 6b+ and 6c+ if you step round the bolts and 7a if you climb straight up them; 6c is obligatory.
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Switzerland · Furka
The classic of the Hannibalturm: six short, wandering pitches of slab, quartz veins, cracks and a 6a+ slab crux on perfect high-mountain granite at 2800 m. A bench and a bus-stop sign wait on the summit. Very popular, so expect company.
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Spain · Costa Blanca (Morro Falquí)
A superb sea-cliff multipitch. P4 makes an impressive exposed exit from a cave with 100 m of air below, and the 6a+ P5 has a chimney and fingery slab. Balancy, airy and great for introducing someone to multipitch.
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Read the cautions
Greece · Manikia (Evia)
An even-graded route in a beautiful gorge setting: pocketed and sculpted slabs below, steeper walls above, with one athletic 6a+ move on P5. There are short walking transitions between the lower tiers.
6a+6 pitches200 m
Croatia · Paklenica
Classic Paklenica water-groove climbing on beautifully sculpted rock. The crux is a rising crack traverse on P5, with delicate slab moves above.
6a+6 pitches160 m
Read the cautions
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.
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