Rock climbing in the French Alps

Chamonix is not the only place in the French Alps to go rock climbing amd mountaineering, with other popular areas being the Ercins, and the Annecy-Cluses-Morzine region.

1. Rock climbing in Chamonix

4,000m Peaks of the Alps Guidebook covers the French AlpsChamonix is a world-class area for mountaineering and rock climbing that is dominated by Mont Blanc, at 4,810m high. The Mont Blanc Massif has 27 peaks over 4,000m with the style of climbing being long alpine routes on granite rock. 

Chamonix is also famous for its series of granite towers (Aiguilles) that line the southern side of the valley. These towers offer classic Alpine rock routes that range from a few hundred metres to around 1,000m long. On the northern side of the valley are the Aiguilles Rouge Mountains. These reddish gneiss rock walls are at a lower altitude than the main Mont Blanc massif and are also more accessible from Chamonix via a series of ski lifts or nearby car parks. The style of climbing found here are long multi-pitch routes, with a mixture of fully bolted routes through to pure traditional routes.

Find out more about rock climbing in Chamonix

Map of the main rock climbing areas in the French Alps

Map of the main rock climbing areas in the French AlpsRock climbing in ChamonixRock climbing in the Ecrins and Hautes AlpsRock climbing in the Annecy-Cluses-Morzine region

2. Rock climbing in the Annecy-Cluses-Morzine region.

Giffe, Risse, Foron rock climbing guidebookLocated between Chamonix and Annecy are numerous mountain peaks that are much quieter than Chamonix. Based around the towns of Annecy, Cluses, Bonneville, and Morzine there are many accessible crags with a good mixture of routes. These range from single pitch sport routes to long multi-pitch routes that are often well-bolted. These multi-pitch routes are generally between 100m to 300m long, though there are also some monster routes up to 1,200m long. The style of climbing is often on slabs across a wide range of grades.

There are 5 guidebooks that cover this area, which are as follows:

Bornes Aravis rock climbing guidebookAs well as the multi-pitch climbing areas, there are many single pitch sport climbing areas, particularly in the area from Annecy in the west to Chamonix in the east, and Cluses in the north to Albertville in the south. These crags offer a wide variety rock type and styles and usually there is a good spread of grades at each crag. A selective guidebook called France East Roc 2, details 1,000’s of single pitch sport routes in this area.

3. Rock climbing in the Ercins and the Durance Valley

Sometimes this area around the Barre des Ercins Mountain is referred to as the Haute Alps or Southern Alps. Again this area is much quieter than the Chamonix area and it also enjoys better weather.

Rock climbing guidebook for Haut Val Durance around Briancon and AilefroideThe area is dominated by the 4,000m+ peak of Massif Des Ecrins plus several other 3,000m+ peaks, giving 1,000's of Alpine routes across all grades. There are also around 1,500 sport routes from single pitch to multi-pitch up to 600m long - of which the majority are well bolted. This climbing is mainly situated in the Durance Valley around the towns of Briancon, Ailefroide, L'Argentiere-la-bessee & Guillestre, and includes over 85 crags. 

Find out more about rock climbing in around the Ecrins and the Haute Alps.

Walking Maps for the French Alps

The Alps are also a great place to go walking and mountaineering as well as rock climbing. IGN produce an excellent range of 1:25,000 maps that cover the whole of France (blue cover). Buy these walking maps for the French Alps from our shop.

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