The main routes of Grandes Jorasses, Dent du Géant and other

After the Colle del Gigante, the crest of the border with France, first with a performance Eastward reaching the Giant's Tooth (4.013m) the six Summit of the Grandes Jorasses and then by the Pointe Walker (4.208m) stretches to the North up to Mont Dolent (3.823m), reaching the triple and unique border also with Switzerland. A sector that is very important for the History of Mountaineering and concomitant at first with the conquest of the absolute Peaks and the next turned to the exploration of the walls, which culminates with the ascent of the famous North Face of the Grandes Jorasses. Indeed, after the conquest of Mont Blanc, it opens an important second page on the Mont Blanc Chain, which seems to run out with the climbings in 1935 and 1938 but it is not so because it offers endless solutions and still "open" to the present day.

 

Dopo il Colle del Gigante, la cresta di confine con la Francia presenta dapprima un andamento verso Est raggiungendo dal Dente del Gigante (4.013 m) le sei Sommità delle Grandes Jorasses e poi dalla Punta Walker (4.208 m) si allunga verso Settentrione fino al Mont Dolent (3.823 m) raggiungendo il triplice ed unico confine anche con la Svizzera. Un settore questo molto importante per la Storia dell'Alpinismo e concomitante in un primo momento con la conquista in assoluto delle Vette e nel successivo rivolto all'esplorazione delle pareti, che trova il suo culmine con l'ascensione della famosa Faccia Nord delle Jorasses. Anzi, dopo la conquista del Monte Bianco, si apre una importante seconda pagina sulla Catena del Mont Blanc, che sembra esaurirsi con le scalate del 1935 e del 1938 ma non é così perché la medesima offre soluzioni infinite ed ancora "aperte" ai giorni nostri.

Route Description Les Grandes Jorasses (4.208m) N Wall A) - N Wall (Le Linceul): Robert Flematti and René Desmaison, (Jan 17-25th, 1968). Difficulty: IV°. Average inclination: 50°/80°. Length: 750m. B) - N Wall (Walker spur, Cassin route): Riccardo Cassin, Luigi Esposito and Ugo Tisoni, (Aug 04-05-06th, 1938). Difficulty: III°/VI°/VI+°. Length: 1.200m. C) - N Wall (MacIntire-Colton): Nick Colton and Alex MacIntire, (Aug 05-06th, 1976). Difficulty: VI°. Average inclination: 50°/85°. Length: 1.200m. D) - N Wall (Couloir des Japonais): Yashuo Kanda, Yashuo Kato, Hideo Miyazaki, Toru Nakano and Kazuhide Saito, (Mar 19-29th, 1972). Difficulty: VI°/VI°+/A1/A2. Length: 1.100m. E) - N Wall (Directe de l'amitié): Louis Audoubert, Michel Feuillarade, Marc Galy and Yannick Seigneur, (Jan 19th, 1974). Length: 1.100m. F) - N Wall (Bonatti-Vaucher): Walter Bonatti and Michel Vaucher, (Aug 06-09th, 1964). Difficulty: M5+/VI°. Average inclination: 60°/90°. Length: 1.100m. G) - N Wall (Croz spur): Martin Meiers and Rudolf Peters, (Jan 28-29th, 1935). Difficulty: VI°-. Length: 1.100m. H) - N Wall (Slovéne route): Franc Knez, Vanja Matijevec, Iado Vidmar and Jose Zupan, (Feb 26-28th, 2003). Difficulty: V°. Length: 1.000m. I) - N Wall (A leï route): Philippe Batoux, Patrick Gabarrou and Benoît Robert, (Aug 17-18th, 1991). Difficulty: V°/V°+/VII°-/M5+/A3. Length: 850m. L) - N Wall (Polonaise route): Jerzy Kukuczka, Wojciech Kurtyka and Marek Lukaszewski, (Aug 03-04th, 1975). Difficulty: V°-/V°/VI°-. Length: 800m. M) - N Wall (Pointe Marguerite direct): Christian Appertet and Patrick Gabarrou, (Jul 19-20-21th, 1992). Difficulty: VI°/VII°-. Length: 850m. N) - N Wall (Couzy-Desmaison route): Jean Couzy and René Desmaison, (Aug 05-06th, 1958). Difficulty: V°+/VI°-/A1. Length 850m. O) - N Wall (Knez-Skok route): Franc Knez and J. Skok, (Aug 23-24th, 1980). Difficulty: V°-/V°+A1. Average inclination: 50°/60°. Length: 750m. P) - N Wall (NNW spur, Pointe Young): Enrico Cavalleri and Andrea Mallano, (Aug 13-14th, 1958). Difficulty: V-/V°+A1. Length: 800m.

Route Description Les Grandes Jorasses (4.208m) SE Side 1) - Gran Diedro Sud: Gianni Calcagno, Leo Cerruti and Guido Machetto, (Aug 05-06th, 1970). Difficulty: VI°+/V°/V°+/VI°/VII°+. Length: 700m. 2) - SW Punta Walker (normal route): Horace Walker, Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange, (Jun 30th, 1868). Difficulty: AD-. 3) - S Side: Evan MacKenzie, Julien Proment, Laurent Bertholier and Laurent Croux, (Sep 03th, 1894 in descent). Difficulty: AD+. 4) - W Ridge: H. O. Jones G. W. Young and Josef Knubel, (Aug 14th, 1911). Difficulty: D+. 5) - SW Punta Whymper (Rochers Whymper): Edward Whymper, Michel Croz, Christian Almer and Franz Biner, (Jun 24th, 1865). Difficulty: AD-.

Route Description Les Grandes Jorasses (4.208m) E Wall 1) - Tronchey Ridge (SE): Tita Gilberti and Elisée Croux, (Aug 22-23th, 1936). Difficulty: TD-. Length: 950m. 2) - E Wall (Gervasutti route): Giuseppe Gagliardone and Giusto Gervasutti, (Aug 16-17th, 1942). Difficulty: IV°+V°/V°+/VI°/A2/TD-. 3) - Hirondelles Ridge: G. Gaia, S. Matteoda, G. A. Rivetti, Adolphe Rey and Alphonse Chenoz, (Aug 10th, 1927). Difficulty: IV°/IV°+V°/V°+/D. Length: 730m.

Route Description Dente del Gigante (4.013m) A) - SW Wall (normal route): Jean-Joseph Baptiste and Daniel Maquignaz, (Jul 28th, 1882). Difficulty: AD-/D. B) - S Wall: Herbert Burgasser and Rudolph Leisz, (Jul 28th, 1935). Difficulty: TD-

Route Dôme de Rochefort (4.015m)  S Wall: Angelo Piccioni and Luciano Pasi, (Sep 18-19th, 1971). Difficulty: TD/ED.

Route Description Petite Jorasses (3.650m) A) - Normal route: M. Bron, A. Contamine and P. Labrunie, "in descent", (Aug 21th, 1955). B) - S ridge: Alfonso Castellio and Michele Rivero, (Aug 18th, 1935). Difficulty: D-. Length: 400m. C) - Bonatti Mazeaud route: Walter Bonatti and Pierre Mazeaud, (July 1962). Difficulty: TD+. Length: 450m.

Route Description Aiguille de Leschaux (3.759m)  Normal route: J. A. Garth Marshall, Thomas Stuard Kennedy, Johann Fischer and Julien Grange, (Jul 14th, 1872).

Route Description Aiguille de Triolet (3.870m) 1) - Sechehaye route: L. Berthoud and A. Sechehaye, (Aug 23th, 1907). Difficulty AD. Lenght 650m. 2) - Marchall route: James Gart, Ulrich Almer and Johann Fischer, (Aug 16th, 1874). Difficulty AD. 3) - NE ridge: Emile Fontaine, Jean Ravanel and Léon Tournier, (Jul 15th,1905). Difficulty AD.

Route Description Mont Dolent (3.823m) A) - Nomal Route: Edward Whymper, Antony Adams Reilly, Michel Croz, Henry Charlet and Michel Payot, (Jul 09th, 1864). Difficulty: PD. B) - Gallet ridge: Julien Gallet, Abrham Müller and Julet Balleys, (Aug 21th, 1901). Difficulty: AD+.

Essential Gear

Complete alpine equipment.

 

Attrezzatura alpinistica completa.

Refuges and Bivouacs

• Rifugio CESARE DALMAZZI Tel. 0165 869098
• Rifugio Rifugio GABRIELE BOCCALATTE-MARIO PIOLTI Tel. 0165 844070
• Rifugio ELENA Tel. 0165 844688
• Rifugio WALTER BONATTI Tel. 0165 869055
• Rifugio GIORGIO BERTONE Tel. 0165 844612

Books and Maps

BOOKS:

• "Guida delle Alpi Occidentali", di Giovanni Bobba e Luigi Vaccarone C.A.I. Sezione di Torino Volume II (parte II), 25 Maggio 1896.
• "Guida dei Monti d'Italia-Monte Bianco" (Vol. II°) di G. Buscaini R. Chabod L. Grivel S. Saglio-Club Alpino Italiano/Turing Club Italiano, 1994 (in Italian).
• "I Rifugi della Valle d'Aosta" di Stefano Ardito, Ed. Guide iter, Febbraio 2003.
• "A piedi in Valle d'Aosta" (Vol. 1), di Stefano Ardito, Ed. Guide iter, Giugno 2003.
• "80 itinerari di Escursionismo Alpinismo e Sci Alpinismo in Valle d'Aosta", di Osvaldo Cardellina, Ed. Musumeci, Giugno 1977 (in Italian); seconda Ed. Luglio 1981; terza Ed. Luglio 1984; (in French), prima Ed. Febbraio 1978; seconda Ed. Marzo 1980.

MAPS:

• Kompass "Massiccio del Monte Bianco Valle d'Aosta Sentieri e Rifugi" Carta turistica 1:50.000.
• I.G.C. Istituto Geografico Centrale Torino "Massiccio del Monte Bianco" (n° 4), Torino, 1998 1:50.000.
• I.G.C. Istituto Geografico Centrale Torino "Monte Bianco-Courmayeur-Chamonix-La Thuile" (n° 107), 1:25.000.
• Kompass "Massiccio del Monte Bianco Valle d'Aosta" Carta escursioni, bike e sci alpinismo 1:50.000.
• L'Escursionista "Monte Bianco Courmayeur" (n° 1) Edizioni Rimini 2004 1:25.000.
• IGN Carte de randonnée CHAMONIX - MASSIF DU MONT BLANC 3630 OT 1:25.000.
• Edizioni Tabacco "Mont Blanc" Udine, 1978 1:50.000.
• Studio F.M.B. Bologna 1988 "Monte Bianco-Mont Blanc" 1:50.000.
• IGN institut géographique national genoble mont-blanc parc national de la vanoise (n° 53), 1:100.000.

Acknowledgements

I am greatly indebted to my friend Osva for the detailed description of the route and translation into English.