Le Brévent (Aiguilles Rouges) · Chamonix valley · France
Easy to bailBolting confidence: medium
Seven easy pitches up a string of separate buttresses east of the Brévent face, with a short walk between most of them and one 10 m abseil. Slabs, a corner-chimney and a couple of cracks at 4b to 5a, and you can walk off after almost any pitch. It is the usual first multipitch at the Brévent, so expect company.
The route
La Somone is not on the main Brévent face. It links five small gneiss buttresses on the hillside to the east, between the Clocher du Brévent and the Brèche du Brévent, and finishes up the left end of the Brévent climbing-school wall. Nothing is harder than 5a and the path is never far away, which is why guides and courses use it as a first multipitch. Recent parties call it varied and better than its grade suggests, but not a pushover: the 5a slab is thin on the feet and one or two moves on pitches 2 and 4 make people think. The setting, facing Mont Blanc, is the other reason to go.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4b | First buttress. A slab to a belay on top of the wall, then a few metres of traverse right to the foot of a corner (second belay; you can walk off here). |
| P2 | 4c | Second buttress. A corner-chimney, pleasant and with some layback moves. Belay on a terrace. A 2025 party found it fairly delicate. |
| P3 | 4a | A friction traverse along a crest. The belay at the end is one bolt and a rock spike, so carry a sling. A 2025 party points out that you can continue to the start of the next pitch, where there is a bolt to belay from. |
| P4 | 5a | Third buttress, after a few metres on foot. A slab, then a crack, finishing rightwards on top of a small pinnacle. There is a balancy move left to clip the second bolt. From the top, abseil 10 m down the far side and walk about 10 m leftwards to the next wall; this start is not obvious. |
| P5 | 4c | Fourth buttress. A crack to a belay on top of the wall. Parties single this out as the best pitch. Easy rocks then lead to the Brèche du Brévent; walk along the foot of the climbing-school wall on the left for about a minute to the leftmost line of its first section, just past a large triangular block. |
| P6 | 4c | Fifth buttress, on the climbing-school wall. Belay part-way up the face. Camptocamp warns that the third bolt moves in its hole: do not pull on it. A 2025 party found friable flakes just below the belay and the stance uncomfortable; another suggests carrying on 4 to 5 m to the anchor of a neighbouring single-pitch route if it is free. |
| P7 | 4b | 4b then 3b to the top of the wall. Do not stop at the anchor a few metres below the top; go on to the plateau. |
Getting there
From Chamonix take the Planpraz gondola and then the Brévent cable car from the lower station above the church (pay car park beside it; shuttle bus from the town centre). The lift opens at about 8:00 to 8:30 in summer. You can also start from Planpraz on foot if the upper cable car is closed.
From the top of the Brévent cable car, walk down the piste and through the Brèche du Brévent. The line of rock steps is on your left; reach the foot of the lowest one by traversing off the track after the second hairpin. The big monolith lower down is the Clocher du Brévent and is not the route: La Somone starts higher, left of a distinctive dry-stone wall, with a piece of cord at the foot. From Planpraz, follow the path towards the Brévent to the foot of the Clocher and climb up to its left until level with its top. The sketch topo marks Planpraz as 30 minutes from the foot of the route; no source gives a time from the upper lift, which is closer.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Point from camptocamp waypoint 39717 (Le Brévent summit)
Contains the route point. 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)
Getting down
From the top of the last pitch walk to the Brévent summit and cable car in 5 minutes, or join the descent path to Planpraz.
Retreat
Easy to bail
You can walk off between every buttress: camptocamp notes an escape after pitch 1, after pitch 3, after the abseil and at the Brèche du Brévent, and the descent path runs alongside the whole route. No abseil retreat is needed.
Safety
Sun and weather
The route lies between about 2300 m and 2525 m and faces south-east, in the sun from early morning. In a heatwave, climb early: an August 2025 party found it oppressive with no wind or cloud. It depends on the Brévent lifts, which run in summer only. The rock is reported dry and sound, with a few friable flakes on pitch 6.
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
Camptocamp lists 8 quickdraws, a 40 m rope, slings and a helmet. A 2025 party carried 10 quickdraws and would have liked one or two more to reach the better stance between pitches 6 and 7. A sling for the spike at the third belay is useful, and one party suggests something to thread on the exits of pitches 5 and 7.
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 La Somone.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
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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.