Mont de Gnalle – Parete di Planaval (Planaval, Valgrisenche) · Aosta Valley · Italy
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
Eight short, closely bolted pitches up the wall above the village of Planaval, with a wide view down the Valgrisenche. The hardest climbing comes first, on a steep and awkward wall, and again at two small overhangs on pitch 7; in between are easier slabs broken by ledges. A relaxed half-day at about 5c.
The route
Mario e Cecilia climbs the left part of the cliff that stands directly above Planaval, a small village on a shelf at the entrance to the Valgrisenche. The local team who opened it in 2018 also cut the approach path and equipped the walk-off. It is a modern plaisir route: short pitches, stainless bolts close together, and nothing harder than 5c+. The rock is sound gneiss but not as clean as the classic crags lower in the valley, with some lichen, earth and vegetation on the easier pitches. The line zigzags, which is why the walk-off is preferred to abseiling.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5c+ | 25 m | A steep wall with an unobvious move, sustained from the first metres and a shock when cold. Many parties find this the crux of the route. The rock is only average here. Belay on the left on two linked bolts. |
| P2 | 5c | 30 m | A wall with one harder friction move below a bush (a length of cord was in place to pull on), then a vegetated section and slabs at 5a. |
| P3 | 5b | 30 m | A black slab at 5a, a step out left off the line at 5b, then more slab. One bolt on the first slab was moved to the right in 2020. |
| P4 | 4c | 25 m | Diagonally left on easy slabs. Seepage after rain. |
| P5 | 4c+ | 25 m | A little left on easy ground, then a good vertical wall at about 5a (the 'red triangle'). |
| P6 | 5a | 20 m | Go left, then up a hidden slab that slants left to an exposed belay in a notch. |
| P7 | 5c+ | 25 m | The best pitch. A slightly athletic overhang on good holds straight off the belay, a slab at 5a, a second small overhanging step, then right and up a slab. Rope drag is a problem if you do not extend the runners. A cord was in place on the first step. The two belay bolts are not linked. |
| P8 | 4c | 30 m | Straight up above the belay, then easy-angled slabs to the top, finishing by a large boulder. |
Getting there
From Aosta take the A5 or the main road west to Arvier, turn into the Valgrisenche on the SR25 and, about 10 km from Arvier, turn right at the signs for Planaval. Park in the car park at the entrance to the village (about 1560 m). A regional bus from Aosta via Arvier towards Valgrisenche stops at Planaval. The Hotel Paramont in the village has a bar and restaurant.
About 30 min. Walk through the village on the main street, take the lane beside the church and go left. Just after a fountain the road ends and a path starts into a wood of old larches. At the level of a ruin, after a hairpin, a smaller path turns off right; the junction has a cairn on each side. Further on a large boulder carries red and white GR paint, a yellow stripe and the letters VMC in fading yellow, and later a big yellow arrow points up and right. Keep right at each cairned fork and climb steep grass to the foot of the wall, where a plaque marks the start on a small grassy ledge. The yellow marks are faint in places and several parties have lost the path; the GPS track on the camptocamp page is reported accurate.
Loading map
The point marks the base of the route.
Point from camptocamp route 1047391 GPS track (last point before the climb; a 2025 party confirms the track is accurate)
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: 45.67535, 7.07590 (route base)
Getting down
On foot, 35 to 40 min. From the last belay go up steep grass for 50 to 60 m to a ruined building. A small path leaves on the left, a few metres below the ruin, and follows the edge of the cliff to a little notch, with a section cut into the rock and protected by a fixed rope. Continue down steep meadows, pass a section of landslip with another fixed rope, and you soon reach the larch wood just above the village. Cairns mark the way.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The route can be abseiled, and gulliver.it says a single 60 m rope is enough because no pitch is longer than 30 m. Camptocamp advises against it: the belays are often well off line, and each has only one ring with the two bolts joined by old cord. Treat abseiling as a retreat option, not as the descent.
Safety
Sun and weather
South-east facing, from about 1750 to 1950 m, and in the sun from early morning. Late spring, early summer and autumn are best; a September 2022 party advises avoiding high summer because the wall heats up quickly, and an August 2025 party found it rather too warm. Pitch 4 seeps for a day after rain. Allow 2 h 30 min to 4 h for the climb.
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 (usual season) | Jun (usual season) | Jul | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | 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
12 quickdraws (some take 14), with a few long ones for pitch 7. A single 60 m rope is enough for the walk-off; two 50 m ropes help with rope drag on the zigzagging pitches. Take a length of cord and a couple of slings to link the two bolts at belays where the fixed cord is old or missing. Cams and nuts are of no use. 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 Mario e Cecilia.
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.
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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
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Italy · Aosta Valley
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.
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Greece · Leonidio & Kyparissi
The easiest multi-pitch on Kokkinovrachos, following the easy-angled arête and pillar above Leonidio, with tufas, crimpy walls and a great view of the town. Rock is good apart from the scrappy P2–P3.
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France · Sainte-Victoire
A sunny winter route on Sainte-Victoire's south-side socle. The highlight is a beautiful marbled slab on L5, and a stiff move off the last belay can be aided on a sling. Bring long slings to manage rope drag around the trees.
5c+7 pitches180 m
Austria · Ötztal
The multipitch classic of the Nösslachwand and the easiest line on its west face: seven short pitches of gneiss slab beside a water streak, improving with height, with a few steep wall moves and an arête crux. Polished in places.
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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.