Aiguille de la Cabane (above the Cabane d'Orny) · Orny (Champex, Mont Blanc massif) · Switzerland
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium
Slab and flake climbing on superb granite ten minutes from the hut, finishing with a 35 m pitch of cracks and knobs on the orange summit bastion. The 6a is the last pitch and is steady rather than cruxy. The lower pitches are easier and a little more spaced.
The route
Tichodrome takes the south face of the Aiguille de la Cabane in six pitches: four up the lower wall, a 50 m walk right along the ledge, then two up the summit bastion. It was opened in 1987 by the hut wardens of the time and is one of the standard half-day routes from the Cabane d'Orny. The climbing is varied granite slab, flakes and cracks, and the grade rises to 6a only on the last pitch. Fast parties do it in a day from the first chairlift.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5b | – | – | A slab on good holds. |
| P2 | 5c | – | – | A flaky crack on good holds. |
| P3 | 4a | – | – | A slab with several cracks, straight up and then rising leftwards to a comfortable belay. This is the most spaced pitch, but easy. A 2025 party linked pitches 3 and 4 in one 60 m pitch with rope drag at the end. |
| P4 | 4b | 25 m | 4 bolts | A more athletic pitch. Belay on a sling round a spike, or on two bolts a little to the right. From here walk right for about 50 m towards the summit bastion; the starts are marked with red dots and this route takes the right-most one. |
| P5 | 5b | 25 m | 4 bolts | A pleasant, fairly steep pitch to a belay on the right under the slab. |
| P6 | 6a | 35 m | 9 bolts | Cracks and knobs on red-orange granite: sustained at the grade without a single hard move, and the best pitch of the route. |
Getting there
From Martigny take the train to Orsières and the bus (or drive) to Champex-Lac (1498 m). The La Breya chairlift carries you to Grands Plans at about 2190 m, from where a mountain path leads to the Cabane d'Orny (2811 m) in roughly two hours. The chairlift runs in summer only and stops for a midday break, so check the timetable and the last ride down. Without the lift the walk from Champex takes about four and a half hours; there is also a longer path from Praz-de-Fort. Most parties sleep at the hut, which should be booked ahead.
From the Cabane d'Orny reach the foot of the face in about 10 minutes. It is the third route from the left; the name is written at the base. Coming from the chairlift, you can leave the hut path at about 2450 m, or at the first lake, and head for the Aiguille directly.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Top station of the La Breya chairlift at Grands Plans (camptocamp access waypoint 1205077); the trailhead for the hut path. The lift starts in Champex-Lac.
Point from camptocamp summit waypoint 39003 (Aiguille de la Cabane)
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: 46.00658, 7.06832 (crag) · Parking: 46.02158, 7.10303
Getting down
From the top abseil 25 to 30 m down the west ridge, then down-climb to the traverse ledge. Head west and descend the steep scree gully (sometimes with a fixed rope) to the foot of the route. A 2023 party calls the abseil easy and the path below well cairned.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
As on Bon accueil, the ledge after pitch 4 is an exit: the descent path to the gully passes close by. Three of the four lower belays are chained, which suggests abseiling from them is feasible, but no source describes it.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-facing granite between about 2800 m and 3000 m, climbable roughly from July to September while the hut and the chairlift are open. Snow patches can linger on the approach scree and in the descent gully early in the season. It is cold out of the sun and in wind even in August, and the rock dries quickly after rain but lichen stays slippery.
Sun on the wall · S-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 | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −11 | −9 | −5 | −2 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 2 | −5 | −10 |
| Mean daily low °C | −18 | −17 | −14 | −10 | −6 | −2 | 1 | 1 | −3 | −7 | −13 | −17 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 2847 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
10 quickdraws, a helmet and a rope long enough for a 30 m abseil. Camptocamp suggests a few small to medium cams to supplement; recent parties say they are optional.
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 Tichodrome.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Switzerland · Orny (Champex, Mont Blanc massif)
Nine pitches up a granite spur and the final tower of the Aiguille d'Orny to a 3150 m summit, on rough, cracked rock with superb friction. Two moves of 5b, the rest 4b and 4c, closely bolted since 2016 and easy enough to climb in boots. The three steep pitches on the summit tower are the highlight.
5b9 pitches250 m
Switzerland · Orny (Champex, Mont Blanc massif)
The friendliest long route at the Cabane d'Orny: four short pitches up the lower spur, a walk right along a ledge, then two steeper pitches up the red summit bastion. The first pitch is the crux, a physical corner that many find hard for 5b, and it can be avoided by an easier bolted start. Fine rough granite and a summit at almost 3000 m.
5b6 pitches130 m
Switzerland · Orny (Champex, Mont Blanc massif)
A short, easy outing on beautifully sculpted granite half an hour from the Cabane d'Orny. Pitches 2 and 3 are the good ones, steep for the grade; the last two are more broken. Mind the first few metres, where the first bolt is high.
5a5 pitches160 m
Read the cautions
Switzerland · Orny (Champex, Mont Blanc massif)
The popular 6a on the Aiguille d'Orny: nine pitches of corners, slabs, layback flakes and a steep cracked wall, finishing on the airy summit arête at 3150 m. Three pitches reach 6a, all closely bolted. The upper pitches are vertical on big holds and are the highlight.
6a9 pitches270 m
Around 6a · about 6 pitches
Croatia · Omiš
Omiš's signature moderate: long, slabby pitches on knobbly grey limestone with big views over the Cetina mouth and the Adriatic. The crux is a short crack on the final pitch.
6a6 pitches230 m
Switzerland · Bernese Oberland
The most popular route at Hintisberg: six pitches from the lowest point of the wall, with slabs, a technical wall and small overhangs to turn. It gets better as it rises and ends on a superb wall of pockets, where the obligatory 6a crux lies. Expect a queue on fine weekends.
6a6 pitches200 m
Germany · Berchtesgaden & Bad Reichenhall
Six pitches on excellent grippy limestone with views to the Watzmann, established 2012. Pitch grades are converted from the UIAA topo (6-, 6, 6, 5+, 5+, 6); 5 is obligatory.
6a6 pitches165 m
Switzerland · Gastlosen
Six pitches of water-worn runnels and compact slab on the south face of the Pfadflue, ending on a ledge at mid-height. Pitch 4 pulls over a small overhang and pitch 5 is a delicate, holdless friction slab. You can carry on up the last five pitches of Salü Jan to the summit.
6a6 pitches250 m
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.