Barberine (Vallorcine) · Chamonix valley · France
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
The original line on the Barberine wall: four pitches of fine, delicate slab above a bouldery first move, then steeper and more athletic climbing through the upper tier, with a superb 6b layback-and-wall pitch near the top. Ledges cut it into sections, so it never feels very exposed, but it is sustained at 6a to 6a+ throughout.
The route
Vipère au pied was the first route on the Barberine half-dome and is still one of its best at the grade. The lower tier gives four slab pitches on compact, grippy rock; a 20 m walk left along a ledge leads to the upper tier, where a slightly overhanging pitch, a steep wall, a sustained 6b layback and a curving final wall follow, separated by two easy linking pitches. Recent parties rate pitches 6, 8 and 10 highest. Lines are close together here and several cross, so carry a good topo and follow the gold hangers. Most parties reach the start by climbing two single pitches on the lower slabs.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6b+ | – | A boulder problem off the ground, then a short pitch. Parties find the move easier the further right of the bolt you start. It links with pitch 2 on a 50 m rope. Starting up the first four pitches of La Barbourine avoids it. |
| P2 | 6a | – | A fairly thin slab. Do not follow the grey fixed bolts to the right. |
| P3 | 5c | – | More slab, slanting left and finishing up a steeper wall. |
| P4 | 6a | – | Trending left, then straight up to the ledge. Walk 20 m left along the ledge to a blue paint mark, 3 m past the belay of La Barbourine. Two lines on gold hangers start here; the left one is La Barbourine. |
| P5 | 6a+ | – | A slight overhang on good holds, then sustained vertical climbing and a traverse right to a hanging belay in a vague niche. A 2025 party, following Piola's topo, thought it a solid 6b to 6b+. |
| P6 | 6a | – | A steep wall with the difficulty just above the belay. Links well with pitch 7. |
| P7 | 3 | 2 bolts | Up and right in a grassy chimney to a good platform. |
| P8 | 6b | – | The best pitch: a layback, then a steep, varied and sustained wall. The exit from the layback is the hard part. |
| P9 | 3 | 3 bolts | Go round the big block on the right (blue marks), descend 2 to 3 m and climb 5 m above an old dead tree. Camptocamp warns of a large unstable block on the belay terrace and says the dead tree is close to toppling. |
| P10 | 6a+ | – | A steep, sustained wall curving from left to right, with a slab exit that is not obvious. |
Getting there
Barberine is at the Swiss border, 400 m before the Le Châtelard customs post when coming from Chamonix and Vallorcine. Turn left (north) towards the hamlet of Barberine and park in the small car park at the bottom of the descent, before the bridge (about 15 to 20 places; the road beyond is for residents). Do not park in the hamlet. By train, the Mont-Blanc Express stops hourly at Le Châtelard-Frontière, a short walk away. The cliff itself is just across the border in Switzerland.
Walk through the hamlet and take the path on the right that crosses a footbridge (the border) and climbs through the wood, past a long chalet used as a holiday centre, to the foot of the lower slabs. Then either climb two pitches on the lower slabs (5a to 6a, the leftmost being the hardest) to reach a ledge with a cable, or take the descent path up and right for about 50 m of height and traverse left to the cable. From the cable follow the obvious rising path, pass a 2 m rock step with a handline and a metal rung, and reach a platform with the belays of several routes. Go left along the wall past Bon Voyage and Le Magicien d'Oz. After a little under 10 m without bolts you reach the unlinked belay of Méduse (matt silver hangers); 5 m further left is that of Mirrors on the Ceiling (matt grey-white Fixe hangers). Between them stands a small block with one gold bolt: that is the start. Allow 20 to 25 minutes plus the slab pitches.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Barberine car park before the bridge (camptocamp waypoint 104221)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 41521 (Barberine)
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: 46.05347, 6.94289 (crag) · Parking: 46.05027, 6.94166
Getting down
The belays are equipped for abseiling, but in dry conditions it is simpler to walk. From the top scramble up about 20 m to find the path that leads right (the access path to the Gietroz sectors). It passes under several crags, descends an easy gully with a fixed rope and curves back to pass near the starts of Cacao Girls and Autoroute Blanche. Turn right at the beehives and right again, past the holiday buildings, to the path to the border footbridge. About 30 minutes on a good but steep path, marked with blue then red dots.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Camptocamp states that the belays are equipped for abseiling, so retreat is possible from anywhere, but you need two ropes and the line is offset: a 20 m walk along the ledge after pitch 4 and a traverse to a hanging belay on pitch 5. From the big ledge above pitch 4 the lower tier is four straight slab pitches.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South facing between about 1200 m and 1450 m. The lower slabs were in the sun by 11:00 in March 2026, and parties have climbed here from February to October. It is hot in summer: several 2025 reports mention sore feet in the heat. A March party found the route dry with no seepage and no snow in the descent gully.
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 (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun (usual season) | Jul | Aug | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | 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
12 quickdraws and a 50 m rope according to camptocamp; the Thivierge topo says 14 quickdraws and 2×50 m. Take two ropes only if you intend to abseil.
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 Vipère au pied.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
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Nineteen very short pitches of easy slab above Les Bois, never harder than 4b and bolted like a climbing school. It is the standard first multipitch of the Chamonix valley, long enough to feel like a real outing and finishing at a mountain café with a view of the Mer de Glace.
4b19 pitches260 m
France · Chamonix valley
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France · Chamonix valley
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6a+6 pitches200 m
France · Chamonix valley
A direct line up the big south-facing slabs of Barberine: three pitches of friction slab to warm up, then steeper, technical walls on small holds. The two top pitches are graded 6b+ and 6c+ if you step round the bolts and 7a if you climb straight up them; 6c is obligatory.
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Around 6b+ · about 10 pitches
Croatia · Paklenica
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6b+10 pitches360 m
Morocco · Taghia
Ten pitches of even 6b and 6b+ on compact rock ten minutes from the gîtes, mostly technical slab and wall climbing on your feet, with a 50 m sixth pitch on vertical edges that everyone singles out. It is among the most accessible long routes at Taghia, in the shade for most of the day, and a little polished low down.
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Read the cautions
Austria · Gastein (Hohe Tauern)
Ten pitches of varied climbing on good rock, mostly slabs with some cracks and steeper passages. Largely UIAA 5 with a few moves of 6 and three spots of 7 that go at 6+ A0. A short walk-in and a rigged abseil line.
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France · Aravis
A ten-pitch line to the summit of the Pointe Percée, the high point of the Aravis, following green hangers up the cool north-west face. Seven long pitches, mostly easy with a 6a+ wall, reach the notch of the Arête du Doigt; three independent pitches finish it, including a memorable slab traverse of 6b+ that can be aided on the bolts.
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Read the cautions
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.
