Grand Combin

4,309 m

Switzerland

Also known as Гран Комбен, Grand Combin de Grafeneire, +2

Гран Комбен · Grand Combin de Grafeneire · გრან-კომბენი · Гран-Комбен

Elevation: 4,309 m
Prominence: 1,512 m
Difficulty: 5/10; Easy alpine
Best Season: Apr–May
Routes: 2

Routes

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The normal route from the north: up the long Corbassière glacier from the Panossière hut to the Plateau des Maisons Blanches, then a 35–45° glaciated flank and a band of seracs to the summit plateau. Technically moderate, but the whole upper flank lies under seracs that can fall at any time; two climbers died here in May 2022.

Elevation Profile

Distance: 15.5 km; one way
Ascent: +2,919 m; −99 m lost on the way up
High Point: 4,309 m
Time Up: 11h 52m; DIN 33466
Time Down: 8h 07m; DIN 33466 · same way back

Day one: from Fionnay (1,491 m) in the Val de Bagnes a steep path climbs past the Greniers de Panossière and up the Corbassière valley to the Cabane FXB Panossière (2,645 m), 4–5 hours. Other approaches start from Cabane Brunet (via La Maye and the Corbassière suspension bridge, or the Col des Avouillons) or from Mauvoisin over the Col des Otanes. Day two: follow the moraine towards the Col des Otanes and drop onto the Corbassière glacier where cairns mark the way (worth checking in daylight). Cross under the Combin de Corbassière, climb a stream gully between two smooth rock knolls, pass south of P. 3165 and east of P. 3310 to the broad Plateau des Maisons Blanches (about 3,320 m), roughly 3 hours. Head ESE towards the Corridor to the Plateau du Déjeuner (about 3,500 m), but instead of entering the Corridor turn right to the foot of the rib below P. 3763. Climb either the rock rib (II) or the glacier slope to its right with short ice walls to about 3,900 m, then find a way through the 80 m serac barrier, often by a 45° ice gully on the right, to the summit plateau near P. 3987. Go south towards the col at 4,128 m (crevasses along the line of travel), then turn east up snow slopes to the Combin de Grafeneire. The SAC gives 7–8 hours and 1,690 m from the hut. Descend the same way. The SAC warns that ice-fall from the edge of the summit plateau is possible at any time and that the situation is now little better than in the Corridor, the former normal route abandoned after repeated serac accidents; the route is recommended only when the seracs are judged stable. In warm summers the NW flank has also produced wet-snow avalanches in the morning. Many parties now prefer to climb the mountain in spring on ski, or in summer from the Valsorey hut by the Meitin ridge.

Start

Fionnay1,489 m

Train to Le Châble (Val de Bagnes), then the TMR bus to Fionnay; a summer bus also runs from Fionnay to Cabane Brunet.
Parking at the trailhead

Stages

Day	Stage	km	m ascent	m descent	Time
1	Fionnay → Cabane FXB Panossière	6.6	1,158	7	4h 41m
2	Cabane FXB Panossière → Grand Combin de Grafeneire	8.9	1,761	92	7h 10m

Waypoints

Trailhead:
Fionnay1,489 m
Hut:
Cabane FXB Panossière2,641 m
Summit:
Grand Combin de Grafeneire4,309 m

Key Passages

Stream gully onto the terrace below the Combin de Corbassière
Plateau des Maisons Blanches and Plateau du Déjeuner (serac-fall runout)
Rock rib (II) or glacier slope below P. 3763
Serac barrier at about 3,900–3,990 m (45° ice)
Crevasses towards the col at 4,128 m

Equipment

0/12 packed

Downloads

Route confidence 80%

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Overview

A huge glaciated massif in Lower Valais whose highest point, the Combin de Grafeneire, reaches about 4,309–4,314 m. None of its routes is technically hard, but its northern normal route lies under active seracs, making it one of the more objectively dangerous 4,000 m peaks in the Alps.

The Grand Combin rises between the Val de Bagnes and the Val d'Entremont, south of Verbier and a few kilometres north of the Italian border. It stands apart from the main Alpine chain and has about 1,500 m of prominence, so it dominates the view from much of western Valais. The massif has three summits above 4,000 m — the Combin de Grafeneire (the highest), the Combin de Valsorey (4,184 m) and the Combin de la Tsessette (4,135 m) — plus the Aiguille du Croissant just east of the main top. Its north side is a broad ice cap feeding the 10 km Corbassière glacier; the south and east sides are steep and rocky.

The classic route from the Panossière hut on the north crosses the Corbassière glacier to the plateaux below the summit and climbs a 35–45° flank through serac bands. The original line, the Corridor, was abandoned after repeated serac falls; its replacement, the Voie du Gardien, became the normal route after about 1980 but has also deteriorated. On 27 May 2022 a serac fall hit a group of 17 climbers on it, killing two and injuring nine. The SAC now recommends it only when the seracs are judged stable.

In summer many climbers therefore approach from the south-west via the Cabane de Valsorey, taking the bolted Meitin ridge (AD+) or the SW face of the Combin de Valsorey. In spring the mountain is a well-known, serious ski-mountaineering objective, and the Panossière hut considers May the best month for it.

Climbing Notes

On the northern route you need glacier experience, crampon and axe skills on 45° ice, the ability to place ice screws and move fast through a serac zone, and good navigation on large glacier plateaux. The Meitin ridge additionally needs confident climbing on loose and steep rock to III+ with crampons in your pack, and abseiling. Acclimatise beforehand; a summit day of 1,300–1,700 m above 3,000 m is long.

Typical itineraries: Fionnay to the Panossière hut (4–5 hours), then 7–8 hours to the summit and the same way down; or Bourg-Saint-Pierre to the Valsorey hut, then the Meitin ridge. Talk to the hut keepers about current serac activity before choosing a line, and start very early. Given the objective danger and route-finding, hiring a local guide from Verbier, Bagnes or Bourg-Saint-Pierre is sensible for anyone without recent experience of serious glacier routes.

History

Gottlieb Studer explored the massif in 1851, climbing the Combin de Corbassière. The first four expeditions to the Grand Combin reached only the Aiguille du Croissant, the first by the local guides Maurice Fellay and Jouvence Bruchez on 20 July 1857. The highest summit was first reached on 30 July 1859 by Charles Sainte-Claire Deville with Daniel, Emmanuel and Gaspard Balleys and Basile Dorsaz. The Combin de Valsorey was first climbed on 16 September 1872 by Henri Isler and Joseph Gillioz, and the Meitin ridge on 1 September 1884. The Voie du Gardien was opened on 8 September 1958 by Henry Bruchez, the Panossière hut keeper Hilaire Dumoulin, Louis Maret and René Michaud. The current Panossière hut, named after the helicopter pilot François-Xavier Bagnoud, was built in 1996 after its predecessor was destroyed by an avalanche in 1988.

Season

Best Apr–May

January: Not advisable
February: Not advisable
March: Possible
April: Good (best window)
May: Good (best window)
June: Possible
July: Good
August: Good
September: Possible
October: Not advisable
November: Not advisable
December: Not advisable

Jan: Winter; huts unstaffed
Feb: Winter conditions
Mar: Ski-mountaineering; Panossière and Valsorey huts open for spring from late March
Apr: Spring ski ascents
May: Best month for the ski ascent according to the Panossière hut; huts close end of May
Jun: Huts closed until late June; snowy slopes
Jul: Summer season; seracs and morning wet-snow avalanches in heat waves
Aug: Meitin ridge drier; NW flank often bare ice
Sep: Huts close mid- to late September; icy conditions
Oct: Huts closed; early snow
Nov: Winter conditions
Dec: Winter conditions

Access & Permits

Hut Booking

Cabane FXB Panossière: online form on panossiere.ch, +41 27 771 33 22 or info@panossiere.ch (2027 bookings open 1 January). Cabane de Valsorey: alpsonline.org (hut 400).

Fees

Cabane FXB Panossière (2026): CHF 80 per adult per night with dinner and breakfast; private hut, no SAC discount
Cabane de Valsorey: standard SAC hut rates

Rules

Sleeping-bag liner compulsory at the Panossière hut
Bourg-Saint-Pierre approach: limited parking before Cordonna, where a driving ban begins

Getting There

Fionnay / Le Châble (Val de Bagnes); Bourg-Saint-Pierre (Val d'Entremont)

Geneva (GVA)

Train via Martigny to Le Châble, then TMR bus to Fionnay; summer bus from Fionnay to Cabane Brunet
Train to Orsières, then bus line 12.211 to Bourg-Saint-Pierre
Car: from Martigny to Le Châble and Fionnay, or along the Great St Bernard road to Bourg-Saint-Pierre

Hazards

Glacier
Crevasses
Avalanche
Rockfall
Altitude
Weather
Exposure

Huts & Shelters

Cabane FXB PanossièreHutStaffed
75 beds · 2026: spring 28 March – 30 May, summer 27 June – 26 September
Website of Cabane FXB Panossière
2,645 m
Cabane de ValsoreyHutStaffed
Spring (mid-March to mid-May) and summer (July to mid-September); winter room without cooking facilities. Reopens 19 March 2027
Book Cabane de Valsorey Website of Cabane de Valsorey
3,037 m