Grandes Jorasses
4,208 m
Italy, France
Also known as Pointe Walker, Гранд Жорас, +3Also known as
Pointe Walker · Гранд Жорас · გრანდ-ჟორასი · Grandes Jorasses / Pointe Walker · Гранд-Жорас
- Elevation
- 4,208 m
- Prominence
- 852 m
- Difficulty
- 6/10
- Alpine climb
- Best Season
- Jul
- Routes
- 1
Road closedReported 23 Jul 2026
Courmayeur ordinance of 23 July 2026 activating civil-protection measures for the accelerating Planpincieux glacier (over 800 mm/day on an estimated 450,000 m³): the Val Ferret road between the Montitta junction and Planpincieux and the Rochefort road closed to all traffic, evacuation of the red zone and curfew in the yellow zone. Access to Planpincieux, the start of the normal route, only via the Montitta alternative road for authorised users, including mountain guides and guests of local accommodation.
aostasera.itAdvisoryReported 14 Aug 2026
Following an improvement in the Planpincieux glacier, a new ordinance reopened the Val Ferret road between Meyen and Planpincieux to vehicles and bicycles only. The Rochefort road stays closed and pedestrians must use the Montitta alternative road.
aostasera.it
Routes
1Approximate line — not for navigation
An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.
Why? 3 check notes
- danger scan: Pointe Whymper → Grandes Jorasses / Pointe Walker: connector line 48 m above the last hut/bivouac
- last routed vertex 48 m from the summit
- waypoints not on the route line: Pointe Whymper (235 m off the trail)
Sources differ: AD- (Trek & Mountain) · AD+ (UKClimbing logbook (South Face)) · engagement IV, equipment P3 (Camptocamp)
The 1865/1868 first-ascent line on the Italian side: a steep, partly equipped path from Planpincieux to the Boccalatte hut (2,803 m), then the crevassed Planpincieux glacier, the Rocher du Reposoir rib (III–IV), the stonefall-prone Whymper couloir and the Rochers Whymper to Pointe Whymper and Pointe Walker. About 2,630 m of ascent over two days.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 6.6 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +2,666 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 4,208 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 9h 48m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 6h 18m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the large car park at Planpincieux (1,580 m) in Val Ferret above Courmayeur, path 21 climbs through the hamlet, past a chapel and through forest, fords two torrents (higher in the afternoon), then climbs easy rock steps with a metal ladder and fixed ropes on the final rock band to the Boccalatte-Piolti hut (2,803 m), perched on a rock island between the Planpincieux and Grandes Jorasses glaciers. CAI Torino gives 3½ hours and about 1,250 m. Leave the hut around 01:00. Easy rocks behind it lead to the Planpincieux glacier at about 3,080 m; climb it close under the Rognon de la Bouteille, then through large crevasses to the foot of the Rocher du Reposoir (about 3,500 m). The first 100 m of the rib are steep: guides' rappel anchors every 25 m mark the crest (IV), while a line slightly right is easier (III/III+). The rib then eases (II–III) and ends in the glacier at about 3,800 m. Cross a short, steep snow slope (40–50°) and traverse the Whymper couloir, which in its lower half is raked by stonefall from mid-morning in warm weather, to a corner that leads onto the Rochers Whymper (3b, bolted belays). Three finishes exist: the rock ridge of the Rochers Whymper to Pointe Whymper (4,184 m; III–III+ with a move of IV, the safest but slowest), then along the ridge to Pointe Walker (4,208 m); the snow couloir right of the ridge (45–55°, often no longer viable in summer); or the traditional traverse of the glacier plateau beneath the hanging seracs to the mixed Walker ridge, which is exposed to icefall. Allow 6–7 hours from the hut. Descend the same way, rappelling the Rochers Whymper corner and the Reposoir (25 m rappels, a 50 m rope is needed); the whole day is typically about 12 hours back to the valley.
Start
Planpincieux1,583 m
- Bus from Courmayeur up Val Ferret to Planpincieux in summer (seasonal service); Courmayeur is served by buses from Aosta and through the Mont Blanc Tunnel from Chamonix.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Planpincieux → Rifugio Gabriele Boccalatte e Mario Piolti | 3.7 | 1,228 | 0 | 4h 34m |
| 2 | Rifugio Gabriele Boccalatte e Mario Piolti → Grandes Jorasses / Pointe Walker | 2.9 | 1,438 | 41 | 5h 14m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Planpincieux1,583 m
Large car park after the last houses; start of path 21
- Hut: Rifugio Gabriele Boccalatte e Mario Piolti2,804 m
- Feature: Rognon de la Bouteille2,967 m
Keep close under it on the Planpincieux glacier
- Crux: Rocher Reposoir3,667 m
Rock rib, III–IV at the start; rappel anchors every 25 m
- Feature: Rocher Whymper3,785 m
Reached by traversing the Whymper couloir (stonefall)
- Shoulder: Pointe Whymper4,181 m
not on route line
- Summit: Grandes Jorasses / Pointe Walker4,208 m
Key Passages
- Ladder and fixed ropes below the Boccalatte hut
- Crevassed Planpincieux glacier below the Rognon de la Bouteille
- Rocher du Reposoir (III–IV)
- Whymper couloir traverse (stonefall)
- Rochers Whymper or serac traverse to the summit ridge
- Corniced ridge between Pointe Whymper and Pointe Walker
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
A 4,208 m granite ridge on the French–Italian border in the Mont Blanc massif, famous for its 1,200 m north face. Its highest summit, Pointe Walker, is reached from Val Ferret by a long, serious normal route mixing glacier, III–IV rock and serac-threatened snow.
The Grandes Jorasses is a long crest of six summits above 3,996 m between the Col des Grandes Jorasses and the Col des Hirondelles, forming the frontier between Haute-Savoie and the Aosta Valley. To the north, above the Leschaux glacier, its 1,200 m north face is one of the three great north faces of the Alps, with the Walker Spur and Croz Spur as its classic lines. To the south, steep glaciers and rock ribs fall towards Val Ferret and Courmayeur.
The normal route climbs this south side from Planpincieux. It is not a technical showpiece, but it is long, committing and exposed to objective danger: crevasses on the Planpincieux glacier, stonefall in the Whymper couloir and the hanging seracs below the summit. Courmayeur guides describe it as a route for competent climbers rather than an entry-level 4,000er, and it sees far fewer ascents than Mont Blanc.
The two highest points, Pointe Walker (4,208 m) and Pointe Whymper (4,184 m), are a short ridge apart; most parties visit both. The summit view takes in the whole Mont Blanc range. Glacier retreat and serac instability have made the route more variable in recent years: the snow couloir finish is often no longer viable in summer, and the area below the Whymper serac has been closed by the authorities in high-risk periods.
Climbing Notes
This is a route for experienced alpinists: you need to climb III–IV rock in crampons, move fast on 45–55° snow and ice, manage crevassed glaciers and abseil efficiently, all over a 12-hour summit day with about 1,400 m of ascent from the hut and 2,600 m of descent to the valley. Good acclimatisation (a previous night or two above 3,500 m) helps. Many parties hire an IFMGA guide from Courmayeur; guide offices run it as a two-day trip from June to September.
Typical itinerary: day 1, Planpincieux to the Boccalatte hut (3½ hours, 1,250 m); day 2, leave around 01:00, climb the Reposoir in the dark so as to cross the Whymper couloir at first light, summit by mid-morning and descend the same way. Choose the Rochers Whymper finish when the serac traverse looks threatening. Check before going whether the hut is staffed, whether any closure is in force for the Whymper serac, and whether the Val Ferret road to Planpincieux is open; the Fondazione Montagna Sicura and the Comune di Courmayeur publish current information.
History
Edward Whymper, with Christian Almer, Michel Croz and Franz Biner, climbed the lower western summit, now Pointe Whymper, on 24 June 1865, by the line of today's normal route; he was looking for a viewpoint over the Aiguille Verte. The highest point, Pointe Walker, was first climbed on 30 June 1868 by Horace Walker with Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and the Courmayeur guide Julien Grange. The Walker Spur on the north face was first climbed in 1938 by Riccardo Cassin, Gino Esposito and Ugo Tizzoni. Sylvain Saudan made the first ski descent on 10 April 1971. The first wooden hut on the south side was built in 1881; it was renovated in 1944 and 1984 and is named after the Turin climbers Gabriele Boccalatte and Mario Piolti, who died on the Aiguille de Triolet in 1938.
Season
Best Jul- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Possible
- June: Good
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Good
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; hut winter room only; serious winter ascent
- Feb
- Winter
- Mar
- Steep ski-mountaineering descents for experts only
- Apr
- Ski-mountaineering for experts; avalanche risk
- May
- Snow-covered approach; hut usually unstaffed
- Jun
- Good snow cover on the glacier and couloirs; hut opens in June
- Jul
- Main season; very early starts essential for the Whymper couloir
- Aug
- Drier conditions increase stonefall; check serac and road closures
- Sep
- Often stable weather; more bare ice and rock
- Oct
- Hut open some weekends; short days and early snow
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Book the Boccalatte-Piolti hut (24 places, CAI Torino) directly by phone or email via the hut contacts listed by CAI Torino; it is staffed in summer and on some autumn weekends, with an emergency winter room otherwise.
- Fees
- Hut overnight with half board at the Boccalatte hut; discounts for alpine club members
- Rules
- The Comune di Courmayeur can ban access to the hut path and the area below the Whymper serac by ordinance when collapse risk is high (as in September 2019); check the municipality's notice board before setting out
- The Val Ferret road between the Montitta junction and Planpincieux, and the Rochefort road, can be closed under civil-protection scenarios for the Planpincieux glacier
- Monitoring stakes placed on the hanging serac do not mark the route
- Getting There
Courmayeur
Geneva (GVA) via the Mont Blanc Tunnel; Turin (TRN)
- Car: Courmayeur, then the Val Ferret road to Planpincieux and the large car park beyond the last houses (subject to glacier-risk closures)
- Bus: seasonal bus from Courmayeur up Val Ferret; buses to Courmayeur from Aosta and from Chamonix through the Mont Blanc Tunnel
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Altitude
- Avalanche
- Exposure
- Cornices
- Weather
Huts & Shelters
1- 2,803 m
Rifugio Gabriele Boccalatte e Mario PioltiHutStaffedBooking required
24 beds · Staffed in summer (typically mid-June to mid-September) and on some weekends into October and early November in 2026; emergency winter room without stove or pans