L'Evêque
3,716 m
Switzerland
Also known as L'Évêque, Evêque, +2Also known as
L'Évêque · Evêque · ლ’ევეკი · L'Evèque
- Elevation
- 3,716 m
- Prominence
- 642 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 1
AdvisoryReported 7 Oct 2026 · until 6 Mar 2027
The Cabane des Vignettes winter room will be closed from 3 to 6 March 2027 while the hut is prepared for the spring season.
cabane-des-vignettes.ch
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? 8 check notes
- danger scan: Col de Charmotane → Glacier du Mont Collon: straight line 2666 m (limit 200 m)
- danger scan: Col de Charmotane → Glacier du Mont Collon: straight line 2666 m above the last hut/bivouac
- danger scan: Col de Charmotane → Glacier du Mont Collon: sustained 63° > 40° on a straight line
- danger scan: Glacier du Mont Collon → L'Evêque: straight line 1482 m (limit 200 m)
- danger scan: Glacier du Mont Collon → L'Evêque: straight line 1482 m above the last hut/bivouac
- danger scan: Glacier du Mont Collon → L'Evêque: sustained 52° > 40° on a straight line
- last routed vertex 2791 m from the summit (closed by straight)
- 36% straight-line fallback
Sources differ: PD (Camptocamp) · F (SAC guidebooks (Mont Dolent / Grand Combin / Pigne d'Arolla 2014/2016; Valais selection guides 2015/2017), N side and NE ridge)
Glacier approach from Arolla to the Cabane des Vignettes (3,160 m), then via the Col de Charmotane and a long level traverse of the Mont Collon glacier to the north face, a snow saddle at 3,528 m, a 100 m steeper slope (sometimes ice) and an easy ridge to the summit. About 720 m and 3½ hours from the hut.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 11.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +2,285 m
- −541 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,716 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 10h 08m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 7h 49m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From Arolla (about 2,000 m) climb the steep moraine between the Glacier de Pièce and the Tsijiore Nouve glacier to about P. 2571, then go up the middle-left part of the Glacier de Pièce to the Cabane des Vignettes (3,160 m) just east of the Col des Vignettes. All access to the hut is on glacier; the SAC grades it F, 3½ hours. From the hut cross the Col des Vignettes and descend to the Col de Charmotane (3,049 m) on the Mont Collon glacier. Follow the track towards the Col de l'Evêque on a long, almost level traverse beneath the north-east face of the Petit Mont Collon, then turn east to the foot of the snow slope north of the ridge that descends from L'Evêque. Climb the north face to a snow saddle at 3,528 m. The slope steepens for about 100 m, and its lower part can be bare ice late in the season; a few ice screws are useful then. This leads to the rocks between the two summits (main summit 3,716 m and a fore-summit of about 3,705 m), and an easy ridge goes left to the top. Descend the same way, or traverse to the Col de l'Evêque (3,382 m; take the right-hand branch of the glacier) and down the Haut Glacier d'Arolla to the Refuge des Bouquetins and Arolla. The SAC gives 3½ hours from the hut.
Start
Arolla1,972 m
- Train to Sion, PostBus to Les Haudères and on to Arolla (several connections daily).
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arolla → Cabane des Vignettes CAS | 5.8 | 1,179 | 5 | 4h 40m |
| 2 | Cabane des Vignettes CAS → L'Evêque | 5.7 | 1,107 | 540 | 5h 29m |
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Arolla1,972 m
Free parking at the top of the village; PostBus terminus
- Hut: Cabane des Vignettes CAS3,138 m
- Col: Col des Vignettes3,164 m
- Col: Col de Charmotane3,018 m
- Feature: Glacier du Mont Collon3,557 m
Level traverse below the NE face of the Petit Mont Collon
- Summit: L'Evêque3,716 m
Key Passages
- Moraine and Glacier de Pièce to the hut
- Col des Vignettes and Col de Charmotane
- Level traverse of the Mont Collon glacier
- 100 m steeper slope above the 3,528 m saddle (can be ice)
- Easy summit ridge
Equipment
0/9 packedDownloads
Route confidence 61%Overview
A 3,716 m rock and snow summit at the southern end of the Mont Collon ridge above the head of the Val d'Arolla. A glaciated north side gives a PD+ route of about 3½ hours from the Cabane des Vignettes; the south side is a big rock wall.
L'Evêque ('the bishop') stands between the Col de l'Evêque and the Mitre de l'Evêque, effectively the end of Mont Collon's south ridge, entirely within Switzerland. Its south side is a massive face of orange gneiss; the north side carries the Mont Collon glacier. There are two tops separated by a snow saddle: the main summit at 3,716 m and a fore-summit of about 3,705 m.
The mountain sits in the high glacier basin between the Pigne d'Arolla, Mont Collon and the Italian border, on the line of the Chamonix–Zermatt Haute Route. From the Cabane des Vignettes it is one of the most popular objectives after the Pigne d'Arolla: a long, almost level glacier traverse leads to a north face that steepens to a short slope that can be icy, with a small rock ridge at the top. It is also climbed on ski in spring.
For stronger parties, the SW ridge (AD+, 4a) from the Col de l'Evêque is a classic rock route, and the SE face pillars offer harder climbing.
Climbing Notes
You need glacier travel and crevasse-rescue skills and confidence on crampons on a 100 m slope that can be bare ice; carry a few ice screws late in the season. Even the hut approach from Arolla is on glacier, so the whole trip needs a rope team. Fitness for 1,170 m to the hut and 720 m to the summit is enough; a night at 3,160 m helps acclimatise.
Typical itinerary: Arolla to the Cabane des Vignettes (3–4 hours), an early start for the summit (about 3½ hours), back to the hut and down to Arolla, or on to the Refuge des Bouquetins via the Col de l'Evêque. Many parties combine it with the Pigne d'Arolla. Inexperienced climbers should hire an IFMGA guide; guides in Arolla and Evolène run this area regularly.
The Mont Collon glacier basin is wide and featureless in poor visibility; carry a GPS track. The hut is busy during the Haute Route season in April–May and in July–August, so book well ahead.
History
The first ascent was made on 5 August 1867 by Armin Baltzer and Carl Schröder by the north side, roughly today's normal route. The SW ridge was first climbed on 18 August 1894 by Agnès, Edmund and Howard Barrett and R. A. Robertson with the guides Joseph Quinodoz and Aloys Tembl. The first shelter near the Vignettes, built in 1924 at the suggestion of the American mountaineer Stuart Jenkins, held 10 people; the present Cabane des Vignettes dates from 1946 and was renovated in 1973 and 2008.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Good
- May: Possible
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Not advisable
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; hut unstaffed, winter room only (booking compulsory)
- Feb
- Winter; ski ascents for experienced parties
- Mar
- Ski touring; hut staffed from early March (6 March in 2027)
- Apr
- Main ski-touring and Haute Route month
- May
- Spring ski ascents; hut staffed until early May (5 May in 2027)
- Jun
- Hut reopens mid- to late June (17 June in 2026, 19 June in 2027)
- Jul
- Main season
- Aug
- Main season; the slope above the saddle may be icy late in the month
- Sep
- Hut staffed until about 12 September; icier conditions
- Oct
- Hut closed; early snow
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Cabane des Vignettes CAS: online via hut-reservation.org (hut 226, linked from cabane-des-vignettes.ch); phone +41 27 283 13 22, info@cabane-des-vignettes.ch.
- Fees
- Cabane des Vignettes: standard SAC overnight rates; winter room CHF 10 per person, paid in cash into the letterbox at the hut
- Rules
- Reservation compulsory for the Cabane des Vignettes winter room, through the hut's online system
- Getting There
Arolla (Val d'Hérens); Les Haudères and Evolène further down the valley
Sion (SIR) for limited flights; Geneva (GVA)
- Train to Sion, then PostBus to Les Haudères and on to Arolla (several connections daily)
- By car: Sion – Evolène – Les Haudères – Arolla; free parking at the top of Arolla (road end) and a large free car park at the bottom of the village by the ski lifts
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Weather
- Avalanche
Huts & Shelters
1- 3,160 m
Cabane des Vignettes CASHutStaffedBooking required
120 beds · Staffed 17 June – 12 September 2026, 6 March – 5 May 2027 and 19 June – 12 September 2027 (weather permitting); winter room with 12 places, wood stove and gas, open all year
Book Cabane des Vignettes CASWebsite of Cabane des Vignettes CAS