On the evening of the 8th Rosie and I drove to Pralognan De La Vanoise. This allowed us an early start the next day to climb the Aiguille De La Vanoise. The Aiguille is located next to the Refuge Col De La Vanoise which would make an ideal place to stay the night before doing the route. Other great mountains in this area climbed from the hut include the classic Grande Casse.
We traversed the Aiguille from the east to west. A small rack is required. The route is AD. It is worth bringing a couple of old snap gates and some abseil tat if you would prefer to abseil the down climbing at the end of the ridge.
The area is the most beautiful I have visited this season. Once past the ski lifts (this takes about 30 minutes) the area is unspoilt and we saw masses of wild flowers (including Edelweiss) and animals. Rosie loved the ‘baby’ Marmottes in particular.
Details of the route can be found in Le Topo de la Vanoise by Philippe Deslandes and James Merel or also on the website camptocamp.
