With not too much time available for me for the summer vacation of 2023, I decided to join an organized trip to Ailefroide. The Amsterdam region of the Dutch mountain sports association, NKBV, spends one week every summer in a versatile outdoor location. This year they chose Ailefroide, a place where people go to do mountaineering, multi pitch climbing, trad climbing, bouldering and sport climbing. The group ended up being about 30 people with similar interests.
We were there at the end of July and the weather was very hot, not like usual. But because of the elevation the nights were fairly cool and picking the right time of day resulted in enough climbing opportunities. I stayed for just under two weeks and really wasn’t done with exploring the area. What I was done with, however, was how busy it was. The area is very popular, resulting in waiting in line for starting a climb and an overflowing town. When I was walking around in the town it felt similar to being in a popular ski resort.
With all the negatives out of the way, I would also say that I had a great time there. I had my very first experiences climbing on granite. I’ve never done so many multi pitches in one vacation and I had a great time with the group I was there with.
Traveling to Ailefroide
The tiny town of Ailefroide is situated in National Park Ecrins, in a valley high up in the mountains. Only a narrow road leads up to the town. Most people drive here with their own transportation. From L’Argentière-la-Bessée you have a steep climb to get to this town. However, it is possible to reach the town by public transportation. And since the town is such an outdoor sport hub, there’s no need to go back down once you arrive. In summer there’s a bus (line 543) leaving from the L’Argentière train station and going all the way to Pré de Mme Carle and passing through Ailefroide (linked below).
Where to stay
In Ailefroide you can find a very large campground (linked below), I believe with more than 1000 sites. Still it’s important to have a reservation for the busy months. The area is so popular in recent years that it might happen that the campground completely fills up. This might also have something to do with the low price you pay per night. The facilities on the campground are not in balance with the amount of people staying, so waiting in line for a toilet or shower is not unheard of.
Other options for staying in Ailefroide are the hotels and apartments in town. The trails to the crags all start from the town in all different directions. First crags can be reached within 15 minutes, some take up to an hour. But most are in the 30 minute range.
Another option is staying in the lower town of Vallouise. Just keep in mind that parking in Ailefroide is very difficult if you’re just visiting, but you do have the option to take the bus up.
Topo Guides
At the time of writing the only available climbing guide is called Briançon Climbs. I bought it in the shop L’écrin sports Ailefroide. Besides the Briançon Climbs guide they sell a lot of gear, maps and other books in the shop. The Escalade autour d’Ailefroide topo guide (linked below) is popular in use, but not for sale anymore. However the shop does rent the topo out. If I remember correctly the Briançon Climbs topo isn’t fully complete, the Escalade autour d’Ailefroide topo contains more routes. Both guides contain single and multi pitch climbs.
Briançon Climbs guide covers a large area, the east side of the Hautes Alpes. Some of the largest areas in this guide are: Briançon, Vallée de la Guisane, Vallouise, Guillestre and Queyras. The book is written in French and contains English translations in most places. Most crags in the books are displayed in pictures, but some are drawings. I’ve experienced some mistakes in the guide, and some areas are really hard to read.
Climbing
For me it was the first time climbing on granite. What a great experience that was! Most single pitch crags are smooth slabs. It took me some time to get used to having pretty much no hand holds and trusting my feet to stay put on the dimples of the rock. After a few days of exploring the single pitch areas I felt I was ready to do what this area is designed for, multi pitching. The variety of routes is amazing. From short and easy to long and hard and everything in between.
I really enjoyed climbing Cascades Blues, an 8 pitch long route with a difficulty of 6a. The best part about this climb is that halfway during the climb you have to cross the waterfall that is running across the crag.
If you’re not used to slab and/or granite climbing you might be disappointed by what grade you’re able to climb. I’ve been in some 4’s and 5a’s, with bolts sometimes too far apart for my liking, feeling very scared. But as time went on I did get more comfortable and I slowly but surely came closer to my regular climbing grade.
Via ferrata
In the area a few via ferrata are installed (linked below). I’ve done one of them, called Via Ferrata des Gorges d’Ailefroide. A beautiful climb above a strong running river. The climb is easy to find and gradually gets more difficult, with a few escapes along the way. I really enjoyed the view along the route.
Because I was there in the middle of the summer vacation and the area is so popular, it was very busy. Resulting in a lot of waiting for people to pass through cruxes. Which really takes away a bit of its beauty.
Gear
This area has been in use for so long, and so many different people have been developing the routes here that it seems to be a total mish mash of hardware placement. So you’ll find that the length of routes varies a lot, but most single pitch routes can be done with a 70 meter rope. Anchors vary wildly as does the distance between bolts.
Rappelling after a multi pitch often needs a full 50 meters, so climbing with a double 50 meter rope is advised. Also it can be really hard to find the rappelling points, which has resulted in added points by previous climbers. Because of the risk of mistakes in this area it’s even more important that you have knots at the end of your rope.
Wearing a helmet is something you always should do anyways, but here it’s even more important. With so many people climbing everywhere. You never know if rocks will come falling down.
I do know that this area has some trad routes, so if you have the gear, bring it.
Climbing partner
With so many people here I think it should be very doable to find a climbing partner. However, the type of climbing that is done here predominantly is a bit more risky. I’m not sure if I’d be happy to find a multi-pitch partner without any experience of climbing together. But I think if you chat with some people who are hanging out at one of the cafes or restaurants, you’ll be able to find somebody to team up with.
What else to do
As I said in the beginning, this is an outdoor sports hub. There are so many different things you can do here. I’ve enjoyed some hiking with beautiful views along the way. I hiked from the campground to the Sélé hut (Refuge du Sélé). With a 1000 meters in height difference it was tough but very rewarding and I had magnificent views along the way.
The area has quite a few more huts in this area and are often used by mountaineers as a starting point of alpine climbing trips. With glaciers, peaks and ridges there is enough interesting terrain to conquer. I’m not experienced in this field of climbing at all, so I can’t tell you anything more than that the opportunities are here.
In the valley, where the little town of Ailefroide is situated, a lot of big boulders are scattered around. So there is enough opportunity to enjoy some bouldering. If I remember correctly the outdoor shop does rent out crash pads.
The last thing that I can think of to do here is paragliding. Again, I don’t have any experience. But on many mornings a group came flying down into the valley. I guess they were climbing up the day before, slept on top and came flying down again.
Websites
- National Park Ecrins – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89crins_National_Park
- Bus L’Argentière-Pré de Mme Carle – https://zou.maregionsud.fr/en/bus-et-navette-vers-puy-saint-vincent-stations-du-pelvoux-vallouise/
- Campground Ailefroide – https://ailefroide.fr/camping/
- Shop L’écrin sports Ailefroide – https://maps.app.goo.gl/ENWYnGfPJKJb4RvCA
- Escalade autour d’Ailefroide – https://www.auvieuxcampeur.fr/escalade-autour-d-ailefroide.html
- Via Ferrata – https://www.paysdesecrins.com/les-via-ferrata-du-pays-des-ecrins-ete
Moves by Nature 
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