Climbing in the Écrins, 6 days to the Dome de Neige (4015m) summit

Climb in the Écrins with AEGM-certified Isra for a 6-day journey to the spectacular summit of Dome de Neige.

Private

Alps

6 Days

Jul - Sep

High

Intermediate

Highlights

Conquer the magnificent Dome de Neige at 4015m
Surrounded by 9 national parks, the climb presents ultimate mountain views
Customise your own climb to visit some of the wilder regions of the range

Description

The magnificent Écrins Massif lies in the southern Alps in the French province of Hautes-Alps.

The massif is home to 9 wonderful national parks in France. And with a lack of skiing lifts, we’ll enjoy one of the wildest and most remote sections of the Alps.

During the action-packed 6 days, we can customise the areas that you would like to explore. There are dozens of wild valleys and glaciers enveloped by piercing needles. It all makes for a stunning alpine environment.

Each day presents rewarding challenges as we near the summit of Dome de Neige, at 4015m. Our average climbing time of 3 hours gradually increases during the week, until our final push on the sixth day takes us 8-10 hours.

Get in touch now to reserve your place on the incredible Écrins Massif and conquer the Dome de Neige during an action-packed 6-day trip.

Price includes

Guiding fee

Itinerary

Day 1: Approaching the Soreiller Refuge (2,719m)

At noon we begin with a steep approach to the refuge of Soreiller. We end the day practically at the base of the needle Dibona.

Day 2: Normal route to Needle Dibona (3,131m)

We ‘ll head towards the normal route of the needle (possibility on more technical routes). We have to go around the Dibona between stones and blocks before we arrive at the base. From there we have a few climbs to the summit. We will descend the same route, but by making two rappels and a de-escalation to the base. We return the same way to the shelter, before going down the path. We’ll take the car and drive to the town of La Grave, where we spend the night.

Day 3: North face of the Pic de la Grave (3,667m)

Today we change scenery and go to La Grave, at the foot of the Pic de la Meije. We’ll take advantage of the few cable cars that are in Écrins to climb higher. There are several options, one of them, without much difficulty, is the north face of the Pic de la Grave. This is a snow slope that links to a ridge that rises to the top. We can choose several activities to do when we are in the area.

Day 4: Refuge des Écrins approach (3,161m)

We will go to the east side of the massif. We will go up by car to the car park at Pré Madame Carle where we will begin the approach to the refuge des Écrins (3,161m). During the ascent we pass near the glacier tongue of Glacier Blanc and the refuge of the same name. We continue going up until entering the glacier and end up at the shelter, located in one of the places to view the Écrins.

Day 5: To Roche Faurio (3,730m)

We get up early and take a short descent to the Glacier Blanc where we enter the glacier and hike over snow. At first, the plain area to the base of Roche Faurio allows us to contemplate the dimensions of this circus. Once here we will encounter a 500-meter steep terrain and we will climb the last section of rock.

Day 6: Dôme de Neige des Écrins (4,015m)

The last day presents our greatest challenge. We’ll have to cross the Blanc glacier to the base of the north face of Barre. We will ascend to the top of the Dôme de Neige des Écrins. From here we will have unforgettable views of Écrins, and even of the Vanoise, Mont Blanc, and Monte Rosa.

About the guide

Isra

Mountain Guide

Born in Sax, a town in the province of Alicante, started climbing with 8 years, thanks to my parents who were the ones who started me in this sport.

With 19 years I decided to start with courses guide, starting with the mountain sports technician, which I studied in 2005 at the High Mountain School of Benasque. I started spending summers working as a guide in Asturias (Picos de Europa) and winters on the ski resorts of Valle de Tena, Pyrenees. It was here where I learned to ski and began to discover the winter mountain, the other side of what was used.

After spending a few years living in the "North" and meet the Alpine side of the mountain, I decided to start with what I really like, mountaineering, so I started with the course of sports Technical High Mountain. This gave me the motivation to come to the Alps where I've been more than 6 years living and enjoying the endless possibilities for this place. I spend half of the year in Chamonix, and half in Briançon, in the Ecrins massif.

Languages

French | English

Certificates

AEGM | SNGM | UIAGM

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What people are saying about Explore-Share

Man

Climbing with guide Guillaume was absolutely a highlight of my 2-week Europe vacation. Originally, we were planning on climbing in the Calanques, but the park was closed due to wind and fire danger. Guillaume chose another amazing location (Pic de Bretagne) based on my climbing abilities and preferences and kindly offered train station pick-up and hotel drop off, which I appreciated very much. The multi-pitch route we did was not only fun but also the right amount of challenge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The communication from the team (Gauthier) was prompt and clear—highly recommend!

Maxine

Luis Silva was a great climbing guide and belayer! He taught me how to do moves that were difficult and encouraged me to try routes that were challenging for me! Because of his encouragement, I managed to complete these routes! I really enjoyed the climbs and completed 8 routes in the Sesimbra/Azoia area. The weather was perfect, no direct sun and cool enough to enjoy the climbs. Explore-Share made booking an outdoor climbing experience in Lisbon extremely easy. Luis, our guide, was fantastic, and the platform’s organization was flawless.

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