Overview
West Face Alpenglow
Grand Bec's Glaciated North-East Face
NE Face from La Motte
Grand Bec (3398m) North Face
North Face:Clouds rolling in
Famous Neighbours.. It is one of the few mountains in the Vanoise Range that is visible from the Tignes, La Plagne and La Motte areas.
More important:It is a mountain with one of the
most diverse and impressive faces of the Vanoise Range. It is…..
Pointe du Grand Bec!
Pointe du Grand Bec (or more often just called Le Grand Bec) is a
fine shaped mountain located in the
Vanoise Range, which is part of the
French Alps. It is a mountain of many views: The
North Flank is heavy glaciated whilst the West and South faces consist of
(near) vertical walls that are waiting to get challenged by experienced climbers. The variety of faces makes it that this mountain offers a variety of climbs. The
North Flank is a perfect destination for
ski- ascents, while the
North-West ridge and South Face offer more
technical climbs to the summit.
Grand Bec is with its
3398m of height one of the
major peaks in the Vanoise Range. It shares this title together with its higher neighbours like
La Grande Casse (3854m) and
La Grande Motte (3656m). The normal Route via the North Flank is graded
PD- for normal ascents and
3.2 for ski ascents. It is a nice and straightforward climb where you should only be aware of
big crevasses that are present on the North Flanks
Troquairou glacier.
Summit views are
superb with amazing views of the nearby
Grande Casse (3854m),
Mont Pourri(3779m) and
Bellecote (3410m) massifs towards the North and North-West. Towards the East other major mountains like
Aiguille du Peclet(3570m) and
Albaron di Savoia are in sight. Last but not least; views towards the west offers great views over the French lowlands. To conclude with:
Le Grand Bec is a fine peak that has something to offer for everyone!
Pointe du Grand Bec (3398m) with its North-NorthWest Face |
Route 1: North Flank (Normal Route)
Summit Ridge
Grand Bec Summit
Grand Bec summitview
Descent to Cotes Vertes
Descent on Cotes Vertes
To Plan des Gouilles
The route starts at the
Refuge du plan du Bois (1475m).(see How to get there section) From here a marked trail leads to the
Plan des Gouille mountain Hut at an altitude of 2350m. The trail is still very well visible at this point and leads further upward to
Cotes Vertes at 2590m. At this point the trail gets more difficult. You will find your way up to the
Col de la Becquetta at 2828m.
In this part some snow may already be present, even in the summer months. After reaching the coll it is advised to use crampons since the large
Troquairou glacier needs to be crossed. The crossing of the glacier is fairly easy in most parts. It involves some steeper parts up to 35° and you have to watch out for big crevasses which are present on the way up. To minimise the change of coming along these big crevasses it is advised to acent via the
right side of the glacier.
Ascending on the glacier will lead you all the way up to the summit of La Grand Bec at an altitude that just fails 2 meters of the 3400 meter barrier. Descending is the same way back. This tour is also
very recommended as ski-tour. From the summit you can descend all the way down towards
Laisonnay or Chamagny Haut (of course depending of current snow conditions)
Difficulty: PD-
Difficulty Ski: 3.2
Map: IGN 3534OT
Height gain: 1918m
Ascent time: 5 hours
Route 2: North West ridge.
North-West Ridge at left
Clear view of the North-West Ridge
Another option for a route is via the
North-West ridge. This route is lesser climbed than the Normal Route but is also
more challenging. The route starts in
Chamberanger (La Rochette) at an altitude of 1490m. A trail leads up to
'Plan Fournier' at 1910m. From here a marked trail leads on to the
Grand Bec mountain Hut at 2410m.
From here the route goes along to the
Culaz glacier and up via the
North-West ridge to the summit of Grand Bec. This route involves steep parts of more than
50° (up to 70 vertical meters) and parts of
less than 50° (just over a 100 vertical meters)
Difficulty: AD Map: IGN 3534OT
Difficulty Ski: 5.3 Height gain: 1933m
How to get There
For the North-West ridge Route:
Alberville -> Moutiers -> Direction Pralognan -> Planay -> Chambéranger -> La rochette 1490
For the North Face (Normal) Route:
Alberville --> Moutiers > Bozel > Champagny en Vanoise > Champagny-le-Haut --> Le Bois 1475
For ANOTHER map guiding the above Routes follow THIS LINK
ROUTE MAP Camping/Hotel
North Face
Camping:
Camping Canada
Hotel:
Multiple Hotels in and around ChampagnyExternal Links: Transport
West Face
North-East Face
South-West Face
Nearby Airports
• Lyon St Exupéry -
Tel. 00 33 (4) 72 22 72 21 (175km)
• Geneva Cointrin -
Tel. 00 41 22 717 71 11 (140km)
• Chambery -
Tel. 00 33 (4) 79 54 49 54 (100km).
Bus service
Airport - Moutiers :
www.Altibus.com tel. +33 4 79 68 32 96
Access to Champagny from Moutiers:
Daily service Moutiers Train Station - Champagny :
Transavoie -
Tel. + 33 4 79 68 32 96 -
www.Altibus.com
Bus, minibuses, taxis at Champagny en V.: M. André DUNAND
Tel: 00 33 (4) 79 55 05 28 / mob. 06 11 40 52 53
Rail
SNCF: Hours and reservations:
www.sncf.com
Closest station:
Moutiers-Salins (18 km)
• Eurostar
London Moutiers -
www.eurostar.com
• Thalys
Amsterdam/Brussels-Moutiers -
www.thalys.com
External Links: Tourism
Official site Champagny
Official site Vanoise
WEATHER:
Weather Forecast Champagny Area