Aiguille de Charlanon - Left SSE spur

A route with a mountain feel, requiring traditional protection and some route finding skills

Approach # 50mins

From the Planpraz telecabin station, follow the path towards Lac Cornu until it is passes directly underneath the foot of the Aiguille de Charlanon at a point where there are two obvious spurs. The route takes the left hand one and starts 10m to the left of its lowest point, (bolts visible).

Route

The route mostly follows the crest of the spur L#1 | 5c (bolts) L#2 | Section of 5b (pegs) then walking L#3 | 5a (pitons). L#4 | Move of 4c and then walking (passing a first belay option) L#5 | Two steps at 4b L#6 | A 5b crack to the right of the crest. Make a belay at the fooy of the crack to avoid rope drag. (1 peg and a sling around a spike). L#7 | 5a Pleasant climbing, (continue until the abseil point.)

20m abseil to reach a notch.

L#8 | 4c Crack/ramp (pegs) L#9-10 | Climb down for 4m to the left then back up for 10m, 4c, belay possible. The climb a slab with cracks for 10m, 5c.

Reach the summit by following, more or less, the crest. Path and easy rocks.

Descent

From the summit the easiest way down is to go to the Brevent, though this means not leaving the sacs at the foot of the route. Alternatively, from the summit cairn of the Aig du Charlanon, go NW a few metres then descend by a faint path on the right, some cairns and red marks to a little col, (some exposed down climbing right at the end.) Go straight across the col and continue along the faint path (cairns,red marks and even some black pipes,) which basically follows the line of the ridge descending from the Aig to the col du Lac Cornu. Just before the col the faint path turns to the right to descend directly to the Lac Cornu path, 1hr. Follow the Lac Cornu path back to Planpraz (50mins.)
A third option is to go down the gully to the right, (looking up) of the éperon SSE de droite. You need to abseil or down climb, (3) from a col near the summit.

Not very sustained. The belays and crux sections have bolts or pegs. Traditional protection needed elsewhere. Absence of bolts means you need to take care to find the best line.