Les Drus - Face Ouest

Whenever you first come in the Chamonix valley, one particular always steals the show: les Drus, especially seen from the village of les Praz. Its west face is an incredible sheet of vertical granite leading to the pointiest of summits, towering more than 2,500m over the valley floor. The other crazy thing about the face is how new it is: since the fall of the Bonatti pillar in 2003, many routes were completely erased and others badly damaged.

This image showcases the new routes on the west face, as well as the ones that are still standing and have been climbed since the rockfall (it's a short list), as well as a few keys routes of the Nant Blanc face of Aiguille Verte.

Route List

1: Arête des Grands Montets, D 4c, Dalloz, Lagarde, Ségogne, 1925

2: Voie Gugliermina, TD X, Canzio, Fortuna, Gugliermina, Lampugnani, 1904

3: Cascades du col du Nant Blanc, TD+ WI4 X, Parkin, 2009

4: Violente Illusion, TD+ WI4 X, Autheman, Marsigny, 1991

5: Voie Charlet-Platonov, TD- WI2 4c M2 X/5.5 E4, Charlet, Platonov, 1935/Boivin, 1989

6: Voie Brown-Patey, ED- WI5 6a, Brown, Patey, 1963

7: There Goes the Neighborhood, ED WI6 5c A3, Backes, Twight, 1993

8: Sans Nom, Sans Âme, ED- WI5 6a A2, Parkin, 1994

9: Voie Charlet-Devouassoux, TD WI4, Charlet, Devouassoux, 1928

10: Voie des Guides, ED+ M8+, Feuillerade, Jager, Paris, Seigneur, 1967

11: Voie Allain-Leininger, TD+ 5c, Allain, Leininger, 1935

12: Voie Lafaille (sortie Avrisani-Batoux), ED+ M7 A5, Lafaille, 2001

13: Américaine Directe (sortie face nord), ED- 6c, Hemming, Robbins, 1962

14: BASE, ED+ M8+ 7a, Auvaro, Billon, Noguere, Ratel, 2021

15: Voie des Papas, ED+ 6b A3, Dumas, Fredriksen, 2007

16: Variante Korra-Sim, ED+ 6b A3, Pesce, Sim, 2021

17: Variante Diaz-Sullivan, ED+ 6b A3, Diaz, Sullivan, 2012

Updates

Oct 11, 2022: Graphic design update

May 3, 2024: Graphic design update