Skiing and climbing photos – galleries from adventures and expeditions

We have read about this spectacular needle, Aiguille Dibona in Le Massif des Ecrins - we want to climb it! The walk up to Refuge Soreiller starts in Les Etages.

It starts raining and we walk for 2 hours in complete white-out. So no sign of the legendary rock needle yet.

We take 5 o'clock breakfast and get to see Aiguille Dibona for the first time. It still looks very cold and wet outside though, so we go and snooze for another hour in the hut...

Then, at 6.30am we attack! The route is called Visit Obligatoire, 400m, 6a+. Wolfgang on the first pitch; a test piece for the remaining 12 pitches.

After two pitches of technical slabs with cold fingers, the sun hits the south face of Aiguille Dibona.

Me on the 4th pitch that traverses a bit, then passes a small roof.

Wolfgang coming up that same roof.

Now it is time for the notorious "cannelures" (water runnels). It demands a lot of technical footwork when the only holds for the hands are big, vertical slopers. Luckily the friction is exceptional.

Higher up, on the top part of the aiguille we encounter a steep orange wall. Me on the 8th pitch.

Pitch 9th. By now we are "cannelure" masters!

Pitch 12, last steep climbing. Me half inside the off-widt, almost on the summit ridge.

The narrow summit ridge actually stretches out from the south to the north. I'm still standing on the south peak...

...and Wolfgang on the north peak where "Visit Obligatoire" ends.

From here we do two short rappels before we can traverse on small ledges leading to the walk-off trail on the west side of Aig du Dibona.

We are happy with our performance and look smiling back up at the peak we climbed and out over Massif des Ecrins.

Back at the hut we get a good over view of "Visit Obligatoire".

And on the way back to the car we get to see this magnificently twisted peak in its full beauty. Probably the most perfect aiguille (needle) we have ever seen.

/Eva

More reading on the blog about Aiguille Dibona.

See alpine rock climbing in Chamonix for more climbs.