Brèche de la Meije
There is a high mountain pass situated in the Dauphiné Alps in Savoie in southeastern area of France. It is found in the group of mountains of Écrins in the Écrins National Park. The mountain pass is just a simple climb and a good starting course. The name is Breche de la Meije!
The climb from the bivouac to the foot of the glacier of Etançons takes about 2 and a half hours to accomplish. In the same manner, it takes about 1 hour and 25 minutes to climb from the foot of the glacier to the summit of the mountain pass. La Meije, 3983m high is the second-highest mountain of the massif.
There are two ways to approach the Refuge du Promontoire. The fastest way is to move from La Grave, ride the lift and hike. Then climb over the rising and falling yet complex Breche de la Meije. This climb is big climb in itself and as such requires that the route be in a better shape, with enough snow cover, as there is danger from rockfall.
The approach from La Bétarde, a small village to the south is slow, but certain. This really is no longer on an approaching day but does take additional travel time, either at the front end or at the end of the climb, as Bétarde is far from the bottom of their descent route, so a bus ride is needed either before or after our climb. But the climb is well worth the effort.
Difficulty
This is a big mountain route. The first ascent, back in 1877, was a tour de force, and ahead of its time. The climbing is changes, it is a bit hard sometimes and becomes easy most times. It is one of those routes that require a full range of mountain skills and an ability to perform them efficiently and without error.
The technical climbing is no harder than about 5.7m (on the Cheval Rouge) but you climb in mountain boots. There is some rising and falling ice on the north side of the Dent Zsigmondy, but these sections are not very long. The major issue is your ability to move very fast, on different and difficult terrain. Usually, it takes roughly around 10 hours to complete the climb!
Requirements
You need a very strong rock climbing skills, a high level of fitness and ability to move fast and safely on exposed terrain.
Combinations
There are many other wonderful climbs in the Écrins massif although there are not nice combination options from either the Refuge du Promontoire or the Refuge de l’Aigle. However, the Pic Oriental of the Meije is a beautiful and an easier climb from the refuge de l’Aigle. It is worth spending lots of time in this area, exploring its many hidden gems.
