To reach the summits… or to approach them. To climb an icefall or to move on a glacier with crampons. To climb a vertiginous ridge or to go rock climbing on less steep walls.
Mountaineering is more accessible than it seems, provided that safety, supervision, physical condition and motivation are present! Dare to try it, try to live the dream of all mountaineers: to make a place for yourself, for the duration of a race, in an environment that is sometimes inhospitable but so magnificent!
What exactly is mountaineering?
Since it involves practicing high mountains, climbing peaks, traveling across glaciers, mountaineering brings together different practices: glacier hiking, rock climbing, ice climbing, etc.
Mountaineering was born one beautiful summer evening in August 1766., when Messrs. Balmat and Paccard reached the summit of the Montblanc. Since then, men have been challenging the summits.
Oisans is part of the history of mountaineering, with a capital A. The conquest of peak of La Meije by Pierre Gaspard (called "Gaspard de la Meije ") was a turning point in mountaineering in Europe. Today, there is no new conquest except that of happiness, of the childlike joy of being in the mountains.
With La Bérarde, " Mecca of mountaineering ", Oisans is still a wild paradise.
The vertical Oisans
Oisans, a gigantic pile of stones? Of course, and this is to the delight of mountaineers who very quickly understood the enormous potential of these mountains, from the tapered granite of the Dibona to the aerial ridges. A wild universe that seems to have escaped, as if by miracle, the ravages of progress.
Wild, secret, mysterious, Oisans, with its powerful rocky framework, supports a third of the glaciers of the French Alps. It remains one of the last wild massifs, one of the least explored, kingdom before 1850 of chamois hunters, peasants and crystal hunters. Then very quickly, from 1870, visionaries such as Whymper and Coolidge are interested in la Meije. Their attempts, however, like those of their predecessors, ended in failure. The goddess of Oisans is a devious goddess who is contemplated from below.
A wild paradise, made for the happiness of men, flowers and animals. We climb peaks while becoming mountaineers, brothers of the rock, the snow and the winds. Little by little, our heart beats to the rhythm of the earth and its life around the sun."
Mountaineering in Oisans
The Barre des Ecrins, the Rake, the Bans, the Muzelle but also (and above all) la Meije, are legendary names in the world of mountaineering.
The aim here is not to list everything that can be done in Oisans, an impossible mission given the vastness of the programme, but to arouse the curiosity of visitors tempted by the vertical world.
Even if the practice is not within the reach of every hiker, the atmosphere, the landscapes, the effort provided can be experienced thanks to a choice of suitable route.
Mountain huts high altitude generally managed by the French Alpine Club, such as the Promontory refuge or Pavé mountain hut, offer a beautiful day of walking with some technical passages which are quite manageable with a guide.
The rise of Standard Peak, summit of the Grandes Rousses massif, is accessible after a beautiful and long crossing of the glacier in crampons, if an expert eye guides you to avoid the crevasses. Even the famous Dibona needle is accessible to beginners (accompanied by a mountain guide, of course)!
Dare to experience it, try to live the dream of every mountaineer: to make a place for yourself, for the duration of a race, in an impressive environment, sometimes inhospitable but so grandiose!
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