In the summer of 2022, the hottest summer since I came to France. I was visiting the Écrins National Park (Le massif des Écrins), one of the 10 national parks in France.
The Écrins (Le massif des Écrins), with its glaciers and two peaks over 4,000 meters high, is a large mountain range in the French Alps, located in the Hautes-Alpes and Isère.
The Écrins (Le massif des Écrins) is not as popular as Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Chamonix) and has a more local feel, but there are still many climbing spots.
This summer, we decided to climb Aiguille Dibona (3131m) in Haute vallée du Vénéon (Vénéon Valley), a multi-pitch climbing.
Where is the Haute vallée du Vénéon?
Haute vallée du Vénéon is a 90-minute drive southeast of Grenoble.
How do I get to the "Aiguille Dibona (3131m) climbing area"?
From the Aiguille Dibona trailhead in the Haute vallée du Vénéon (Vénéon Valley), you climb 1300m to the Refuge Soreiller (2719m), at the foot of Aiguille Dibona (3131m).
It takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach the Refuge Soreiller (2719m). Climbing areas are located on the south, west, and east faces of Aiguille Dibona (3131m).
This is how Visite Obligatoire (TD 6a+>6a 370m), which we climbed this time, looks like when viewed from Refuge Soreiller.
⛰ Aiguille Dibona (3131m)
✅ Visite Obligatoire
Cotations (camptocamp) : TD 6a+>6a
Cotations (Topo) : TD 6b>6a+
Altitude : 2719 m / 3131 m
Dénivelé des difficultés : 370 m
Type de rocher : granit
Type de voie : grande voie
We stayed at Refuge Soreiller the day before the climb and went up the next morning. The south face of Visite Obligatoire (TD 6a+>6a 370m) is only 5 minutes away from Refuge Soreiller.
4 people acting together :
Team 1: 👱🏻♂️🇮🇹 And & 🐢🇯🇵
Team 2: 👱🏻♂️🇮🇹 Sim & 👱🏻♂️🇮🇹 Gio
8:00 Climbing Start (Visite Obligatoire)
16:00 Descent begins
Packing at Refuge Soreiller
18:00 Start descent from Refuge Soreiller
20:00 Parking lot
Personal impressions of climbing "Visite Obligatoire (TD 6a+>6a 370m)" :
It was the morning of the climb. The day started with clear skies around Aiguille Dibona in the Éclat massif, with a thin layer of gas that had been hanging over the area at dawn.
We left Refuge Soreiller at around 7:30am.
Although we were told that "Visite Obligatoire (TD 6a+>6a 370m)" is a classic and popular route, there was only one group at the start point of "Visite Obligatoire (TD 6a+>6a 370m)" who had already started climbing.
At the time we climbed "Visite Obligatoire (TD 6a+>6a 370m)", only two other pairs were climbing.
One climbing pair was ahead of us and the other was an Austrian pair who came up very fast and quickly overtook us.
In the end, the climbing pair that had been climbing ahead of us was eliminated at L3, so it was just the Austrian pair and us. We were very lucky that we were able to climb at our own pace in the beautiful weather and no stoppage, which we had feared.
Across from Aiguille Dibona (3131m), the Vallon des Étages glacier can be seen.
The summer of 2022 has been the hottest on record, so maybe this glacier has melted considerably? 🙄
Personally, I was more impressed with the route from (L8, 6a) to the top than the traverse of (L4, 6b/6a) 🙄 All pitches were (6a) grade and not difficult, but they had a great feeling of altitude and were quite fun.
We started climbing at 8:00am and reached the summit at 4:00pm. The route was as fun as its reputation!
After rappelling down the west face of Aiguille Dibona twice (about 25m/pitch), we descended through an unprotected gulley, probably of 3rd class, securing the route by ourselves.
After this climb, it was a normal trail up to Refuge Soreiller. It took about 2 hours from the top to Refuge Soreiller.
Climbing Topo
OISANS NOUVEAU, OISANS SAUVAGE - Livre Ouest
Climbing Equipment
・double rope 50m X 2
・16 quickdraws
・Slings & carabiners
・Cams (I personally didn't need them, but my climbing friends did)
Accommodation & Camping Boulogne
🏔 Refuge Soreiller
Located at the foot of Aiguille de la Dibona, Refuge Soreiller (2719m) was built in 1957, then renovated in 1999 and 2014.
Basically, reservations are required to stay at HB (dinner & breakfast). However, European mountain huts are different from the Japanese format, so you need to confirm even if you just want to stay overnight.
Camping is allowed around the Refuge Soreiller, but you need to check with the Refuge Soreiller about the position of your tent.
What I thought was great about this Refuge Soreiller was
1️⃣ Free access to water
2️⃣ You can cook your own meals in the Refuge Soreiller.
There are no gas facilities, but you can bring your own burner and cook simple meals in the Refuge Soreiller. I don't know if they are regulars or not, but I was surprised to see campers, probably not guests, bringing canned food to the Refuge Soreiller and having it heated up.
🛏 Bring only simple sheets (sleeping bag)
🚿 Shower facilities are available, but only with water, not hot water 🚾 Toilets are of the type that do not flush with water (they were clean).
As for charging cell phones, etc. 🔌 Basically, you cannot charge in the Refuge Soreiller, so a portable battery would be useful.
💶 Note that payment is cash only.
⛺️ Camping municipal de la Berarde (3 star campsite)
This campsite (Camping municipal de la Berarde) is convenient if you want to climb Aiguille de la Dibona (3131m) or Tête de la Maye (2518m).
It seems to be a popular campsite and reservations are recommended. When we went there, the campsite was full, but we were lucky to be able to stay there because some people had cancelled their reservations.
Drinking water 🥛
Basically we used the tap water at the camp site for cooking and drinking.
🔥 I think basically no open fire. But there were sites where you could barbecue.
🚿 Shower has hot water but you can't adjust the temperature 🚾 Toilets, to my surprise, had toilet seats 😂 As expected from a 3 star campground.
💶 Payment can be made by card.
📶 Internet access
Wifi at the campsite is available only around Reception. My personal provider (free) had no signal ☹️ but Orange had a signal.
As for charging cell phones, there is a power outlet 🔌 in the bathroom next to the toilets that is commonly used in France. I don't know if it's a period thing or not, but about half the people were charging their cell phones directly and the other half were charging their portable batteries, etc.
In a very small village within walking distance from the camp site, there is a small store where you can buy baguettes and other items. However, the bread is not baked in this store and is delivered around 8:00 am. You might not expect the taste to be too good. But the socissons at this store are delicious.
✍🏻 Le Vallon des Étages glacier seen from Aiguille de la Dibona, Visite Obligatoire (TD 6a+>6a 370m)
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