UKC Logbook - 'Cordier Pillar'

750m, 25 pitches.

Rockfax Description
III, 650m. A classic route taking an amazing line - just look up from Chamonix town centre at sunset and you will instantly want to climb this. The West Face of the Charmoz catches the evening sun and the Cordier Pillar is the prominent line. It is an alpine route and all the belays are on pegs. It is advisable to carry some spare tat to potentially back some of these up if they are looking worse for wear.
Two possible starts depending on glacial conditions:
1) 6a+. The traditional start follows a crack system up to a ledge and then a steep finger crack up to easier ground above in 3 rope lengths.
1a) 4c. Start higher up the glacier on a ramp system that trends leftwards, first up broken ground then up a spur left of a depression to easier ground in 2 rope lengths.
2) 6a. From the back of the easier ledges, move left and then right again to climb cracks up a right-trending groove line for two pitches. This takes you to easier ground.
3) 4c. Trend up and right across ledges to a crack system on the right-hand pillar.
4) 5a. Follow the crack system up for 2 -3 rope lengths until past several pegs until a corner/depression leads out to the left, splitting the face.
5) 6a+. Climb across the diagonal corner system to where easier ground leads to a large system of corners heading straight up the face.
6) 6a. Follow the corner-crack system for 3-4 rope lengths passing many pegs. Eventually, you will hit a small roof, pass this on the left to easier ground.
7) 5c. Once on slabbier ground, look out for a large flake crack on the left and follow this up, passing two distinctive parallel flakes on the right before moving back to another flake crack on the left. Follow this to a large ledge system.
8) 3a. Follow the ledge system up and right for 60m to meet blocky ground above.
9) 4a. Follow the easiest ground up through the blocky ground for 2-3 rope lengths to reach a chimney system.
10) 5b. Climb the chimney to the top of a vague pillar.
11) 6a. Climb the finger crack above.
12) 5c. Climb an easier crack above to gain the base of a wide crack.
13) 6b. Climb the wide crack. Bigger gear can be useful.
14) 5a. Climb the corner above exiting right.
15) 3c. Easier ground leads to the summit ridge and then another rope length can lead to the summit itself. © Rockfax

UKC Logbook Description
An awesome climb, following a series of interesting cracks to a two-thrid height ledge. From here you have some of the best climbing of your life to the top, from finger-locking to off-widthing, every kind of perfect jamming can be experience.

****!

Addison, Cordier, Fagard and Jouty 06/Jul/1970.

Ticklists

ROCKFAX Chamonix: Top 50 , Big Routes , Alpine Grande Courses , Alpine Dreamz , Big Alpine Routes , Nick and Tom's awesome Ticklist , Road to the Walker Spur , BMC - Easier Classics in the Mont Blanc Range , TM Alps , Chamonix!! , Chamonix Summer 2025

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User	Date		Notes
Lankcroft	22 Jul, 2024	Show βeta βeta: We did this on 18th July 2024. Barely a peep out of the glacier all day bar a few beachball sized blocks coming down as the afternoon wore on. These tore through the upper approach at full pelt, but slithered to a gentle halt near the lower approach, which we used both on the way in and the way out. Even that is still exposed to stuff coming off the snow patches on the Charmoz itself, but that definitely seemed like the lesser of two evils to me. After a few scrittly pitches off the glacier the climbing on the route is almost all top class! We used the mt. Blanc granite topo, which seemed very accurate and made us much faster (better detail and 17 long pitches rather than 24 short ones in rockfax). It also has a lot of helpful abseil beta. The grades are all sandbags by around two letter grades though! RF is much closer to the mark. I would also say that 'finger crack' is a very unhelpful term to describe the first 6b pitch near the top. There IS a desperate looking finger crack directly above the belay, but you actually use the obvious corner crack 2m to the right. Where this runs out, traverse left into a large hanging groove. Ab tat mostly all good and we had no stuck ropes, but a few of the maillons are a bit skinny/old - worth taking a few spare screwies for backup.
Show beta βeta: We did this on 18th July 2024. Barely a peep out of the glacier all day bar a few beachball sized blocks coming down as the afternoon wore on. These tore through the upper approach at full pelt, but slithered to a gentle halt near the lower approach, which we used both on the way in and the way out. Even that is still exposed to stuff coming off the snow patches on the Charmoz itself, but that definitely seemed like the lesser of two evils to me. After a few scrittly pitches off the glacier the climbing on the route is almost all top class! We used the mt. Blanc granite topo, which seemed very accurate and made us much faster (better detail and 17 long pitches rather than 24 short ones in rockfax). It also has a lot of helpful abseil beta. The grades are all sandbags by around two letter grades though! RF is much closer to the mark. I would also say that 'finger crack' is a very unhelpful term to describe the first 6b pitch near the top. There IS a desperate looking finger crack directly above the belay, but you actually use the obvious corner crack 2m to the right. Where this runs out, traverse left into a large hanging groove. Ab tat mostly all good and we had no stuck ropes, but a few of the maillons are a bit skinny/old - worth taking a few spare screwies for backup.
David Hanuš	22 Aug, 2023	Show βeta βeta: Please take seriously the warning, that early summer is better because of the risk of the rockfall. We did the ascent on 18.8.2023 and encountered a rock avalanche on place we did not expected it. LAT 45.90867 LONG 6.91102 Descending more on the right of the rockfield could be theoretically better? Chamoniarde.com said "Nantillon glacier in bad condition" which should be interpreted as "do not not dare to step on it at all". The ascent was mostly on pure ice. A have been spared, my friend is in hospital with head trauma. Take care!	βeta?
Show beta βeta: Please take seriously the warning, that early summer is better because of the risk of the rockfall. We did the ascent on 18.8.2023 and encountered a rock avalanche on place we did not expected it. LAT 45.90867 LONG 6.91102 Descending more on the right of the rockfield could be theoretically better? Chamoniarde.com said "Nantillon glacier in bad condition" which should be interpreted as "do not not dare to step on it at all". The ascent was mostly on pure ice. A have been spared, my friend is in hospital with head trauma. Take care!
Louisjthomas	11 Jul, 2022	Show βeta βeta: Amazing route, some loose sections but mostly good granite with old school climbing. Went off route a couple of times but we followed the tat and got back on track. Abseil was arguably harder with 3 rope snags :/ The approach was scary in the dark although earlier the better for rockfall. Saw and heard lots of big rock fall the previous evening	βeta?
Show beta βeta: Amazing route, some loose sections but mostly good granite with old school climbing. Went off route a couple of times but we followed the tat and got back on track. Abseil was arguably harder with 3 rope snags :/ The approach was scary in the dark although earlier the better for rockfall. Saw and heard lots of big rock fall the previous evening
Seán Fortune	9 Jul, 2022	Show βeta βeta: Highly recommend taking the lower approach. Takes a good bit longer (little over an hour for us on the way from the bivy) than the higher approach, but less objective danger. Higher approach is quicker, but has the glacier machine gun firing range to negotiate, and even before that, there's hanging snowfields above the buttresses that looks like they protect you; saw several rocks firing down across the path from there. Going down and crossing at l'M has a couple of crevasses to negotiate, but felt much more controlled risk and less exposed to the glacier dumping on you by staying on the snowfields on climbers left	βeta?
Show beta βeta: Highly recommend taking the lower approach. Takes a good bit longer (little over an hour for us on the way from the bivy) than the higher approach, but less objective danger. Higher approach is quicker, but has the glacier machine gun firing range to negotiate, and even before that, there's hanging snowfields above the buttresses that looks like they protect you; saw several rocks firing down across the path from there. Going down and crossing at l'M has a couple of crevasses to negotiate, but felt much more controlled risk and less exposed to the glacier dumping on you by staying on the snowfields on climbers left
Ben Schuster	27 Jun, 2022	Show βeta βeta: Double 0.3s is useful for the first '6b' pitch. Don't worry about big cams for the offwidth, its pretty hard to fall out of.
Show beta βeta: Double 0.3s is useful for the first '6b' pitch. Don't worry about big cams for the offwidth, its pretty hard to fall out of.
Jackob	18 Jul, 2019	Show βeta βeta: Be careful of the beta on the mountain-spirit guides. The green line for pitch 19 (upper section) is actually wrong that is a very difficult hand crack. The real line is even further left. The rockfax line is also wrong but the description is good. There are also random peg belays everywhere so be careful not to assume you are on the right belay!!
Show beta βeta: Be careful of the beta on the mountain-spirit guides. The green line for pitch 19 (upper section) is actually wrong that is a very difficult hand crack. The real line is even further left. The rockfax line is also wrong but the description is good. There are also random peg belays everywhere so be careful not to assume you are on the right belay!!
roym	1 Jul, 2019	Show βeta βeta: Rockfax description is good but topo is out. The start is further right and up the snow (although the other parties on the route took a direct start which avoids the steep snow/ice to get to the 4c ramp). Pitch 10 is a fantastic slab with corner crack (not that obviously below a roof). Pitch 11-14 follow the obvious shadowed corners to the left of the topo line. Fair amount of loose rock on the easier pitches and definitely run back across the glacier!
Show beta βeta: Rockfax description is good but topo is out. The start is further right and up the snow (although the other parties on the route took a direct start which avoids the steep snow/ice to get to the 4c ramp). Pitch 10 is a fantastic slab with corner crack (not that obviously below a roof). Pitch 11-14 follow the obvious shadowed corners to the left of the topo line. Fair amount of loose rock on the easier pitches and definitely run back across the glacier!