Rock Climbing in Verbier

There are over a 64 established climbing areas within easy reach of the resort. Many include approaches through incredible mountainous alpine scenery. Altogether there were over 850 routes at the last count, ranging from beginner to spider man. These vary greatly with every type of conceivable climbing. There are high and low altitude multi-pitch and single pitch climbs. Most are bolt protected which makes them sport climbs, whilst for the purist there are still many routes demanding traditional protection to cut their teeth on. The most common multi-pitch route is bolted and normally has three to five pitches. However there are many single pitch climbs and a great deal of monster routes up to and past ten pitches.

Some areas are even remote enough to justify multi day trips. Commonly they involve a days approach through forests, wild valleys and over glaciers to reach refuges deep in the mountains. Utilising refuges puts the climber right in the middle of the mountains and allows them to make short approaches to some very rarely climbed gems.

If, however, you do not fancy going too far from the beaten track then be comforted by the knowledge that climbing areas closer to civilization rarely get busy. In fact it is very common to climb an area one day and encounter no other people.

Verbier has only one real mountaineering/ climbing shop, called Mountain Air. Here they will also hire basic climbing gear and sell local guide books. Also, as most of the staff are climbers, it’s a great place to go for advice on anything to do with climbing in the Verbier area.

Martigny also has an excellent climbing shop called Le Look Montagne, which can kit a zero to hero with every piece of climbing gear possible. Their phone number is 0041 277229155. The prices between Martigny and Verbier are hardly noticeable. However, it is not uncommon to have to order even basic climbing gear in Verbier. Delivery can take anything from a couple days to a couple weeks. Then there is always the option of shopping in Chamonix, just over the border. Here prices are cheaper and choice is infinitely greater.

In order to find the climbs you will need the guide book that covers the areas in and around Verbier. This is called Escalade dans L’Entremont and is written by a local guide by the name of Olivier Roduit. Sadly there is only a French version, but to be honest my advice would be to hire a guide. La Maison Du Sport, La Fantastique and Adrenaline all have fully certified International Mountain guides (UIAGM). Also Olivier Roduit works as an independent UIAGM guide in Verbier, as does Sasha Burri (sash@netplus.ch).

The Swiss grading system is the same as the French grading system. This uses a combination of numbers, letters and at times plus and minus symbols to give a climb a technical grade; for example 5a or 6c+. British climbers will be familiar with this system, but need to be aware that the grade they climb in the U.K. will equate to a higher number with the French/ Swiss system. Here is a good link to a grade conversion table on the internet.