Walker Spur of the Grandes Jorasses, Ascent via Rochefort Ridge

Meet in Courmayeur and take the Skyway Monte Bianco to Punta Helbronner, then continue to Rifugio Torino. The first ridge day includes glacier travel, snow-to-rock transitions, roped movement, and terrain reading. It is more than a warm-up, as it already allows the guide to assess pace, technique, and confidence in the alpine environment, with Aiguilles Marbrées as the day’s objective.

Accommodation: Rifugio Torino Meals: Dinner

A sustained, airy, and highly instructive day from Torino across the Glacier du Géant toward Col d’Entrèves. Glacier, mixed, and rock terrain combine along a ridge where rope-team flow, balance, and efficiency matter more than any single move. It is an important test of consistency and composure.

Accommodation: Rifugio Torino Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

The third major day of the first section and a key moment to refine the plan. By now, the guide will have a fairly clear idea of the client’s technical level, mountain experience, and what may be realistic for the next stage. If the Walker Spur still remains a possible objective, the day may be spent on either Dent du Géant or the Rochefort ridge, depending on conditions and the type of technical assessment desired.

If the Walker Spur is ruled out because of level or conditions and the full traverse planned for Days 4 and 5 is chosen, the focus will be on Dent du Géant, leaving Rochefort as the natural starting point for that traverse. In either case, the day ends back at Rifugio Torino.

Accommodation: Rifugio Torino Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Option A

If the full traverse is selected, the program continues logically from the previous days in the Torino sector. Starting from Rifugio Torino, this is no longer just an approach but the first major stage of the traverse: gaining the Rochefort ridge, crossing Aiguille de Rochefort, continuing over Dôme de Rochefort, and reaching Bivouac Canzio at Col des Grandes Jorasses.

This is a long, exposed, and serious day, with constantly changing terrain. Snow, mixed ground, and rock are linked together in a setting where movement quality and the ability to maintain rhythm for many hours are essential. It calls for precision on exposed sections, efficient rope work, strong terrain reading, and careful time management, since success depends on the whole route rather than one difficult move. Spending the night at Bivouac Canzio provides a strategic position and prepares the following day with a lighter pack.

Accommodation: Bivouac Canzio Meals: Self-catering

Option A

An early departure from Bivouac Canzio to tackle the great traverse of the Grandes Jorasses. The route follows the high ridge connecting several four-thousand-meter summits before reaching Pointe Walker, always on very exposed and sustained terrain. It is an almost uninterrupted day in which every section demands full concentration, precise movement, and careful pacing, as any delay becomes costly on such a long itinerary with a descent still ahead.

This option is more of a ridge journey than a wall ascent. The challenge comes from the combination of ridges, mixed steps, rock sections, snow, and the need to keep moving fluidly for many hours along a committed line. Weather, ridge conditions, and overall time become decisive throughout the day.

Once the traverse is complete, a long and complex descent follows on the Italian side, usually toward Boccalatte and then down to the valley. If conditions cooperate, this is a powerful finish to the program and likely the most natural continuation of the progression built from Torino.

The extra day is an essential part of the program. It allows room to absorb delays caused by conditions, adjust the final strategy, manage a long descent, or complete the ascent more safely. At this level, that reserve is not optional—it significantly improves the chances of a safe and successful outcome.