Les Droites (Pointe Orientale)

4,000 m

French for 'the straight ones' — descriptive: from the Argentière side the peak appears as a strikingly vertical wall, in contrast to the slanting Aiguille Verte beside it.

Card

Coordinates45.9333° N · 6.9889° E

UIAA rank№ 82 / 82

CountriesFrance

Normal gradeAD · assez difficile

First ascent1876 · Thomas Middlemore & John Oakley Maund with Henri Cordier, Johann Jaun & Andreas Maurer

Typical seasonJuly to September

Photo of Les Droites (Pointe Orientale) — Photo: O.Taris · CC BY-SA 3.0

The East Summit (Pointe Orientale) of Les Droites is the lowest officially recognised 4000-metre peak in the Alps, on the ridge between Aiguille Verte and the Aiguille du Jardin.

History

The North Face of Les Droites, a 1000-metre wall of ice and granite above the Argentière glacier, has been a benchmark of difficulty since Philippe Cornuau and Adrien Davaille made the first ascent in 1955 over four days. When Walter Cecchinel and Claude Jager soloed a direct line on the face in winter 1973 it was considered one of the boldest pieces of alpine climbing ever done. The summit itself (Pointe Orientale) was first reached in 1876 by a party including the great Oberland guide Christian Almer.

Location

Summit · huts that serve as bases for routes on this peak

Major routes

Messner ramp / SE face (Normal route from Argentière)

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Vertical / summit day1,300 m gain · 8h

The easiest line to the summit of this otherwise serious mountain. From the Refuge d'Argentière a short approach leads to the foot of a 40–45° snow couloir (200 m); the Messner ramp branches off left of the couloir and leads via mixed III terrain onto the SE face and the airy summit ridge. A long and remote-feeling day for a 'normal route'.

Sections

Grands Montets / Argentière glacier→Refuge d'Argentière (2771 m)+800 m2h 30m

Refuge d'Argentière→Summit (4000 m)+1,229 m6h

Huts on this route

Refuge d'Argentière2,771 m

Nearby huts

Refuge d'ArgentièreCAF · mid-June to mid-September2,771 m Refuge d'ArgentièreCAF · mid-March to mid-September2,771 m

← Aiguille de Rochefort · 4,001 m · № 81

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