Mountaineering and climbing workshop

Altitude invites you to explore the great rock routes.

Through this comprehensive training, participants gain the essential knowledge to progress safely in alpine environments. Careful planning and preparation are crucial for quickly identifying and avoiding potential alpine risks.

Special attention is given to equipment selection, safety aspects, and mastering useful knots to handle a wide range of situations. Our experienced mountain guides teach not only rope handling, movement techniques, roped progression, and route-finding on rocky terrain.

Get ready for an unforgettable adventure in the high mountains and acquire the skills you need to gain autonomy and safety.

Teaching the basics of rock climbing:

• Trip planning
• Navigation
• Rope techniques
• Progression on varied terrain
• Setting up belays
• Moving belays
• Building anchors
• Using cams
• Descent and rappel techniques

Duration: 3 days
Group size: Up to 4 participants
Level: Beginners and refresher courses
Price: From €440 per person

Included:

• 3 days with a UIAGM-certified guide
• Technical equipment (excluding climbing shoes if needed)

Not included:

• Transportation
• Accommodation, meals, and drinks
• Personal insurance
• Overnight stays in mountain huts (if applicable)

Dates:

• July 24–26, 2026
• September 18–20, 2026

Day 1: Maneuvers at the Croé Bouldering Site & Ascent to the Refuge

Our course begins at the Croé bouldering area in Aussois, a historic site that hosted the first World Cup climbing competitions in the 1990s. This is the perfect place to refine safety procedures and familiarize yourself with adventure climbing gear.

After checking the equipment, we focus on progression techniques:

• Moving on a taut rope.
• Placing natural protections (nuts, cams, slings).
• Building anchors.

The day intensifies with downclimbing workshops and steeper climbing sections to reach the summit of the Croix du Croé area. From there, a series of aerial rappels will allow us to practice and validate autonomous descent techniques before returning to the base of the cliff.

In the late afternoon, we hike to the Refuge de la Dent Parrachée (2,511 m). The day ends with a briefing for the next day’s climb and a convivial dinner at the refuge.

Day 2: Arête du Vieux Guide to Cime des Planètes (PD / max 3b)

This second day is dedicated to applying the techniques from Day 1 on a magnificent panoramic ridge climb.

• 2-hour approach hike from the refuge to the Brèche de la Croix de la Rue, the starting point of the ridge.
• The Arête du Vieux Guide is the ideal terrain for practicing moving belays and placing natural protections. This aesthetic and aerial route features beautiful slab sections. The climb includes an aerial rappel, followed by a final, beautiful climbing pitch leading directly to the Cime des Planètes (2,954 m).
• This sharp belvedere offers an exceptional panorama, straddling the Maurienne and Tarentaise valleys.
• Descent back to the Refuge de la Dent Parrachée for our second night.

Day 3: South Ridge of Aiguille de Doran (AD / max 4b)

To conclude the course, we tackle a wild and beautiful climb. Towering at 3,041 meters, the Aiguille de Doran is a striking peak visible from the valley. Its needle-like shape and high-mountain setting make it a dream for climbers.

• The South Ridge is a legendary route with excellent quartzite rock. This wild and well-preserved itinerary is sometimes more frequented by ibex than alpinists!
• The climbing is technical, aerial, and requires good route-finding skills to progress efficiently between slabs and cracks.
• The descent is via the normal route, a technical and very exposed path. It begins with a series of aerial and even overhanging rappels. Although the route is equipped, this second part—more classic than the South Ridge—demands constant focus and perfectly validates the autonomy acquired during the course before our return to the valley.

Pricing

Course fee: €720 per person

Included

• Guidance and instruction by a UIAGM-certified high mountain guide.
• Half-board accommodation (dinner, overnight stay, and breakfast) at the refuge for Days 1 and 2.
• Picnic lunches for Days 2 and 3.
• Loan of collective technical equipment (ropes, cams, etc.).

Not Included

• Personal insurance (rescue, repatriation, cancellation).
• Drinks and extras consumed at the refuge.

To deepen your knowledge and best prepare for your mountain adventures, we invite you to explore our detailed resources:

• • Fundamentals of high-altitude mountaineering
  • Alpine climbing gear
  • Essential knots to master

Lab ICE

Course objective :
The aim of this course is to teach you the basics of rock climbing: learn the different techniques for progressing on ridges or in big voices. You’ll learn in the field, putting these skills into practice as you climb some of the valley’s finest peaks.

Theoretical content :
– Knowledge of basic knots and equipment
– Race preparation and planning
– Awareness of the mountain environment

Practical content :
– Various belay and supervision techniques
– Lead climbing and handling at the top of routes
– How to climb a multi-pitch route
– Abseiling techniques
– climbing movements on different types of rock

Who is this course for ?

This is a beginners’ course.
No prior knowledge of rope handling is required. If you’re able to go from 5b to second, then this course is for you. All the experience you need: a few introductory climbing sessions, on wall or natural, roped or bouldered.