Rock Climbing Course in Chamonix

Chamonix is one of the great climbing valleys in the world, and it starts five minutes from the town centre. Les Gaillands sits beside a lake with Mont Blanc behind it — granite that generations of alpinists learned on, a flat grassy base, and routes easy enough that you will be climbing within an hour of meeting your guide.

You need no experience. These days are built for complete beginners, families and indoor climbers stepping outside for the first time.

Getting set up. Harness, helmet, tying a figure-of-eight and checking it. Then belaying, practised on the ground until it is easy and automatic.

Climbing on real rock. Your first route is deliberately easy. The surprise for indoor climbers is the absence of colour — outdoor granite does not tell you where to put your hands!

Most groups climb several routes by the afternoon, and some try an easy lead climb or finish with an abseil. On hot days guides move to a shadier crag — Les Houches, Servoz, Vallorcine and Le Fayet all have good rock.

Plenty of people book a beginner day and come back the next summer for something bigger. Request a guide, tell them who is coming, and they will build the day around your group.

Les Gaillands, on the edge of Chamonix beside a small lake, is the valley's main teaching crag — a large number of short bolted routes across the grade range, sun for most of the day, a flat base and a two-minute approach.

Other valley crags at Les Houches, Servoz, Vallorcine and Le Fayet are used when Les Gaillands is busy or when a different aspect suits the weather. Several of them stay in the shade through the afternoon, which matters in midsummer.

The Aiguilles Rouges above the Flégère lift hold longer multi-pitch routes and are the natural next step when you are an intermediate climber.

The valley crags are generally climbable March to November.