Mont Charvet from Les Confins

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Route travelled in August 2025 (group of 5 people aged 60 and over).

A little surprised by the TD rating for this route. Personally, I would have given it a D (T3 E2).
No difficulty in reaching point 6 (Mont Charvet ridge).
Then there is a section where you do need to use your hands in places, but the rock is very solid and the slope is at a 45° angle. You might even be tempted to get your walking sticks out in places!
Finally, the final chimney (3 to 4 m) is easy to climb because, once again, the rock is very solid and there are good hand and foot holds (3b/3c).
Throughout this section, you can regularly see traces of previous climbers on the ground, and there are red paint markings. So it's not too difficult to follow. Basically, you start climbing along the ridge, then when the slope levels out, you climb in zigzags to the right, then facing the last rock bar, you go completely to the right to find the chimney that leads to the summit.

The view from the summit is magnificent.

For the descent, if you want an easy route, stay on the NW ridge for about 50 metres to reach a well-marked path that starts in a small valley and leads you without difficulty over the grassy shoulder to the Mont Charvet valley at an altitude of 1976m.

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Date of your route : Sep 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

Thank you for this wonderful hike. As mentioned in my previous comment, once I reached the cross, I couldn’t find the path back down (I headed north-west). In your comment, you note that ‘the descent is via the north face’, but the start of the path seems to me to be more on the south-east side. I’ll do this walk in the opposite direction to find the path
Very good advice regarding the direction of the walk, as it’s safer to climb up rather than down the most difficult section.
Thanks again

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Hello,
As I’ve clearly stated in the description, the section between point (6) and point (7) is by no means straightforward and requires using your hands, or even a bit of climbing in places. From one year to the next, the route may vary slightly due to early-season snow, which alters the path.
The GPS coordinates remain approximate at this point due to the steep gradient of the terrain.
And it’s true, this section is more like a ski-touring ascent route. The first landmarks aren’t obvious, but once you’re on the face, the path is well marked (at least it was last year).
The most important thing is that you were still able to take in that magnificent panorama.
Have a good evening.

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Date of your route : Oct 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk; the route description and GPX track were fine right up to the summit.
It was just that we didn’t quite understand what to do next… (we met someone else who was in the same situation as us and was also trying to find the rest of the path).
There seems to be a discrepancy between the description, which says the path is obvious, and the GPX track, which clearly takes you through a spot that’s anything but obvious (a ski touring route on the IGN map), and nobody in our group or the other hiker dared to venture there…
In the end, we descended on the other side (NW).
It would be nice to have more details on this point from the author, as it was a bit of a frustrating situation

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