Cogne

Prepping an ice week in Cogne here.

Base Cogne (red)1 Lillaz 8 min · 2 Valeille 8 min + 15-45 min walk · 3 Valnontey 6 min + 40-75 min walk · 4 Moline 3 min · 5 Eaux Rousses ~1 h 15 drive

When to go

Target the end of January. The season runs 1 December to 31 March and January–February is the core of it

Draft plan

	Aspect	Behaviour	When to climb it
Valeille, west side	Shady	Reliable; E Tutto Relativo, Stella Artice, Cold Couloir	Any day
Valeille, east side	Sunny	Tuborg, Candelabro — softens through the afternoon, goes rotten late season	Early start, early in the trip
Valnontey, west-facing wall	Shady	Mur de Patri — forms early, survives thaws	The thaw-day insurance
Moline	Roadside	Drytooling; ice curtains gone by late season	Rest day, thaw, high bulletin
Eaux Rousses	North	Single pitch, top-ropeable, no objective danger	High avalanche day

The recurring warning across every source is afternoon sun on the upper pitches. Start early, finish early.

The objectives

Route	Valley	Grade	Size	Approach
Cascade de Lillaz	Valeille	WI3+	~150 m, 5–7 pitches	10 min
Lillaz Gully	Valeille	WI4 (M4+ lean)	~200 m, 6–7 pitches	~30 min, unsigned
Tuborg	Valeille	WI4+/5	multi-pitch	15–45 min
Mur de Patri	Valnontey	WI4/4+	~250 m, 5 pitches	40–75 min
Moline	Cogne	M4–M7	single pitch	3 min
Eaux Rousses	Valsavarenche	Ice 4	25 m	roadside

A sensible shape: Cascade de Lillaz as the warm-up day, Lillaz Gully next, Mur de Patri as the big day once the tools feel normal again, and Tuborg only if the first three have gone well and the upper pitches are touching down.

Access

• Valnontey and the Valeille sit inside the Gran Paradiso National Park. Stay on the paths, no dogs, no drones.
• Valnontey: paid car park at the end of the road; a small free one near the start of the village fills early. A free shuttle runs from Cogne, and there is a bus between Cogne and Lillaz.
• Valeille: park at Lillaz, then the cross-country piste on the hydrographic left of the valley, then the path.

Conditions and safety

• Check the Valle d’Aosta snow and avalanche bulletin before every day. Lillaz Gully is a gully and loads after snowfall; the long Valnontey approach crosses avalanche terrain. A major icefall is only in condition when the avalanche danger is low — the two go together.
• Cascade de Lillaz has a water intake above it that can release freezing water without warning. Do not linger at the top.
• Mid-season thaws happen. If one lands, the plan is Patri, Moline and Eaux Rousses.

Logistics

• Base in Cogne village. Lillaz 8 min, Valnontey 6 min, Moline 3 min. Hotel La Barme in Valnontey is the closest bed to the Valnontey falls and has a drying room.

Guidebook

• Cogne: Selected Ice Climbs (OAC) — 400+ routes across Cogne, Urtier, Grauson, Lillaz, Valeille, Valnontey, Valsavarenche and Rhêmes, with photo topos. The only source that covers Moline properly.

Useful Resources

• Valle d’Aosta ice climbing database, lovevda
• Fondazione Montagna Sicura — mountain conditions
• Mountain Spirit Guides — Valeille and Valnontey icefalls
• iceclimbingcogne.com — local conditions, webcam, Lillaz ice map
• Steimann ice climbing index — the reference list this trip was built from

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