Cogne’s drytooling crag, in the hamlet of Moline between the village and Lillaz — the closest climbing to town by a long way, and the answer to a thaw, a high avalanche bulletin or a day when nobody wants another 1 h 15 approach. Given D8 on rock tools, this is the venue with the most margin on the whole list.

Moline 1600 m, Cogne

Bolted drytooling + mixed / around M4 - M7 / Roadside

Logistics

Approach
  • 3 minutes from Cogne. Two ways in: the steps opposite the hotel in Moline, or the large lay-by just after Moline heading towards Lillaz (45.6083, 7.3652).

Gear

  • A single 60 m rope, quickdraws, and ice screws for whatever ice is still attached.

Notes

  • Bolt quality is worth your own judgement. The rock at the left-hand end is reported as poor, so how good the bolts are there is debatable. Back things up.
  • The ice pillars and curtains go early. Much of what makes the crag mixed rather than dry is gone by late season — in late January there should still be something.
  • Named lines that come up in reports: Sauvignon Blanc, Big Country Dreams, Beetroot Sausage, Bass Generator (M6). There is no good published topo — the Cogne guidebook covers it, and the guides’ office will know what is in.