The
Grand Combin is a mountain in the western
PennineThe Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...
AlpsThe Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position with the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
. With its high summit it is one of the highest peaks in the
AlpsThe Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
and the second most prominent of its range. The Grand Combin is also a large glaciated massif consisting of several summits, among which three are above 4000 metres.
The normal route starts from the Panossière Hut, which lies on the north side in the
CorbassièreThe Corbassière Glacier is a valley glacier in the Grand Combin massif in the Pennine Alps in southwestern Valais. It is 9.8 km long with an average width of slightly more than 1 km and covers an area of 17.4 km²....
valley.
The
Grand Combin is a mountain in the western
PennineThe Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...
AlpsThe Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position with the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
. With its high summit it is one of the highest peaks in the
AlpsThe Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
and the second most prominent of its range. The Grand Combin is also a large glaciated massif consisting of several summits, among which three are above 4000 metres.
The normal route starts from the Panossière Hut, which lies on the north side in the
CorbassièreThe Corbassière Glacier is a valley glacier in the Grand Combin massif in the Pennine Alps in southwestern Valais. It is 9.8 km long with an average width of slightly more than 1 km and covers an area of 17.4 km²....
valley. Despite the fact that no major difficulties exist, a particularly dangerous passage has to be traversed on the north flank:
Le Corridor. It is a couloir dominated by seracs continuously falling on it.
[ Helmut Dumler,Willi P. Burkhardt, Les 4000 des Alpes, ISBN 2-7003-1305-4]
Geography
The
Grand Combin de Grafeneire or simply Grand Combin lies between two minor summits,
Grand Combin de Valsorey (4184 m) on the west and
Combin de la TsessetteThe Combin de la Tsessette is the third summit in the Grand Combin massif. It lies east of the Grand Combin summit....
(4135 m) on the east, the three forming a large homogeneous massif.
The north-western facing side of Grand Combin is entirely covered by eternal snows and glaciers which are prone to
seracA serac is a block or column of ice formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Often house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers since they may topple with little warning...
falls. The southern and eastern walls are more steep and thus exempt of snow.
The north side of Grand Combin is located at the end of a 10 km long glacial valley, above the
Corbassière GlacierThe Corbassière Glacier is a valley glacier in the Grand Combin massif in the Pennine Alps in southwestern Valais. It is 9.8 km long with an average width of slightly more than 1 km and covers an area of 17.4 km²....
. It is surrounded by the peaks of
Petit CombinThe Petit Combin is a mountain in the Grand Combin massif, in the Pennine Alps....
,
Combin de Corbassière and
Combin de BoveireCombin de Boveire is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland.-External links:*...
on the west,
Grand TavéGrand Tavé is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland.-External links:*...
and
Tournelon BlancThe Tournelon Blanc is a mountain in the Pennine Alps....
on the east. Smaller glaciers lie on the external flanks such as
BoveireThe Boveire Glacier is a 2 km long glacier situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of 2.08 km².-External links:*...
and
Mont Durand GlacierThe Mont Durand Glacier is a 5.9 km long glacier situated in the Grand Combin massif, Pennine Alps, in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of 7.5 km².-External links:*...
.
The massif lies between the Val d'Entremont and Val de
BagnesBagnes is a municipality in the district of Entremont in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.The resort Verbier is part of the municipality. With an area of 282 km², Bagnes is the largest municipality of Switzerland....
, facing the mountain resort of
VerbierVerbier is a village located in southwestern Switzerland in the canton of Valais. It is one of the largest holiday resort and ski area in the Swiss Alps. Verbier is recognized as one of the premiere "off-piste" resorts worldwide and counts among Europe's most famous resorts...
to the north. The
Grande Tête de ByGrande Tête de By is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the Swiss-Italian border.-External links:*...
, on the
main watershedThe main chain of the Alps is the central line of mountains that forms the water divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest peaks of a range; the Alps are something of an unusual case in that several significant...
, lies a few kilometres south.
All the waters flowing on the region end up in the Dranse river and the
RhoneRhône can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
. After Dom,
WeisshornThe Weisshorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, in Switzerland. With its summit, it is one of the major peaks in the Alps and overtops the Matterhorn by some 30 metres....
, it is the highest massif of the Alps situated out of the main chain.
Climbing history
The first four expeditions on Grand Combin reached only a minor summit east of Grand Combin de Grafeneire: the
Aiguille du CroissantThe Aiguille du Croissant is a minor summit in the Grand Combin massif in the Pennine Alps. Because of its small prominence it was included in the enlarged list of alpine four-thousanders.- External links :*...
(4,260 m). The first one was made by mountain guides from the valley (Maurice Fellay and Jouvence Bruchez) on July 20, 1857. The first complete ascent of Grand Combin was made on July 30, 1859 by Charles Sainte-Claire Deville with Daniel, Emmanuel and Gaspard balleys, and Basile Dorsaz.
The Grand Combin de Valsoray on the west was reached for the first time on 16 September 1872 by J. H. Isler and J. Gillioz. They climbed the south south face above the Plateau du Couloir. The itinerary on the south-east ridge was opened on 10 September 1891 by O. Glynne Jones, A.Bovier and P. Gaspoz.
External links