New 5.12a Climbs a Famous Alpine Tower
Electric Avenue is now the easiest route up the Grand Gendarme, which until recently only had test-piece 5.13s
The Grand Gendarme is a famous feature on the classic alpine route Cosmiques Arête on Aiguille du Midi above Chamonix. Until recently, the granite tower has only had two routes, both requiring 5.13 skills: Arête Cosmiques 5.13b and Digital Crack 5.13b.
Digital Crack, which was first climbed by Alain Ghersen and Thierry Renault in 1990, was considered the highest elevation 5.13 in Europe for nearly 20 years. It wasn’t until 2013 that Nicolas Portard and Victor Estrangin opened Arête Cosmiques.
During a visit in 2022, Bulgarian climbers, Emiliyan Kolevski and Victor Varoshkin, decided to add their own. They named their aesthetic new route Electric Avenue and graded it 5.12a, which will open up the summit of Grand Gendarme to climbers who are comfortable climbing 5.12 trad.
It’s amazing that such moderate routes on such busy peaks are still awaiting first ascents. Watch a new documentary on Electric Avenue with some history on the area, a conversation about how climate change is affecting the glaciers and with a special appearance by Thierry Renault.
Electric Avenue
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