Arêtes du Gerbier, Mountain ridge near Villard-de-Lans, France
The Arêtes du Gerbier is a limestone ridge in the Vercors massif, running between the Col Vert and the Pas de l'Oeille near Villard-de-Lans. The rock layers stand nearly vertical, giving the ridge its sharp, jagged outline visible from far away. The east face drops steeply, with walls reaching up to about 1300 feet (400 meters), while the west side offers shorter climbing routes.
The limestone of the Gerbier was pushed into near-vertical layers by tectonic movement, then carved further by the Fauge glacier around 20,000 years ago, which transported large blocks of stone toward Villard-de-Lans. Lionel Terray, one of France's most celebrated postwar climbers, made some of his earliest ascents here as a young man at school in Villard-de-Lans in the late 1930s.
The Arêtes du Gerbier draw experienced climbers who come specifically for the east face, where the rock offers natural holds on near-vertical walls. The ridge is also walked by hikers with mountain experience, who cross it from the Col Vert to the Pas de l'Oeille.
The most common starting points for the Gerbier ridge are near Les Glovettes or the Balcon de Villard, with a path that climbs gradually before becoming more technical. The crossing suits experienced mountain walkers and climbers; the limestone can become slippery in wet weather, so dry conditions make the route much safer.
Lionel Terray, who became the third person to climb the Grandes Jorasses and the first to summit Makalu, died here in September 1965 during a descent in a passage called the rainbow crack. The location carries a particular weight since this is the same ridge where he had first learned to climb as a teenager.
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