Dent d'Oche (2222 m a.s.l.)

About peak Dent d'Oche

Francie

Vrchol Dent d'Oche was added here by Milan "Hojší" Průžek and info was completed by Martin Matějka.

It is the northernmost peak over 2000 m in France.

About 100 m below the summit is the refuge of the French Alpine Club, Refuge de la Dent d'Oche. In summer, you can reach the refuge and the summit via a hike that is manageable without special equipment, but significantly more difficult than the usual routes to nearby peaks like Cornettes de Bise and Le Grammont. Getting to the refuge involves several short climbing sections, for which chains are available. The hike from the refuge to the summit includes several unprotected sections along the cliff, where a misstep could be fatal.

An alternative hiking route from the east leads to the summit, which is even more delicate.

Finally, the route up the north face with an elevation gain of 350 m is one of the most challenging ascents in the Chablais Alps. Some sections require extensive technical skills. The first ascent of the north face was achieved by Joseph Ravanel, his siblings Arthur and Camille, and François Jacquier on June 6, 1925.

Elevation gain: 1010 m
Ascent time: 2 - 2.5 hours
Risk: summit rocks when wet

Ascent:
From Évian (a French town directly opposite Lausanne across the lake), we follow the signs to Bernex. After the sign indicating the start of the village of Bernex, we slow down and carefully look for small wooden signs reading "Dent d'Oche." The first is in front of the "Souvenirs" shop just before the small square and the church. We continue towards the mountain. We park just after the bridge over the stream, where the road is already quite narrow, on the left we see a pub (it starts with F - I've written its name on paper twice, oh dear, where are my papers?) and on the right a place to park by the road. We check the hiking signs to confirm we are correct; there is an arrow pointing to Cabane Dent d'Oche. We continue up the hiking path first to the pasture called Cabane, from there we head directly up the slope to the left towards Refuge Dent d'Oche. About 15 minutes below the summit is the last hut stuck to the rock, where we gather strength for the final push. From the summit, we do not return back but continue along the ridge to the east to descend back into the valley to the pasture from which we came.

Parking (1210m) - pasture with various livestock (Cabane Dent d'Oche, 1628m): 45 minutes, beginner
pasture - summit hut (Refuge Dent d'Oche): 1 hour, hiker
hut - summit: 15 minutes, hiker

How I did it:
Dent d'Oche is the most prominent peak on the French side across the lake when viewed from our window. It is a few kilometers away in a straight line, but by car, we have to go around the whole lake and cross the border, where we always had problems with our rusty Favorit with Czech plates. The first attempt at the ascent was quite dramatic. We set out in light rain, and by the time we reached the pasture, we had already taken shelter under trees about three times, waiting for it to weaken (to continue the hike) or intensify (to return to the car). Eventually, we managed to get about 30 minutes above the pasture, and then a proper downpour and strong wind began. Andrea and Ondra (8 years old) turned around and rushed back to the car. Jirka, as always on my back, was completely covered with a raincoat, and I still didn't want to turn back. So I went a little higher, where I suspected a pass. However, the pass did not materialize even after a longer time, and so I had to turn back to prevent the softened, soaked family from freezing too long in the car. I thought I would still catch up, but soon I realized that I had to go slowly to avoid falling on the slippery stones...

Chalet/accommodation: There is a chalet on the peak.
Stroller access: Peak is not stroller accessible.
Views: There are views from the peak.
Cable car: There is no cable car to this peak.
Equipment
Accessibility: Peak is freely accessible.