The normal route, in summer, starts from the Refuge des Estagnous and travels to the Col Faustin before ascending the broad South face.

The east face and its famous "Trou Noir", (black hole), first climbed by Louis Audoubert in 1971, is rarely ascended.

During World War II, an escape route from Saint-Girons to Esterri d'Àneu in Catalonia crossed Mont Valier.

The "Path to Freedom" – the name given in 1994 to the hiking trail that follows the course – enabled the evacuation of 782 people between 1940 and 1944 and remained operational despite increased surveillance by the Germans from 1943.

On August 18, 2023, French general Jean-Louis Georgelin fell to his death while hiking on Mont Valier, at an altitude of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft).