High resolution spectroscopy of quantum systems is a key point in the quantum information field. Rare earth ions in crystals are interesting candidates for this application because of the long coherence lifetime of some of their transitions. These ions can also be manipulated by optical excitation which has, however, to be produced by ultra-stable laser sources. This proves to be a very difficult task in the case of dye lasers which are necessary to excite Pr3+ doped crystals and especially Pr3+:Y2SiO5. This compound is by far the most used host in rare earth based quantum information studies. In this paper, we discuss the use of Pr3+,Yb3+ codoped materials to build an infrared pumped solid state laser suitable to excite Pr3+:Y2SiO5 around 606 nm. We show by the analysis of a rate equation model that avalanche upconversion is not very efficient to obtain a high power laser. This is more easily obtained if a second laser is set to pump resonantly Yb3+ ions. The spectroscopic properties of a new matrix Pr3+,Yb3+:PbF2 are also investigated. We found that this compound emits at 606.18 nm with a width of 5 nm and would be therefore suitable to excite Pr3+:Y2SiO5. Moreover, it can be excited at 857 nm and 975 nm, i.e. in the range of high power laser diodes.