Mont Blanc du Tacul
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  July 2002
  Routes:
  - Chèrécouloir
  - Contamine      Mazeaud
  - NW-flank
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Mont Blanc du Tacul
Height: 13,937 feet/4,248 meters
Location: Haute Savoie (Mont Blanc), France, Europe
Lat/Lon: 45.85°N, 6.88°E

Last update: April 15th, 2002
   © Copyright by Rahel Maria Liu


 
Mont Blanc du Tacul

Mont Blanc du Tacul in the foreground (left), Mont Maudit in the background (middle) and Mont Blanc (right)

 © Copyright by Rahel Maria Liu

Overview
The Mont Blanc du Tacul is one of the most visited 4000m peaks of the Mont Blanc Group . Every day, many alpinistes come from Chamonix to the Aiguille du Midi by cable car and climb the Mont Blanc du Tacul. Because of its NW-direction, the conditions of the ordinary route are normally quite good till noon. Besides this normal route, the Mont Blanc du Tacul provides many very difficult ice and rock climbing possibilities, couloirs and ridges like the famous Gervasutti-Couloir or the Diable-Ridge. The satellites of the Mont Blanc du Tacul offer some of the best rock climbing routes of the Alps with great granite.

According to Eberlein, it is not totally clear who climbed the Mont Blanc du Tacul first. The first known ascent at least was undertaken by Hudson and Kennedy on August 8th, 1855.

Routes Overview
 
The Mont Blanc du Tacul has altogether more than 40 different routes. Some of the most important routes are:

A. NW-flank

1. Normal route
  • 40°, mostly less, PD, very beautiful glacier-tour with partly big crevasses! After new snowfall, avalanches also in summer possible! 700 hm from Col du Midi, 2,5 h ( Eberlein )
B. Triangle/N-face (the order of the following routes: from W to E (according to Damilano/Perroux )

1. Chèrécouloir:
  • 80° (short passage), 70° (1 rope length), the rest 50°-60°, D+, short, interesting ice couloir, frequently climbed, 300 hm, 3-4 h ( Eberlein )
  • II 4. 350 hm, ice till 85° ( Damilano/Perroux )
2. Goulotte du sérac : III 4. 180 m
3. Goulotte Perroux : III 4+, 5b, 350 hm, ice till 70°
4. Le temps est assassin : II 4. 350 hm, mixed
5. Eperon N. : III 4. 350 hm, ice till 50°
6. Contamine Mazeaud rectifiée : III 4. 350 hm, ice till 80°
7. Contamine Mazeaud : II AD+. 350 hm, ice till 65°
8. Directissime : III 4+. 350 hm
9. Gabbarou-Marquis : III 4. 350 hm, ice till 65°
10. Contamine Grisolles : II AD. 350 hm, ice till 60°
11. Petit Frounet : II D. 350 hm
12. Contamine-Négri : IV 2. 350 hm, ice till 70°
13. Voie diagonale : III AD+. 350 hm
14. Pibarot-ci, Pibarot-1à : V 4 à 5. 500 hm
15. La main dans le sac : V 5 à 6. 500 hm
16. La tête dans les Etoiles : V 5 à 6. 500 hm
17. Arête E : IV 2. 600 hm, ice till 70°

C. E-Face (order of the routes from N to S according to Damilano/Perroux

1. Scotch on the Rocks: IV 7, M. 450 hm
2. Pinochio: IV 6+. 450 hm
3. Modica-Noury: III 5+. 500 hm
4. Gabarrou-Albinoni:
  • III 4+, 500 hm, ice till 85 ° ( Damilano/Perroux )
  • IV, TD-, 600 hm, ice till 80°, mixed, very beautiful small ice couloir with some very extreme steep passages, 4-6 h ( Eberlein )
5. Hidden Couloir: III 4, 4c, 600 hm, ice till 80°, mixed
6. Direct climbing of the Hidden Couloir: IV 5. 200 m
7. Couloir Jaeger: II D. 600 m, ice till 60°, beautiful couloir
8. Couloir Gervasutti (classic climbing out to the right side/Terray-Lachenal) :
  • D-, ice till 55°, average: 50°, famous ice tour, objectively dangerous because of rock and ice fall and avalanches, 700 hm, 2-6 h, also as "ski extreme" by people gone down ( Eberlein )
  • V D, 600 hm, till 55° ( Damilano/Perroux )
8. Couloir Gervasutti (climbing out to the left side/Chabod-Gervasutti): V 1, 800 hm, ice till 60° ( Damilano/Perroux )
9. Couloir Macho: IV 2, 800 hm, ice till 70°
10. Supercouloir:
  • 85°, V+, maybe A1, ED-, famous tour with constant difficulty, best time in spring, 800 hm, 8-10 h ( Eberlein )
  • IV 5+, 5c/A1, 800 hm ( Damilano/Perroux )
All information concerning the valuation of the routes' difficulty (except explicit reference to other books) according to Damilano/Perroux , Neige, Glace Et Mixte: Mont Blanc. Chamonix: Editions Ice, 1996. ISBN 2950986803. PP. 263-285.

Getting There
1. To the Mont Blanc du Tacul:
  • a. You can come from the Ref. Cosmiques/Biv. Abri Simond. (Compare the route discription of the NE-ridge and the N-flank to Mont Maudit.)

  • b. You can come from the Rif. Torino
    •
2. To the Ref. Cosmiques and the Biv. Abri Simond:
  • In order to reach the hut, you need about 1/2 h from the Aig. du Midi. If you leave the cable car station via the bridge, you go to the Southsummit. On the firn ridge, you go down with SE-direction to an even ridgeplatform; then turn right to the S and SW-direction below the S-face of the Aig. du Midi. Pay attention to crevasses!

  • You reach the Aig. du Midi with cable car from Chamonix.
    •
3. To the Rif. Torino
  • You reach the hut directly with the cable car from Entrèves/ Courmayeur (Italy).

  • You can reach the hut directly also with the Helbronner cable car from the Aiguille du Midi (to Aiguille du Midi with the cable car from Chamonix ). Pay attention: The Helbronner cable car, traversing the Géant glacier, is mostly closed.

  • Or you go on foot from the Aiguille du Midi over the glacier du Géant (3 h): From the foot of the S-face of the Aig. du Midi you go on the almost even glacier to the Pointe Lachenal, turn left (E) to the glacier valley below the rugged E-face of the Mont Blanc du Tacul. You go along this E-face of the Tacul and the Pointe Adolphe Rey in order to loose only little height. Now you turn to the ESE to the Col des Flambeaux. From here in a few minutes to the Ref. Torino. It is a very beautiful glacier walk with 200 hm ascent. Difficulty: F.
    •
4. You reach the Chamonix Valley by train :
  • a. From Martigny (Switzerland) via Vallorcine.

  • b. From Geneva (airport) via Anncey (TGV till here) and St. Gervais.
    •
5. You reach the Chamonix Valley by bus :
  • From/via Annecy, Geneva, Grenoble, Courmayeur, Aoste and Turin
    •
6 . You reach the Chamonix Valley by car :
  • a. From Geneva (from the NW) on the A40 till St. Gervais and from here on the N205.

  • b. From Martigny (from the NE, Switzerland) via Vallorcine and the Col des Montets on the road no. N506.
    •
7. You reach the Val Ferret (Italy) by bus or car :
  • a. From Chamonix through the Mont Blanc Tunnel from the NW.

  • b. From Torino (from the SE) on the A5 via Villeneuve.
    •
When To Climb
  • You can climb the Mont du Tacul all the year. In winter, you can also go by ski via the NW-side, depot at the Col du Mont Maudit. During winter, the advantage for the climbs of the couloirs is less danger of rock and ice fall. But the problem is the coldness! Be aware that it could be -30°C! The danger of getting frostbites is very high!
    •


    Camping and/or Accomodation

  • There is a campingplace in Chamonix

    • Mountainhuts

    The Ref. des Cosmiques is situated on a shoulder between the Col du Midi and the SW-ridge of the Aig. du Midi (Cosmiques-ridge).
      according to Eberlein (p. 52):
    • 140 beds
    • guarded from February till october
    • phone: ++33(0)450544016
    • internet: Rif. Cosmiques
    2. Abri Simond Bivouac

    The Abri Simond Bivouac is situated just a few meters northern of the Ref. des Cosmiques, just at the beginning of the Arête des Cosmiques.
    • 18 beds
    • open in winter, when Ref. des Cosmiques is closed
    • a few words: I can highly recommend this little bivouac hut of about 30 qm!!! I have stayed there for 1 week in winter (January/February). I promise you: Never in life, you will forget this experience ... when it is -30°C outside, and stormy with 120 km/h, without toilette of course, without heating, without light, without water of course, the hut never been cleaned, you almost poisoned with the vapours of the many gasoline stoves burning hours and hours .... well you must experience it by yourself .... one just cannot describe it!!!
      •
    3. Rif. Torino (3322m/3375m)

    The Rif. Torino has 2 huts, the lower and older one and the upper, new one. Both huts are connected by a tunnel.

  • the lower old one
    •
      according to Eberlein (pp. 64-65):
    • with 70 beds
    • serviced from October to June
    • Tel. 00390/165/846484
    • internet: Rif.Torino.old
  • the upper new one
    •
      according to Eberlein (pp. 65-65):
    • with 170 beds
    • serviced from June to September
    • Tel. 00390/165/844034 (expensive)
    • internet: Rif.Torino.new
    You can find further information concerning possibilities to stay on the Géant Glacier on the Ref. des Cosmiques/Abri Simond Bivouac HUT -page.
    Mountain Conditions and General Information

    1. WEATHER INFOS:     2. GENERAL INFOS: 3. TRAIN (CHAMONIX VALLEY):
      0033/450 53 1298
      0033/8 36 35 35 35
      0033/450530702 (train station Chamonix)
      internet: www.cff.ch
    4. BUS (CHAMONIX VALLEY):
      0033/450 53 0555
      0033/450 53 0115
    5. CABLE CARS
    Maps
  • Institut Géographique National
    • Books
  • Damilano/Perroux, Neige, Glace Et Mixte: Mont Blanc. Chamonix: Editions Ice, 1996.
    ISBN 2950986803
    (to order at cordee.co.uk )

  • Helmut Dumler/Willi P. Burkhardt, Viertausender der Alpen. 11th ed. Munich 1998.
    ISBN 3-7633-7427-2
    (to order at amazon.de )

  • Helmut Dumler/Willi P. Burkhardt, The High Mountains of the Alps. Seattle: The Mountaineers Books, 1994.
    ISBN 0898863783
    (to order at amazon.com )

  • Hartmut Eberlein: Mont-Blanc-Gruppe. DAV-Gebietsführer. 9th ed. Munich 2000.
    ISBN 3-7633-2414-3
    (to order at amazon.de )

  • Goedeke, Richard: The Alpine 4000m peaks by the Classic Routes. Birmingham: Menacha Ridge Press, 1997.
    ISBN 0897321111
    (to order at amazon.com )

  • Laroche/Lelong: Die Gipfel des Montblanc. Munich 1999.
    ISBN 3-405-15693-9
    (to order at amazon.de )

  • Michel Piola: Mont Blanc Topo Guide Vol. 1 (Rock) . Published by Editions Equinoxe 1988. Distributed by Cordee £17.95
    ISBN 904405281

  • Michel Piola: Mont Blanc Topo Guide Vol. 2 . Published by Editions Equinoxe 1993. Distributed by Cordee £17.95
    ISBN Unknown

  • Gaston Rébuffat: The Mont Blanc Massif. The 100 Finest Routes. London 1996.
    ISBN 1-898573-03-4
    (to order at amazon.de or at amazon.com )

  • Erich Vanis , Im steilen Eis. Munich 1980.
    ISBN 3-405-12158-2
    (to order at: online-buchvertrieb.de