Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey

4,112 m

Italy

Also known as Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey - Centrale, Эгюий-Бланш-де-Пётре

Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey - Centrale · Эгюий-Бланш-де-Пётре

Elevation: 4,112 m
Prominence: 178 m
Difficulty: 6/10; Alpine climb
Best Season: Jun–Jul
Routes: 2

AdvisoryReported 2 Jul 2026
Early July 2026: the north-east couloir of the Col Eccles (access to the Col de Peuterey) was almost snow-free, with unstable scree and black ice, and debris channels above a hanging glacier; the party described it as close to a point of no return. The lower north face was covered in debris.
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Routes

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Approximate line — not for navigation

An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.

Why? 8 check notes

danger scan: Col de Peuterey → Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey: straight line 284 m (limit 200 m)
danger scan: Col de Peuterey → Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey: straight line 284 m above the last hut/bivouac
danger scan: Col de Peuterey → Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey: straight line: 72° over 25 m (> 60°, high-res DEM)
danger scan: Col de Peuterey → Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey: sustained 61° > 45° on a straight line
last routed vertex 284 m from the summit (closed by straight)
Rifugio Monzino → Glacier du Brouillard: bridge (snap_failed; one off-graph gap, 1.5 km)
Glacier du Brouillard → Col du Frêney: glacier (snap_failed, 1.6 km)
Col du Frêney → Bivouac Eccles: glacier (snap_failed, 0.4 km)

AlpineAD+UIAAIV+MixedNormal route

Sources differ: D (Camptocamp contributor: 'felt more like D due to commitment and seriousness') · V (Camptocamp outing 2022 ('a few moves of V, V+?'))

The line most parties now use to reach the hardest independent 4,000 m summit of the Alps: from the Monzino hut up the Brouillard glacier to the Eccles bivouac, over the Col Eccles and down to the Col de Peuterey, then up ice, loose rock and the north ridge to the Pointe Güssfeldt and back by six abseils. Remote and committing, with no easy way off.

Elevation Profile

approximate line

Distance: ≈ 9.4 km; one way
Ascent: ≈ +2,940 m; −358 m lost on the way up
High Point: 4,112 m
Time Up: ≈ 11h 41m; DIN 33466
Time Down: ≈ 8h 14m; DIN 33466 · same way back

Day one: from the Val Veny (about 1,560 m) a signed path crosses the Dora and climbs through forest and two rock bands with chains and cables (F/II, exposed) to the Rifugio Monzino (2,590 m), 2–3 hours. Day two: above the hut, scree leads to the shrinking Châtelet glacier and left onto the Brouillard glacier, which is climbed, around large crevasses and fragile snow bridges, to the Col du Frêney; parties in 2026 left the glacier for rocks on its left bank at about 3,500 m. A steep, often icy snow slope and mixed ground lead to the Eccles bivouac (about 3,850 m), roughly 3–5 hours from Monzino. From the bivouac traverse (exposed, sometimes icy) to the Col Eccles or over the Pic Eccles (4,041 m), then descend the north-east couloir by about three abseils and an exposed traverse of debris-scoured slopes above a hanging glacier to the upper Frêney plateau and the Col de Peuterey (3,934 m). In July 2026 this couloir was almost snow-free, loose scree and black ice; the party described it as close to a point of no return. Most parties bivouac at the Col de Peuterey. Day three: cross the bergschrund on the right, climb one or two 30 m pitches of ice, then the north-west face on poor rock to the north ridge, where the rock improves. The crux is a corner of about French 4+ (UIAA IV+ to V) that gains the crest left of a prominent gendarme. Follow the ridge over the Pointe Jones to the main summit, the Pointe Güssfeldt (4,112 m); allow 2½–3½ hours from the col. Return to the Col de Peuterey by six 25 m abseils on bolts, keeping to the left (looking down); avoid the older line on pitons and rotten slings. From the Col de Peuterey almost everyone continues up the Grand Pilier d'Angle and the upper Peuterey ridge to the Mont Blanc de Courmayeur and Mont Blanc, descending by a Mont Blanc normal route: reversing the Col Eccles couloir is dangerous. That makes the realistic commitment a three- to four-day route of about D+ overall.

Start

Val Veny (Freney)1,530 m

Bus from Aosta to Courmayeur, then the summer bus up the Val Veny.
Parking at the trailhead

Stages

Day	Stage	km	m ascent	m descent	Time
1	Val Veny (Freney) → Rifugio Monzino	4.6	1,038	0	4h 02m
2	Rifugio Monzino → Col de Peuterey	4.5	1,685	325	6h 50m
3	Col de Peuterey → Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey	0.3	217	33	49m

Waypoints

Parking:
Val Veny (Freney)1,530 m
Riverside car park; bus from Courmayeur in summer
Hut:
Rifugio Monzino2,569 m
Feature:
Glacier du Brouillard2,917 m
Large crevasses and fragile snow bridges
Col:
Col du Frêney3,639 m
Bivouac:
Bivouac Eccles3,847 m
Col:
Col Eccles4,021 m
Descent of the north-east couloir by abseils; very loose when dry
Col:
Col de Peuterey3,936 m
Usual bivouac site
Summit:
Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey4,112 m

Key Passages

Rock bands with chains below the Rifugio Monzino
Crevasses and snow bridges on the Brouillard glacier
Steep slope to the Eccles bivouac
Col Eccles north-east couloir and the traverse above the hanging glacier
Bergschrund and ice pitches below the north-west face
Crux corner (about 4+) to the north ridge
Six abseils back to the Col de Peuterey

Equipment

0/13 packed

Downloads

Route confidence 65%

Overview

A 4,112 m triple-summited rock and ice spire on the Peuterey ridge of Mont Blanc, above Courmayeur. Often called the most difficult independent 4,000 m summit in the Alps: every route is long, loose and committing, and there is no simple way down.

The Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey stands on the Peuterey ridge, the great south-south-east ridge of Mont Blanc, between the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey and the Grand Pilier d'Angle, with the Frêney glacier to the west and the Brenva glacier to the east. It has three summits on a narrow crest: Pointe Güssfeldt (4,112 m, the highest), Pointe Seymour King (4,107 m) and Pointe Jones (4,104 m). It is one of the most photographed peaks from the Italian side and one of the least visited.

No route to it is easy. The former normal route crossed the Frêney glacier from the Col de l'Innominata and climbed the Schneider ledges and the south-east ridge (III–IV), but glacier retreat and rockfall have made that approach unreliable. Since about 2022 most parties go from the Monzino hut to the Eccles bivouac, over the Col Eccles to the Col de Peuterey, and climb the north-west face and north ridge (AD+, with a crux of about IV+). Many others reach it on the Integral Peuterey ridge from the Aiguille Noire.

The real difficulty is commitment. The summit is fully exposed to westerly storms, the rock is mostly poor, and retreat from the Col de Peuterey is so hazardous that almost all parties continue over the Grand Pilier d'Angle to Mont Blanc. In warm, dry summers the access couloirs become scree and black ice; cold, stable windows in early summer or autumn are best.

Climbing Notes

This is an objective for experienced alpinists: confident on loose IV–V rock in boots, on 50–55° ice, on crevassed glaciers, and with long abseil sequences, plus the fitness and judgement for three to four days of committing terrain with bivouacs. Many parties climbing it to complete the 4,000 m list hire a Courmayeur or Chamonix guide.

A typical plan by the Eccles approach: Val Veny to the Rifugio Monzino (2–3 hours); a pre-dawn start up the Brouillard glacier to the Eccles bivouac and over the Col Eccles to a bivouac at the Col de Peuterey; the Aiguille Blanche out and back from the col (3–4 hours plus abseils); then the Grand Pilier d'Angle and Mont Blanc, descending to the Gonella hut, the Goûter or the Aiguille du Midi. Carry bivouac gear, as the Eccles and Craveri shelters are small.

Get current information before committing: the Monzino warden, the Società delle Guide di Courmayeur and the Fondazione Montagna Sicura track conditions on the Frêney and Brouillard sides. Wait for a cold spell with a good overnight refreeze, low wind and no storms forecast for three days.

History

In 1882 Francis Maitland Balfour and his guide Johann Petrus were killed attempting the peak. Henry Seymour King with the guides Émile Rey, Ambros Supersaxo and Aloys Anthamatten made the first ascent on 31 July 1885. The classic Peuterey ridge from the Col de l'Innominata over the Aiguille Blanche to Mont Blanc was first climbed on 30–31 July 1927 by Ludwig Obersteiner and Karl Schreiner, and the complete Integral Peuterey ridge from the Aiguille Noire on 28–31 July 1934 by Göttner, Schmaderer and Krobath. The Craveri bivouac below the Dames Anglaises was built in 1924 in memory of the alpinist Piero Craveri. A plaque just below the Col de l'Innominata remembers Andrea Oggioni, who died nearby in the 1961 Frêney Pillar disaster.

Season

Best Jun–Jul

January: Not advisable
February: Not advisable
March: Not advisable
April: Not advisable
May: Not advisable
June: Good (best window)
July: Good (best window)
August: Possible
September: Possible
October: Not advisable
November: Not advisable
December: Not advisable

Jan: Winter; occasional winter ascents of the north face by experts
Feb: Winter conditions
Mar: Winter conditions
Apr: Winter conditions
May: Monzino hut closed; deep snow
Jun: Monzino opens mid-June; couloirs still hold snow, often the best window
Jul: Main season; couloirs dry out quickly in heat
Aug: Often dry and loose; high rockfall risk in heat
Sep: Cold, dry spells can be good; Monzino closes mid-September
Oct: Hut closed; early winter
Nov: Winter conditions
Dec: Winter conditions

Access & Permits

Hut Booking

Rifugio Monzino (Società delle Guide di Courmayeur): info@rifugiomonzino.com or +39 0165 809553. The Eccles and Craveri bivouacs cannot be booked.

Fees

Rifugio Monzino overnight fee
Eccles and Craveri bivouacs are unstaffed and free

Rules

Rifugio Monzino: own sleeping-bag liner compulsory
Private car traffic on the Val Veny road is limited in summer; check before driving up from Courmayeur
Free camping in the Aosta Valley is not allowed below 2,500 m

Getting There

Courmayeur (Italy)

Turin (TRN) or Geneva (GVA)

Bus from Aosta to Courmayeur; summer bus from Courmayeur up the Val Veny
By car: Courmayeur, then the Val Veny road to the car park near the Freney bridge / Chalet du Miage
From Chamonix: through the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Courmayeur

Hazards

Rockfall
Glacier
Crevasses
Exposure
Altitude
Weather
Remoteness
Cornices

Huts & Shelters

Rifugio MonzinoRefugeStaffedBooking required
Staffed from about mid-June; 2026 closure 13 September; winter room with 8–10 places
Website of Rifugio Monzino
2,590 m
Bivouac CraveriBivouacUnstaffed
4 beds · Year-round, unstaffed (CAAI)
3,490 m
Bivouac EcclesBivouacUnstaffed
8 beds · Year-round, unstaffed (new hut 8 places; old hut 50 m higher, about 4 places)
3,850 m