© OpenStreetMap · Protomaps · Terrain © Copernicus GLO-30

Explorepeaks.fyi3D

Corne du Diable

4,064 m

France

Elevation
4,064 m
Prominence
—
Difficulty
6/10
Alpine climb
Best Season
Jul
Routes
2

  • AdvisoryReported 24 Aug 2025

    A serac fall on the north face of Mont Blanc du Tacul, the usual descent from the Diable traverse, killed an Italian climber.

    reference-trail.fr

  • AdvisoryReported 8 May 2025

    About 60,000 m³ of ice fell from a hanging glacier east of the Triangle du Tacul, sending an avalanche towards the Col du Midi and the Géant basin; two climbers were buried and slightly injured. Relevant to the Aiguille du Midi approach and the Tacul descent.

    chamonix.net

Routes

2
3D Preview
Open 3D

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: Rifugio Torino → Col du Diable: straight line 3291 m (limit 200 m)
  • danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Col du Diable: straight line 3291 m above the last hut/bivouac
  • danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Col du Diable: straight line: 65° over 25 m (> 60°, high-res DEM)
  • danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Col du Diable: sustained 54° > 45° on a straight line
  • danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Col du Diable: straight line dips 111 m below both ends
  • last routed vertex 3286 m from the summit (closed by straight)
  • 95% straight-line fallback
  • ascent 1181 m is 1.9× the net gain 625 m: the line probably detours down and back up (not a traverse)
AlpineADSources differ: AD- (Camptocamp / Montagnes Magazine (approach couloir to the Col du Diable)) · French 4a (north-west ridge) (Camptocamp (French text; English text says 3b))UIAAIII+MixedNormal route

Sources differ: AD- (Camptocamp / Montagnes Magazine (approach couloir to the Col du Diable)) · French 4a (north-west ridge) (Camptocamp (French text; English text says 3b))

The Corne du Diable (4,064 m) is the first and lowest of the five Aiguilles du Diable on Mont Blanc du Tacul's south-east ridge. From the Torino hut, cross the Combe Maudite, climb the 40–45° 'banana' couloir to the Col du Diable, turn the needle to the Brèche Chaubert and climb its short north-west ridge (III+), then abseil 22–25 m back to the gap.

Elevation Profile

approximate line
3,2503,5003,7504,0004,2500 km0.511.522.53Pointe HelbronnerCol du Diable
Distance
≈ 3.5 km
one way
Ascent
≈ +1,181 m
−556 m lost on the way up
High Point
4,064 m
Time Up
≈ 5h 29m
DIN 33466
Time Down
≈ 4h 39m
DIN 33466 · same way back

The Corne du Diable is normally climbed as the optional first summit of the Aiguilles du Diable traverse; the shortest outing to it on its own terms is to climb to the Col du Diable, tick the Corne and come back down the same couloir. From Pointe Helbronner (Skyway Monte Bianco) walk down to the Rifugio Torino (3,375 m) for the night. Leave around 02:00–02:30, cross the Géant glacier below the north face of the Tour Ronde into the Combe Maudite and reach the foot of the curving 'banana' couloir below the needles at about 3,580–3,600 m. Climb it (AD-, 40–45°, about 350 m), keeping left low down and moving right through mixed ground higher up, to the Col du Diable (about 3,955 m); allow 3–4 hours from the hut. The couloir can also be reached from the Aiguille du Midi and the Cosmiques hut through the crevassed, serac-threatened Cirque Maudit, which is longer and more exposed to icefall. From the col, turn the Corne on its left (4a moves) to the Brèche Chaubert (about 4,047 m) between the Corne and the Pointe Chaubert. Climb the Corne's north-west ridge (III+, a pitch or so of granite) to the small summit block and return to the brèche by a single abseil of 22–25 m from bolts; the anchors on the traverse were re-equipped with linked stainless bolts in 2013. Either reverse the approach, down-climbing or abseiling the couloir to the Combe Maudite and returning to the Torino hut and Helbronner, or carry on along the traverse over the Pointe Chaubert (see the alternative route). Be off the couloir before the sun softens it; it faces south-west.

Start

Pointe Helbronner3,438 m

  • Skyway Monte Bianco (Pontal d'Entrèves – Pointe Helbronner); or Aiguille du Midi cable car from Chamonix
  • Bus to Courmayeur, then to Pontal d'Entrèves for the Skyway Monte Bianco; from Chamonix the Aiguille du Midi cable car (Cosmiques approach).

Stages

DayStagekmm ascentm descentTime
1Pointe Helbronner → Rifugio Torino0.20628m
2Rifugio Torino → Corne du Diable3.31,1764855h 18m

Waypoints

  1. Lift:
    Pointe Helbronner3,438 m
  2. Hut:
    Rifugio Torino3,372 m
  3. Col:
    Col du Diable3,936 m

    not on route line

  4. Summit:
    Corne du Diable4,064 m

Key Passages

  • Bergschrund and 'banana' couloir to the Col du Diable (40–45°, 350 m)
  • Traverse round the Corne to the Brèche Chaubert (4a)
  • North-west ridge of the Corne (III+)
  • 22–25 m abseil back to the Brèche Chaubert

Equipment

0/10 packed
Technical
Glacier
Safety
Footwear
Clothing
Navigation

Downloads

Route confidence 23%

Overview

The first and lowest of the five Aiguilles du Diable, granite needles above 4,000 m on the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul. Reached from the Torino hut by a 40–45° couloir to the Col du Diable and a short grade III+ ridge, it is usually climbed as the opening summit of the Diable traverse.

The Aiguilles du Diable ('Devil's Needles') form the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul, rising above the Combe Maudite and the Cirque Maudit on the French side of the massif, close to the Italian border. The Corne du Diable (4,064 m) is the first needle above the Col du Diable and the lowest of the five; Pointe Chaubert, Pointe Médiane, Pointe Carmen and L'Isolée follow towards the Tacul. With only a small drop to the Brèche Chaubert it is a subsidiary point of the ridge, but it is on the UIAA list of 4000 m summits.

Most climbers reach it on the Arête du Diable, the classic D+ traverse of all five needles to the Tacul, where the Corne is an optional out-and-back from the Brèche Chaubert. Climbed on its own, it is a compact outing from the Torino hut: a glacier approach, a 350 m snow couloir and one pitch of granite, then back down the couloir.

The couloir faces south-west and softens early, the Combe Maudite and Cirque Maudit are crevassed, and the approach from the Aiguille du Midi passes under seracs. Expect cold, windy belays at 4,000 m in the morning.

Climbing Notes

Suitable for climbers comfortable on 40–45° snow and short grade III–IV rock pitches in boots, with abseiling and crevasse-rescue skills. Acclimatise first; a night at the Torino hut (3,375 m) helps. The full Diable traverse is far more demanding (D+, long days with many abseils at over 4,000 m) and many parties hire a guide for it.

Typical plan: Skyway to Pointe Helbronner and a night at the Rifugio Torino; leave at about 02:00, reach the Col du Diable in 3–4 hours, climb the Corne and be back down the couloir before it softens, returning to Helbronner the same day. Check conditions in the couloir (good snow cover makes it much easier) and the Skyway timetable for the last cable car down.

History

Armand Charlet and Jean Chaubert made the first ascent in 1925, the same year as the first ascents of the Pointe Chaubert and L'Isolée; the Pointe Carmen had been climbed in 1923. Armand Charlet and Georges Cachat guided the Americans Miriam O'Brien and Robert Underhill on the first traverse of all five needles on 4 August 1928. The first winter traverse, in 1938, took five days after the party was caught in a storm.

Season

Best Jul
  1. January: Not advisable
  2. February: Not advisable
  3. March: Not advisable
  4. April: Possible
  5. May: Possible
  6. June: Good
  7. July: Best (best window)
  8. August: Good
  9. September: Good
  10. October: Possible
  11. November: Not advisable
  12. December: Not advisable
Jan
Winter; Torino hut closed
Feb
Winter
Mar
Winter conditions
Apr
Possible in good snow for experienced parties; cold
May
Good snow in the couloir; cold rock
Jun
Couloir usually in good condition; Torino hut open
Jul
Main season
Aug
Couloir can become icy or loose in dry, hot spells
Sep
Often stable; colder, shorter days
Oct
Torino hut closes about 11 October (2026)
Nov
Winter conditions
Dec
Winter

Access & Permits

Hut Booking
Rifugio Torino: info@rifugiotorino.com (bookings by e-mail only).
Fees
  • Skyway Monte Bianco ticket (Pontal d'Entrèves – Pointe Helbronner) or Aiguille du Midi cable car ticket
  • Rifugio Torino overnight fee
Rules
  • Rifugio Torino accepts bookings by e-mail only
Getting There

Courmayeur (Italy); Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (France)

Geneva (GVA) or Turin (TRN)

  • Courmayeur: bus from Aosta, Turin or Milan, or from Chamonix through the Mont Blanc tunnel; the Skyway Monte Bianco leaves from Pontal d'Entrèves (first car 06:30 in summer per Montagnes Magazine)
  • Chamonix: train via Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet or bus from Geneva; Aiguille du Midi cable car for the Cirque Maudit approach

Hazards

  • Glacier
  • Crevasses
  • Rockfall
  • Avalanche
  • Exposure
  • Altitude
  • Weather

Huts & Shelters

1

  • Rifugio TorinoRefugeStaffedBooking required

    160 beds · Summer season; 2026 closing date 11 October

    Website of Rifugio Torino

    3,375 m