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L'Isolée

4,114 m

France

Elevation
4,114 m
Prominence
36 m
Difficulty
7/10
Hard alpine
Best Season
Jul–Aug
Routes
1

Routes

1
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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: Rifugio Torino → Couloir SW du Col du Diable: straight line 3220 m (limit 200 m)
  • danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Couloir SW du Col du Diable: straight line 3220 m above the last hut/bivouac
  • danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Couloir SW du Col du Diable: straight line: 65° over 25 m (> 60°, high-res DEM)
  • danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Couloir SW du Col du Diable: sustained 54° > 45° on a straight line
  • danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Couloir SW du Col du Diable: straight line dips 110 m below both ends
  • 88% straight-line fallback
  • 96% approximate geometry
  • ascent 1305 m vs net gain 675 m (+93%)
AlpineD+UIAAV+MixedNormal route

Sources differ: French 5c free / 5b obligatory (Isolée crux 5c original line, 4c Contamine variant) (Camptocamp) · French 6a for the Contamine traverse (Denis Corpet trip report, 2013)

L'Isolée is the last and hardest of the five granite pinnacles on the Arête du Diable, the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul. There is no easier way up: it is climbed as an optional out-and-back from the Brèche de l'Isolée during the classic D+ traverse, by one hard pitch (V+ original line, or IV+ Contamine variant) and a 30 m free-hanging abseil back down.

Elevation Profile

approximate line
3,2503,5003,7504,0004,2500 km0.511.522.533.5Pointe HelbronnerCouloir SW du Col du Diable
Distance
≈ 3.6 km
one way
Ascent
≈ +1,305 m
−631 m lost on the way up
High Point
4,114 m
Time Up
≈ 6h 04m
DIN 33466
Time Down
≈ 5h 10m
DIN 33466 · same way back

L'Isolée (also called Pointe Blanchet) is a subsidiary summit of Mont Blanc du Tacul with only about 36 m of prominence. It is only ever climbed as part of the traverse of the Aiguilles du Diable, which crosses the Corne du Diable, Pointe Chaubert, Pointe Médiane, Pointe Carmen and L'Isolée before finishing on the Tacul. Approach: take the Skyway Monte Bianco from Courmayeur to Pointe Helbronner and sleep at the Rifugio Torino (3,375 m), or take the Aiguille du Midi cable car from Chamonix and sleep at the Refuge des Cosmiques. From either, cross the Géant glacier and the Cirque Maudit (crevasses, serac band below the Pyramide du Tacul) to the foot of the south-west 'banana' couloir at about 3,580 m and climb it (AD-, 40–45°, 350 m) to the Col du Diable (about 3,955 m), 3–4 hours. Then the ridge: pass the Corne du Diable on the left to the Brèche Chaubert; climb the Pointe Chaubert (IV+/5a slab) and abseil three times; climb the 40 m corner of the Pointe Médiane (V/5b, or IV+ variant) and abseil 28–30 m to the Brèche Carmen; climb the Pointe Carmen by cracks right of the east ridge (IV, often iced) and abseil three times (20, 23, 20 m) to the Brèche du Diable; then pass L'Isolée on the right by an easy couloir to the Brèche de l'Isolée (about 4,054–4,078 m). L'Isolée: leave sacks at the brèche, descend 10–15 m into the access couloir and follow cracks on the right side of the arête to below an overhanging flake (piton). Either climb the corner left of the flake (V+/5c, the original line) or traverse left onto the south face and up a flake and a slabby corner (IV+/4c, the Contamine variant; some find the traverse 6a), to a platform; easy moves lead to the summit. Return by downclimbing or a 15 m abseil to a bolted station, then a 30 m free-hanging abseil to the brèche: a 60 m rope is needed. From the brèche follow the broken mixed ridge, mostly on the right, to the east and then main summit of Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m), 1–2 hours, and descend the Tacul normal route on the north-west face (PD, crevasses and seracs) to the Col du Midi and the Aiguille du Midi, 2–3 hours. All abseil stations except those on L'Isolée were re-equipped with stainless bolts in 2013 and are set up for a single 50–60 m rope.

Start

Pointe Helbronner3,438 m

  • Skyway Monte Bianco (Courmayeur–Pointe Helbronner); Aiguille du Midi cable car (Chamonix)
  • From Courmayeur (bus from Aosta), the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car from Pontal d'Entrèves to Pointe Helbronner; or from Chamonix the Aiguille du Midi cable car (first car 06:30 in summer).

Stages

DayStagekmm ascentm descentTime
1Pointe Helbronner → Rifugio Torino0.20628m
2Rifugio Torino → L'Isolée3.51,3015595h 53m

Waypoints

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

    'Banana' couloir, AD-, 40–45°, 350 m

  4. Col:
    Col du Diable3,936 m

    not on route line

  5. Shoulder:
    Pointe Chaubert4,011 m
  6. Shoulder:
    Pointe Médiane4,097 m

    not on route line

  7. Shoulder:
    Pointe Carmen4,092 m

    not on route line

  8. Summit:
    L'Isolée4,114 m

Key Passages

  • Cirque Maudit crevasses and the 'banana' couloir to the Col du Diable
  • Pointe Chaubert slab (IV+/5a) and three abseils
  • Pointe Médiane 40 m corner (V/5b) and 28–30 m abseil
  • Pointe Carmen cracks (IV, often iced) and three abseils
  • L'Isolée: overhanging flake (V+/5c) or Contamine variant (IV+/4c), 30 m free-hanging abseil
  • Exit to Mont Blanc du Tacul and descent of its north-west face

Equipment

0/11 packed
Technical
Glacier
Safety
Footwear
Clothing

Downloads

Route confidence 24%

Overview

A 4,114 m granite spire, the highest and hardest of the five Aiguilles du Diable on the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul. It counts as a 4,000 m summit but has no easy route: you climb it during the D+ traverse of the Diable ridge, with a V+ pitch and a free-hanging abseil.

The Aiguilles du Diable are five granite towers on the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul, above the Cirque Maudit and the Géant glacier: the Corne du Diable, Pointe Chaubert, Pointe Médiane, Pointe Carmen and L'Isolée, all just over 4,000 m. L'Isolée (also Pointe Blanchet), the westernmost, stands apart from the ridge crest, which is where its name comes from; it rises only about 36 m above the gap that separates it from the Tacul.

The traverse of the Aiguilles du Diable is one of the great classics of the Mont Blanc massif: about 1,400 m of climbing from the glacier, on excellent rock, with a long series of short pitches and abseils between the pinnacles, finishing on the summit of Mont Blanc du Tacul. Most of the climbing is around French 4c, with harder moves on the Pointe Médiane (5b) and on L'Isolée (5c, or a 4c variant). L'Isolée is optional on the traverse and is climbed as an out-and-back from the Brèche de l'Isolée.

Commitment is the main issue. Once on the ridge, retreat is awkward, you spend several hours above 4,000 m, and the day ends with the descent of the Tacul's north-west face, which is crevassed and exposed to serac fall. Good acclimatisation, efficient rope work and settled weather are essential.

Climbing Notes

You need to lead French 5a–5b comfortably in mountain boots at 4,000 m (5c or a delicate traverse on L'Isolée itself), to move fast on mixed ground, and to rig and retrieve many short abseils without jamming the rope. Be well acclimatised: the day involves 10 or more hours above about 3,900 m. Many parties go with an IFMGA guide.

Typical plan: Skyway to Pointe Helbronner and a night at the Rifugio Torino (or the Aiguille du Midi and a night at the Refuge des Cosmiques); a 02:00–03:00 start; the couloir to the Col du Diable at first light; the pinnacles through the morning; then the Tacul and the descent of its north-west face to the Aiguille du Midi before the last cable car, or a second night in a hut. Check the snow in the approach couloir and the state of the Tacul's north-west face with the huts or the Office de Haute Montagne before going.

History

The pinnacles were first climbed in the 1920s: the Pointe Carmen in 1923 by Brégeault, Chevalier and de Lépiney, and L'Isolée in 1925 by Blanchet (after whom it is also called Pointe Blanchet) with the guide Armand Charlet. The first complete traverse of all the needles was made on 4 August 1928 by Armand Charlet and Georges Cachat with the Americans Miriam O'Brien and Robert Underhill. The first winter traverse was made in 1938 by M. Gallay, R. Lambert and E. Stagni, who were stormbound on the ridge for five days. The abseil stations were re-equipped with stainless-steel bolts in summer 2013.

Season

Best Jul–Aug
  1. January: Not advisable
  2. February: Not advisable
  3. March: Not advisable
  4. April: Not advisable
  5. May: Not advisable
  6. June: Possible
  7. July: Best (best window)
  8. August: Best (best window)
  9. September: Good
  10. October: Not advisable
  11. November: Not advisable
  12. December: Not advisable
Jan
Winter; very cold, short days
Feb
Winter conditions
Mar
Winter conditions
Apr
Snow-covered rock
May
Snow-covered rock; approach couloir avalanche-prone
Jun
Possible late in the month; rock often snowy or iced
Jul
Main season
Aug
Main season; check the Tacul descent in hot spells
Sep
Often good, colder; shorter days
Oct
Rifugio Torino closes around 11 October (2026); early winter
Nov
Winter conditions
Dec
Winter conditions

Access & Permits

Hut Booking
Rifugio Torino: email only (info@rifugiotorino.com, +39 0165 844034). Refuge des Cosmiques: reservation required, contact the hut directly.
Fees
  • Skyway Monte Bianco or Aiguille du Midi cable-car tickets
  • Rifugio Torino or Refuge des Cosmiques overnight fee
Getting There

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

Geneva (GVA); Turin (TRN) for Courmayeur

  • Courmayeur: bus from Aosta; Skyway Monte Bianco cable car from Pontal d'Entrèves to Pointe Helbronner (Rifugio Torino a few minutes below)
  • Chamonix: train or bus, then the Aiguille du Midi cable car (first car 06:30 in summer)
  • By car: Mont Blanc Tunnel links Chamonix and Courmayeur

Hazards

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

Huts & Shelters

2