Mont Brouillard

4,069 m

Italy

Also known as Monte Brouillard, Мон-Бруйар

Monte Brouillard · Мон-Бруйар

Elevation: 4,069 m
Prominence: 39 m
Difficulty: 5/10; Easy alpine
Best Season: Jul
Routes: 1

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: Bivacco Eccles → Col Émile Rey: straight line 625 m (limit 200 m)
danger scan: Bivacco Eccles → Col Émile Rey: straight line 625 m above the last hut/bivouac
danger scan: Bivacco Eccles → Col Émile Rey: straight line: 61° over 25 m (> 55°, high-res DEM)
danger scan: Bivacco Eccles → Col Émile Rey: sustained 52° > 40° on a straight line
Rifugio Monzino → Col du Frêney: dem (snap_failed, 2.7 km)
Col du Frêney → Bivacco Eccles: glacier (snap_failed, 0.8 km)
Bivacco Eccles → Col Émile Rey: straight (snap_failed; DEM rejected: no path below 40° between the endpoints, 0.6 km)
Col Émile Rey → Mont Brouillard: dem (snap_failed, 0.2 km)

AlpinePD+GlacierNormal route

Sources differ: PD (Wikipedia (easiest route, older guidebook grading))

A remote two-day glacier and snow climb from Val Veny: up to the Monzino hut and the Eccles bivouacs at about 3,850 m, across the upper Brouillard glacier, up the 45–50° east couloir of the Col Émile Rey (4,030 m), then a short rocky ridge south to the summit. Usually climbed together with Punta Baretti.

Elevation Profile

approximate line

Distance: ≈ 8.9 km; one way
Ascent: ≈ +2,766 m; −227 m lost on the way up
High Point: 4,069 m
Time Up: ≈ 10h 47m; DIN 33466
Time Down: ≈ 7h 24m; DIN 33466 · same way back

Mont Brouillard is a satellite of Mont Blanc on its south-west (Brouillard) ridge, just south of the Col Émile Rey, and is almost always climbed as a short side trip from that col, often combined with Punta Baretti a little further south. From the car park at Freney in Val Veny (about 1,560 m) cross the Dora di Veny and follow path 16 to the Rifugio Monzino (2,590 m), with sections of easy via ferrata on two rock bands, in 1½–2½ hours. From the hut follow cairns up the moraine to the Brouillard glacier at about 3,000 m, keep to its left bank, pass a crevassed zone around 3,200 m and reach the Col du Frêney area; a steep snow or ice slope and mixed ground lead to the two Eccles bivouac huts on the south-west ridge of Pic Eccles at about 3,850–3,900 m. Camptocamp gives 5–8 hours from the car park to the bivouac. From the upper bivouac a 50 m abseil from a fixed anchor behind the hut gets you over the bergschrund onto the small upper Brouillard glacier. Cross it west-south-west to the foot of the east couloir of the Col Émile Rey and climb its left branch, close to the rock wall, at 45–50° to the col (4,030 m). The couloir faces east, gets the sun very early and its snow deteriorates quickly, so be on it at first light; it is not equipped, but rock protection can be placed at the sides. From the col follow the easy rocky ridge south over a second small dip to the summit of Mont Brouillard (4,069 m). Parties continuing to Punta Baretti (4,013 m) follow the ridge further south over a short grade II wall, with a fixed abseil anchor for the return; Camptocamp gives about 3 hours for the round trip from the col to both summits. Descend the same way: down-climb or abseil the couloir, recross the glacier to the Eccles bivouac and, usually the same day or the next, return via the Monzino hut to Val Veny. The western descent from the col to the Mont Blanc glacier and the Quintino Sella hut is long, exposed to stonefall and currently pointless as that hut is closed.

Start

Freney (Val Veny)1,530 m

Bus to Courmayeur (from Aosta, Turin, Milan or Chamonix through the Mont Blanc tunnel), then the seasonal shuttle into Val Veny where it runs; otherwise taxi.
Parking at the trailhead

Stages

Day	Stage	km	m ascent	m descent	Time
1	Freney (Val Veny) → Bivacco Eccles	8.1	2,437	120	9h 23m
2	Bivacco Eccles → Mont Brouillard	0.8	329	107	1h 25m

Waypoints

Parking:
Freney (Val Veny)1,530 m
Car park near the Pramotton picnic area; private traffic in Val Veny is capped in summer
Hut:
Rifugio Monzino2,569 m
Col:
Col du Frêney3,639 m
Bivouac:
Bivacco Eccles3,847 m
Col:
Col Émile Rey4,020 m
Summit:
Mont Brouillard4,069 m

Key Passages

Via ferrata sections below the Monzino hut
Crevassed Brouillard glacier around 3,200 m
Steep snow or ice slope from the Col du Frêney to the Eccles bivouac
50 m abseil from the bivouac over the bergschrund
East couloir of the Col Émile Rey (45–50°, early sun)
Short rocky ridge from the col to the summit

Equipment

0/14 packed

Downloads

Route confidence 65%

Overview

A 4,069 m rocky top on the lower Brouillard ridge of Mont Blanc, above Val Veny on the Italian side. Climbed mainly by 4000er collectors, it needs a long two-day approach via the Monzino hut and the unstaffed Eccles bivouacs and a 45–50° couloir to the Col Émile Rey.

Mont Brouillard stands on the south-west ridge of Mont Blanc, the Brouillard ridge, between the Brouillard glacier to the east and the Mont Blanc and Miage glaciers to the west, entirely in Italy's Aosta Valley. With only about 40 m of prominence it is a satellite rather than a mountain in its own right: the Col Émile Rey (4,030 m) separates it from the upper Brouillard ridge, and Punta Baretti (4,013 m) lies a short way further south. It is on the UIAA list of 4000 m summits, which is why most of its few visitors come.

The usual way up is from Val Veny via the Rifugio Monzino and the Eccles bivouacs, the high base also used for the Peuterey, Innominata and Brouillard routes on Mont Blanc. From the bivouac the climb is short: across the upper Brouillard glacier, up the east couloir of the Col Émile Rey and along an easy rocky ridge to the summit, usually combined with Punta Baretti. Martin Moran's AC guidebook describes the pair as unsurpassed in the Alps for inaccessibility and solitude.

Expect a serious, committing outing rather than a technical one: crevassed glacier, steep snow that softens early in the east-facing couloir, stonefall, abseils and no staffed hut above 2,590 m. The glaciers on this side have retreated sharply, and in hot, dry summers the approach to the Eccles bivouacs and the bergschrunds can become very difficult.

Climbing Notes

You need solid glacier and steep-snow skills: roped glacier travel, crevasse rescue, cramponing and belaying on 45–50° snow or ice, and abseiling from fixed anchors. Fitness for a 2,300 m first day to the Eccles bivouac with a full load, and good acclimatisation, are important. The route is rarely in a guide company's standard programme, but the Courmayeur guides know it well and hiring one is sensible if you have not climbed in the area.

Typical itinerary: day 1 from Freney in Val Veny to the Rifugio Monzino (1½–2½ hours) and on to the Eccles bivouac (5–8 hours in total), carrying food and fuel; day 2 a pre-dawn start for the Col Émile Rey couloir before the sun reaches it, the summit and Punta Baretti, and return to the bivouac or down to Monzino. Many parties split day 1 with a night at Monzino. Ask the Monzino warden about glacier conditions before setting out, and allow a spare day for weather.

History

Martino Baretti and the guide Jean-Joseph Maquignaz claimed the first ascent on 28 July 1880, but the claim is now discounted: Karl Blodig, Oscar Eckenstein and Alexander Brocherel found no cairn when they climbed the peak on 10 July 1906, and Baretti's stated time for the traverse from Punta Baretti was half of what it actually takes. The Col Émile Rey was first crossed by the Gugliermina brothers and companions in August 1899; Josef Knubel and Eustace Thomas made the first descent of its east couloir in 1928. The name is often read as 'mountain of mist' but is thought to come from the Valdôtain dialect word for marshy alpine meadows.

Season

Best Jul

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

Jan: Winter; Monzino hut closed (winter room only)
Feb: Winter
Mar: Winter; occasional ski-mountaineering on the Col Émile Rey couloir
Apr: Spring snow; expert ski-mountaineering only
May: Good snow cover but hut unstaffed and avalanche risk
Jun: Monzino hut opens mid-June; well-filled glacier and couloir
Jul: Best period; start early for the east-facing couloir
Aug: Glacier and bergschrunds can become difficult in dry summers; more stonefall
Sep: Monzino closes mid-September; late-season ice and open crevasses
Oct: Early winter conditions
Nov: Winter
Dec: Winter

Access & Permits

Hut Booking

Rifugio Monzino (Società delle Guide di Courmayeur): book by phone or email with the warden (info@rifugiomonzino.com). The Eccles bivouacs are first come, first served.

Fees

Overnight fee at the Rifugio Monzino
Car park fees in Val Veny may apply

Rules

Private traffic into Val Veny is capped in summer (around 260 cars, shown on LED signs at the valley entrance); shuttles or bikes are the alternative when it is full
The Rifugio Quintino Sella al Monte Bianco (3,371 m) on the western approach and its access path have been declared unusable by CAI Torino since August 2023
The Eccles bivouacs are unstaffed and cannot be booked

Getting There

Courmayeur

Geneva (GVA); Turin (TRN) is a similar distance

Bus to Courmayeur from Aosta, Turin or Milan, or from Chamonix through the Mont Blanc tunnel
From Courmayeur, drive about 5 km into Val Veny to the car park near the Pramotton picnic area / Freney (about 1,560 m), or use the seasonal Val Veny shuttle
Road access via the A5 motorway from Turin or through the Mont Blanc tunnel from Chamonix

Hazards

Glacier
Crevasses
Rockfall
Altitude
Avalanche
Exposure
Weather
Remoteness

Huts & Shelters

Rifugio MonzinoHutStaffedBooking required
55 beds · Staffed mid-June to mid-September; winter room with 8–10 places
Website of Rifugio Monzino
2,590 m
Bivacco EcclesBivouacUnstaffed
7 beds · Year-round, unstaffed
3,850 m