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Pointe Carmen

4,109 m

France

Also known as Punta Carmen du Tacul

Punta Carmen du Tacul

Elevation
4,109 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
  • 90% straight-line fallback
  • 96% approximate geometry
  • ascent 1248 m vs net gain 670 m (+86%)
AlpineD+UIAAVMixedNormal route

Sources differ: French 5c free / 5b obligatory for the whole traverse; Pointe Carmen itself 4b (IV/IV+) (Camptocamp, Montagnes Magazine)

Pointe Carmen is the fourth of the five granite pinnacles on the Arête du Diable, the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul. It has no route of its own: you reach it on the D+ traverse of the Aiguilles du Diable, after the Pointe Chaubert and the Pointe Médiane, and leave it by three abseils to the Brèche du Diable.

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
≈ +1,248 m
−578 m lost on the way up
High Point
4,109 m
Time Up
≈ 5h 46m
DIN 33466
Time Down
≈ 4h 52m
DIN 33466 · same way back

Pointe Carmen is a subsidiary summit of Mont Blanc du Tacul with only about 36 m of prominence. It is 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. Because the pinnacles are linked by abseils, there is no practical way to reach Pointe Carmen without doing the first half of the traverse. 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. 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. Pass the Corne du Diable on the left to the Brèche Chaubert; climb the Pointe Chaubert by a cracked slab (IV+/5a) and abseil three times (15, 20, 22 m) to the Brèche Médiane; climb the 40 m corner of the Pointe Médiane (V/5b, or a IV+ variant to the right) and abseil 28–30 m from the 'letterbox' window to the Brèche Carmen (about 4,057–4,078 m; bolted station). Pointe Carmen: climb cracks in the slabs right of the east ridge (IV/4b, often iced) to a ledge, continue right over blocks to a terrace and up further cracks (IV+) to a platform between the two horns, passing the first (east) horn on the north. The second, higher west horn is the summit, climbed by its east arête (IV, a little exposed). From below the west horn, make three abseils (20, 23 and 20 m; or two of 20 and 45 m) to the Brèche du Diable. To finish, pass L'Isolée on the right by an easy couloir (or climb it out and back, V+/5c), follow the broken mixed ridge to 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. Abseil stations on the ridge were re-equipped with stainless bolts in 2013 and suit 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 → Pointe Carmen3.41,2435075h 35m

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

    not on route line

  6. Shoulder:
    Pointe Médiane4,088 m

    not on route line

  7. Summit:
    Pointe Carmen4,109 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 to the Brèche Carmen
  • Pointe Carmen cracks right of the east ridge (IV, often iced) and the summit horn (IV)
  • Three abseils from Pointe Carmen to the Brèche du Diable
  • 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 4,109 m granite pinnacle, the fourth 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 route of its own: you climb it on the D+ traverse of the Diable ridge, between the Pointe Médiane and L'Isolée.

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. Pointe Carmen, the second highest, is a double-horned tower between the Brèche Carmen and the Brèche du Diable, rising only about 36 m above the gaps around it.

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. Pointe Carmen itself is climbed by cracks of about IV/4b that are often iced, after the harder corner on the Pointe Médiane (5b); the abseils on either side make it impractical to reach without doing the first half of the traverse.

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 (Pointe Carmen itself is about 4b, but often iced), 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

Pointe Carmen was the first of the Aiguilles du Diable to be climbed, in 1923, by Brégeault, Chevalier and de Lépiney; the other pinnacles followed in 1925, mostly by Armand Charlet with various partners. 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