Pointe Chaubert
4,074 m
France
- Elevation
- 4,074 m
- Prominence
- —
- Difficulty
- 7/10
- Hard alpine
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 1
AdvisoryReported 24 Aug 2025
A serac fall on the north face of Mont Blanc du Tacul killed an Italian climber on 24 August 2025. The Tacul's north-west face is the usual descent from the Diable traverse.
reference-trail.frAdvisoryReported 8 May 2025
About 60,000 m³ of ice fell from a hanging glacier east of the Triangle du Tacul on 8 May 2025, sending an avalanche towards the Col du Midi and the Géant basin; two climbers were buried and slightly injured.
chamonix.netAdvisoryReported 5 Aug 2024
A serac fall on the Tacul north face (Trois Monts route) on 5 August 2024 caught 11–15 climbers, killing one and injuring four.
explorersweb.com
Routes
1Approximate 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 3314 m (limit 200 m)
- danger scan: Rifugio Torino → Col du Diable: straight line 3314 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 3310 m from the summit (closed by straight)
- 96% straight-line fallback
- 96% approximate geometry
Sources differ: AD- (Camptocamp / Montagnes Magazine (approach couloir to the Col du Diable only)) · 4c/5a (one move, Camptocamp) (Camptocamp) · V+ (Montagnes Magazine, Wikipedia (whole traverse, L'Isolée))
Pointe Chaubert is the second needle of the Aiguilles du Diable on the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul and the first one the traverse normally crosses: a 350 m snow couloir to the Col du Diable, a short traverse to the Brèche Chaubert, then a steep cracked slab (IV+) and the ridge to the summit.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 3.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +1,196 m
- −561 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 4,074 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 5h 32m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 4h 41m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
There is no separate way up the Pointe Chaubert: it is the second of five granite needles (Corne du Diable, Pointe Chaubert, Pointe Médiane, Pointe Carmen, L'Isolée) on the Arête du Diable, and the first summit the classic traverse crosses on its way to Mont Blanc du Tacul. From Pointe Helbronner (Skyway from Courmayeur) and the Rifugio Torino (3,375 m), cross below the north face of the Tour Ronde into the Combe Maudite to the foot of the 'banana' couloir under the needles (about 3,580–3,600 m). Climb it (AD-, 40–45°, 350 m) to the Col du Diable (about 3,955 m), 3–4 hours from the hut. The same couloir can be reached from the Aiguille du Midi and Refuge des Cosmiques through the crevassed, serac-threatened Cirque Maudit. From the col, turn the Corne du Diable on the left (4a) to the Brèche Chaubert (about 4,047 m); the Corne itself (4,064 m) is an optional out-and-back by its north-west ridge (III+), returning by a 22–25 m abseil. From the brèche climb a steep cracked slab left of the east ridge (one move of 4c/5a, a peg; IV+ in Montagnes Magazine), then move right onto the ridge and follow it to the summit of the Pointe Chaubert (4,074 m). A strong party from the Torino reached it a little over 4 hours after leaving the hut. From the summit, three short abseils (15, 20 and 22 m, trending slightly left on the north-west side) lead to the Brèche Médiane. Most parties then continue over the Pointe Médiane, Pointe Carmen and optionally L'Isolée to Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m), and descend its north-west normal route to the Col du Midi and the Aiguille du Midi or back to the Torino. Abseil anchors were re-equipped with stainless bolts in 2013.
Start
Pointe Helbronner3,438 m
- Skyway Monte Bianco (Courmayeur–Pointe Helbronner); alternatively Aiguille du Midi cable car from Chamonix
- Bus from Aosta or Chamonix to Courmayeur, then the Skyway Monte Bianco from Pontal d'Entrèves to Pointe Helbronner. From Chamonix, the Aiguille du Midi cable car and the Cosmiques/Cirque Maudit approach.
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pointe Helbronner → Rifugio Torino | 0.2 | 0 | 62 | 8m |
| 2 | Rifugio Torino → Pointe Chaubert | 3.3 | 1,191 | 490 | 5h 22m |
Waypoints
- Lift: Pointe Helbronner3,438 m
Top station of the Skyway Monte Bianco from Courmayeur
- Hut: Rifugio Torino3,372 m
- Col: Col du Diable3,936 m
not on route line
- Summit: Pointe Chaubert4,074 m
Key Passages
- Banana couloir to the Col du Diable (AD-, 40–45°)
- Traverse round the Corne du Diable to the Brèche Chaubert (4a)
- Cracked slab on the Pointe Chaubert (IV+/4c-5a)
- Three abseils (15, 20, 22 m) to the Brèche Médiane (continuation)
Equipment
0/11 packedDownloads
Route confidence 23%Overview
The 4,074 m Pointe Chaubert is the second of the five granite Aiguilles du Diable on the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul, and the first summit crossed on the classic Diable traverse (D+). It is reached by a 350 m snow couloir and a steep cracked slab of about IV+.
The Aiguilles du Diable are a row of granite towers on the ridge that runs south-east from Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m) down to the Col du Diable, above the Combe Maudite and the Cirque Maudit. From east to west they are the Corne du Diable, Pointe Chaubert, Pointe Médiane, Pointe Carmen and L'Isolée. All five are on the UIAA list of 4,000 m summits. The Pointe Chaubert is the lowest but one, a compact tower between the Brèche Chaubert and the Brèche Médiane; it shares its name with Jean Chaubert, who was on the first ascents of several of the needles.
It has no independent normal route. Climbers reach it on the Arête du Diable traverse: up the south-west couloir to the Col du Diable, round the Corne du Diable to the Brèche Chaubert, then up a steep cracked slab and a short ridge. It is the first needle reached and the least sustained, but no source describes a standard retreat from it: parties abseil off its far side and continue over the other needles to the Tacul, which commits them to a long day above 4,000 m and to the descent of the Tacul's serac-threatened north-west face.
The rock is excellent granite and in mid-summer the ridge is often almost free of snow. Strong parties take 12 or more hours from the Rifugio Torino over the whole traverse and back.
Climbing Notes
Reaching the Chaubert means 40–45° snow and IV+ granite in boots at 4,000 m; because the usual way off is to continue the traverse, you should also be able to climb V in boots and be quick with many abseils. Acclimatise well first (several nights above 3,000 m and at least one 4,000 m peak). Many parties hire a guide; Courmayeur and Chamonix guides run the traverse regularly.
Typical plan: Skyway from Courmayeur to Pointe Helbronner, night at the Rifugio Torino, leave around 02:30, Col du Diable at dawn, and the Chaubert about an hour later. Then continue over the Médiane, Carmen and L'Isolée to the Tacul and down its north-west face to the Col du Midi. Check the condition of the approach couloir and of the Tacul descent before you go (serac falls killed climbers there in 2024 and 2025), and the last lift times at the Aiguille du Midi or Helbronner.
History
The lower group of the needles, including the Pointe Chaubert, was first climbed on 1 September 1925 by Armand Charlet, Jean Chaubert and Antoine Ravanel (Camptocamp, citing Chaubert's account in La Montagne). On 4 August 1928 Charlet and Georges Cachat guided the Americans Miriam O'Brien and Robert Underhill on the first complete traverse of all the needles to the Tacul. The first winter traverse, in 1938, took M. Gallay, R. Lambert and E. Stagni five days in a storm.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Possible
- June: Good
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; very cold, short days
- Feb
- Winter conditions
- Mar
- Winter conditions
- Apr
- Snow-covered rock
- May
- Rock often still snowy and icy; couloir in good condition
- Jun
- Good couloir snow; some ice in cracks
- Jul
- Main season; ridge often almost dry
- Aug
- Main season; approach couloir can become icy or stony, check the Tacul descent
- Sep
- Often stable and cold; shorter days
- Oct
- Rifugio Torino closes around 11 October (2026); early snow
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Rifugio Torino: info@rifugiotorino.com, +39 0165 844034 (bookings by e-mail only).
- Fees
- Skyway Monte Bianco ticket (Courmayeur–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/Milan or Chamonix through the Mont Blanc Tunnel; the Skyway Monte Bianco leaves from Pontal d'Entrèves
- Chamonix: train via Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet or bus from Geneva; Aiguille du Midi cable car for the Cosmiques/Cirque Maudit approach and the Tacul descent
Hazards
- Exposure
- Altitude
- Weather
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Avalanche
- Rockfall
Huts & Shelters
1- 3,375 m
Rifugio TorinoRefugeStaffedBooking required
160 beds · Summer season; closing for 2026 planned for 11 October