Pointe Médiane

There is no separate way up the Pointe Médiane: it is the third of five granite needles (Corne du Diable, Pointe Chaubert, Pointe Médiane, Pointe Carmen, L'Isolée) on the Arête du Diable, and is climbed in the course of that traverse, which normally continues to the summit of 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 is an optional out-and-back. Climb a steep cracked slab (4c/5a, IV+) and the ridge to the Pointe Chaubert (4,074 m), then make three short abseils (15, 20, 22 m) on the north-west side to the Brèche Médiane, turning a gendarme on the north to its lower west notch (4,017 m). From there, ledges lead right to a 40 m corner (5a/5b, V) climbed in full, or left after 15 m by a slab and cracks (IV+), to a platform beside three summit blocks; pass through the left-hand 'letterbox' window to the top. A strong party from the Torino reached the Médiane about 6 hours after leaving the hut. Going back the way you came means reversing the abseils, so parties almost always continue: abseil about 28 m (or 13 + 15 m) to the Brèche Carmen, climb Pointe Carmen and optionally L'Isolée, then follow the mixed ridge 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.