Mont Maudit
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
The itineraries on Mont Maudit are developed entirely on glacial and mixed terrain at high altitude, starting from the Aiguille du Midi or the Rifugio Torino. The normal route runs along the north side of the mountain and requires progression skills on steep and mixed ice; the Kuffner ridge, a classic itinerary of greater technical commitment, follows the south-east watershed ridge from Col de la Fourche. In both cases, an overnight stay in a hut or bivouac is necessary before the attack. The conditions on the north face vary considerably depending on the season and temperatures: the presence of seracs exposes this face to significant objective dangers, as demonstrated by the tragic avalanche of 12 July 2012, in which a detachment from the north face caused the death of nine mountaineers.
Summer ascent routes
" from Refuge des Cosmiques (3,616m) via Col Maudit and north face - PD+ - 1 day - (normal route)
" from Col de la Fourche (3.684m) for cresta Kuffner - D - 2 days - (classic ridge route)
Winter ascents
Winter ascents to Mont Maudit are reserved for mountaineers with specific experience. The north face presents objective dangers that are accentuated in the cold season due to the greater instability of the seracs and the live ice conditions. The Kuffner ridge is also practised in winter conditions, but requires careful assessment of the snow and ice conditions along the south-east ridge.
Introduction
At 4,465 metres, Mont Maudit is the second highest peak in the Mont Blanc massif and the third in the Alps as a whole. It is located along the ridge line connecting Mont Blanc to Mont Blanc du Tacul, on French territory, in the municipality of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute Savoie), with the southern slope facing the Italian border and Val Veny. In the SOIUSA classification, it belongs to the Graian Alps, subsection Mont Blanc Alps. The summit is characterised by a sharp rocky summit pinnacle emerging from a wide glacial dome, furrowed by deep crevasses on the north side and compact granite walls on the south side. The name, which literally means "cursed mountain", recalls the ancient appellation by which the local populations designated the entire massif before it was renamed Mont Blanc in the 18th century: Mont Maudit thus preserves in its denomination the historical memory of the alpine beliefs that surrounded these peaks of fear and superstition. The first ascent was made on 12 September 1878 by Henry Seymour Hoare and William Edward Davidson with guides Johann Jaun and Johann von Bergen, almost a century after Mont Blanc was conquered. Today, the mountain is an integral part of the mountaineering route known as the Trois Monts route, which links Mont Blanc du Tacul, Mont Maudit and Mont Blanc in a single high altitude route. The Col Maudit, which separates this peak from Mont Blanc du Tacul, is one of the obligatory passages for those who traverse the three mountains from the Aiguille du Midi side.
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Description
Geology and Morphology
Mont Maudit is built on the same granite base that characterises the entire Mont Blanc massif. The summit pinnacle is a rocky spire of compact granite that emerges from a wide snowy saddle, giving the summit an unmistakable silhouette when observed from the Bosses ridge or from the Aiguille du Midi. The north face is traversed by a steep glacier subject to frequent seracs, making this sector one of the most dangerous in the massif. The south-east face, which constitutes the environment of the Kuffner ridge, alternates between compact rock sections and sharp snowy cornices, with altitudes already exceeding 4,100m at Pointe de l'Androsace. Col Maudit (approx. 4,035m) is the pass that separates the summit from Mont Blanc du Tacul and is the junction point between the normal route to Mont Maudit and the Trois Monts route to Mont Blanc.
Mountaineering history
The mountaineering history of Mont Maudit is intertwined with that of the entire Mont Blanc massif, of which the summit is a structural part. The first ascent on 12 September 1878, carried out by Hoare and Davidson with the guides Jaun and von Bergen, came almost ninety years after the conquest of Mont Blanc: the difficulty of the summit, the altitude and the hostile morphology of the north slope partly explain the delay compared to other peaks in the group. Among the classic routes opened later, the Kuffner Ridge occupies a prominent place: climbed for the first time on 2 July 1887 by Moriz von Kuffner with Alexander Burgener and a porter, it is considered one of the most beautiful ridge routes in the massif, due to the variety of terrain, exposure and the quality of the glacial environment. In more recent history, Mont Maudit is associated with the tragedy of 12 July 2012: a serac that detached from the north face in the early hours of the morning generated an avalanche that struck numerous roped parties progressing on the normal route, causing nine casualties among British, German, Swiss and Spanish mountaineers. The episode brought the subject of objective risks on high altitude routes back to the attention and opened a debate on preventive information for mountaineers on the massif. The south-east face saw the first ascent of this route in July 1929 by Renato Chabod, Riccardo Cajrati-Crivelli and Lieutenant-Colonel Baratono: a feat documented by Chabod himself in a narrative style that influenced 20th-century Italian mountaineering literature.
Cultural context
Mont Maudit owes its name to the medieval and Renaissance tradition that attributed a threatening and supernatural character to high Alpine peaks. Mercator's atlas of 1595 bears the indication "Montagne Maudite" for the Mont Blanc massif as a whole; after the conquest of 1786 and the progressive scientific exploration of the Alps, the name slipped from the massif to the single peak, where it has remained to this day as a toponymic testimony to an entire cultural season. The summit is also a central part of the Trois Monts route, an itinerary that brought Courmayeur guides to the Italian side of Mont Blanc for the first time in 1863: Mont Maudit was then - as now - the obligatory passage of the high ridge between Tacul and the main summit.
Traverses
" Traverse Mont Blanc du Tacul - Mont Maudit - Mont Blanc (Trois Monts route) with descent via the French normal route or via the Gonella hut
Holds
" Bivouac Fourche (3.684m) - at the Col de la Fourche, base for the Kuffner ridge
" Refuge des Cosmiques (3,616m) - base for the normal route and the Trois Monts route
" Refuge Torino (3,375m) - Italian side, reachable via the Mont Blanc Skyway
Information
Height: 4.465m
Mountain group: Mont Blanc Alps
Alpine chain: Graian Alps (SOIUSA)
Typology: rocky summit on glacial ridge
Protected area: none
First ascent: 12 September 1878
First ascenders: Henry Seymour Hoare, William Edward Davidson (with guides Johann Jaun and Johann von Bergen)
Summit book: [to be verified]
Commune(s): Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute Savoie, FR); southern slope on the border with Courmayeur (AO)
Vallee(s): Vallée de l'Arve (FR); southern slope towards Val Veny (IT)
Mountaineering difficulty: PD+ (normal route); D (Kuffner ridge)
Average elevation gain: 850m
Recommended period: June - September
Prevalent exposure: N (normal route); SE (Kuffner ridge)
Presence of glaciers: yes
Presence of equipped sections: no
Collections
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc summits | list - map
vettes of the Mont Blanc Alps | list - map