49th to 52nd 4000 m summits9 July 2024 · Mont Blanc
The Royal Traverse: from the Aiguille de Bionnassay to the summit of Mont Blanc
The track
Distance and elevation gain from the Strava tracks; profile drawn from the GPS. Hover over the map or the profile to locate a point along the track.
The figures
From 7 July (start 15:15) to 9 July 2024 (finish 15:27) · 2 nights — Refuge de Plan Glacier, Refuge Durier
Summits & route
The summits
Day by day
- D1Bellevue > Col de Tricot > Plan Glacier hut
- D2Traverse of the Dômes de Miage > Durier hut
- D3Aiguille de Bionnassay > Dôme du Goûter > Mont Blanc > Mont Maudit > Mont Blanc du Tacul > Aiguille du Midi
Climbing partners
Click a name to see their map.
Topos & references
The story
Mont Blanc's Royal Traverse owes its name to its exceptional character: it is a prestigious, wild and airy mountaineering route that links the most majestic summits (the Dômes de Miage, the Aiguille de Bionnassay, Mont Blanc) before descending towards the Aiguille du Midi.
D1 — The 4 smugglers' approach
Up to the Refuge de Plan Glacier from Bellevue, via the superb Smugglers' Path. The first stage of a 3-day mountaineering trip (originally meant to last 5) in the Mont Blanc massif, with a crack foursome!
D2 — Dômes de Miage
An early start for a second warm-up day: the full Mettrier ridge and the traverse of the Dômes de Miage, before reaching the Refuge Durier. It's only 10:30, and we have the whole day to rest... Which is just as well, given the big day planned for tomorrow!
D3 — Mont Blanc via the Royal Traverse
A grandiose day, with a magnificent traverse taking in, one after another, the Aiguille de Bionnassay (4052 m), the Dôme du Goûter (4304 m), Mont Blanc (4808 m), Mont Maudit (4465 m) and Mont Blanc du Tacul (4248 m).
Impeccable conditions for this legendary route, with 3 good friends! A fantastic day, and in fact the last of our shortened escapade: the fatigue of the previous days and the big programme of the day led my companions to prefer heading back down to the valley that very evening... bodies exhausted but heads full of memories! I would of course have liked to carry on, but the disappointment is minimal: this day and this link-up of the 5 × 4000ers of the Bionnassay – Goûter – Trois Monts traverse will remain an incredible memory! NB: Mont Maudit and Mont Blanc du Tacul are not usually climbed on the Trois Monts route; I did quick solo there-and-backs to them.
Not forgetting the lovely surprise of the day: bumping into our friends Florian, Nicolas and Matthieu on the summit of Mont Blanc — what luck! As for Mont Blanc, it was Anthony and Marc-Henri's first visit, and they were celebrating their 10 years of climbing together there!
A short break from the mountains over the next few weeks with scout camp, then back in August for new adventures.