Chamonix, France - Sunrise (6.30 am) & Windy Day @Mont Maudit (4 465m)

Chamonix, France - Sunrise (6.30 am) & Windy Day @Mont Maudit (4 465m), a photo by GlobeTrotter 2000 on Flickr.

This photo was taken on 12nd July 2012, day of the tragedy when 9 alpinists were killed by an avalanche on Mont-Blanc.

Sometimes the Mont Maudit is debased to be only a satellite of the Mont Blanc instead of an independent goal of climbers. But this judgement is not justified at all since the Mont Maudit has a lot of very interesting and difficult couloirs. It is an important climbing mountain of the Mont Blanc MASSIF. The ice-balconies of the Mont Maudit are only one part. It is the "tame" side with direction to the West and Northwest. You traverse these glacier flanks if you climb the Mont Blanc via the Mont Blanc du Tacul starting from the Aiguille du Midi. As part of this Mont Blanc route, the Mont Maudit (which lies in the Northeast of the Mont Blanc, 1,8 km far away from the main summit of the Mont Blanc) is interesting for "normal" alpinists who usually climb 4000m peaks. On this way, it takes already 6 to 7 hours from the Aiguille du Midi via the Mont Blanc du Tacul.