Mont Blanc is not an easy mountain to summit.  Glaciers, icefall, rockfall, high altitude, challenging climbing and unpredictable mountain weather make it a hard mountain to stand on top of, regardless of the route chosen. Even the easiest route on Mont Blanc, the Normal or Goûter Route, involves serious objective hazards and require significant endurance and mountaineering experience to climb it safely. It's far from a given that experienced teams will make it up the mountain, even in the peak season when the weather is most stable and conditions are at their best.

This blog explores the challenges and hazards of Mont Blanc's Normal Route, the Goûter Route.

Overview  |  Normal Route of Mont Blanc

The Normal Route on Mont Blanc, also known as the Goûter Route, starts with a train ride to the Nid d'Áigle Hut. From there is ascends a climbers trail to the Tete Rousse Hut, ascends steep rocky terrain up the Aiguille du Goûter, where the Goûter Hut is perched.  From the Goûter Hut, the route maintains a moderate ascent up the Dome du Goûter, where a brief dip at the Col du Dome leads to the Bosses Ridge.  The Bosses ridge is an exposed ridgeline that leads to the summit on broken, glaciated terrain. 

Statistics  |  Normal Route of Mont Blanc

Vertical Gain:

• 2550' / 780m (Nid d'Áigle Hut 2,390m/7,900' to the Tête Rousse Hut 3,171m / 10,450')
• 2,450' / 700m (Tête Rousse 3,171m/10,450' to the Goûter Hut 3,863m/12,750')
• 3,100' / 950m (Goûter Hut 3,863m/12,750 to the Summit of Mont Blanc 4,810m/15,766')

Distance:

• 1.8 miles / 3 km  - Nid d'Áigle to Tête Rousse
• 1 mile / 1.6 km -  Tête Rousse to Goûter Hut
• 2.6 miles / 4.2 km - Goûter Hut to Summit of Mont Blanc

Hazards: 

• Rock Fall in the Grand Couloir
• Avalanche hazard on the Grand Couloir
• Crevasses
• Inclement Mountain Weather

Technical Difficulty:

• 2,000'+/600m of 3rd and 4th class rock
• steep snow
• glacier travel

The Start  |  Normal Route of Mont Blanc

The Normal Route of Mont Blanc begins with a train ride to the Nid d'Áigle Hut.  The train originates in Saint Gervais Les Bains and you can also hop on a tram in Les Houches and walk 5 minutes from the cable car to the train.  Timetables seem to be always changing for both of these legs, so getting reliable information on the status of the train and tram is a challenge. 

From the Nid d'Aigle, climbers ascend to the Tête Rousse or the Goûter Hut.  This section is mostly hiking via an established climber's trail or a snowy ascent up the Bionnassay Glacier in snowy/early season conditions. 

The Climb  |  Normal Route of Mont Blanc

Many climbers begin their climbs from the out from the Tête Rousse Hut to be in a position to cross the Grand Couloir during the coldest part of the day.  This means the first day starts early from the Tête Rousse and ascends the Glacier de Tête Rousse before immediately crossing the Grand Couloir. 

The Grand Couloir on Mont Blanc is a large couloir that is constantly threatened with rockfall and/or avalanche.  The route crosses the couloir to gain a rocky ridge that ascends the Aiguille du Goûter.  The section of the couloir that is traversed is about 500' /150m wide and ranges from easy snow walking to dry, shale walking.  In early season it is often snow with deep, melted runnels and water or loose wet debris running down them, making the crossing a bigger challenge. 

The West Face of the Aiguille du Goûter.  Here climbers are shown crossing the Grand Couloir on Mont Blanc in June 2025.  The couloir is a feature that funnels rock and snow onto the Goûter Route of Mont Blanc, creating a significant hazard for climbers.  The Goûter Hut is pictured at the top right. Photo: Zeb Blais

After crossing the Grand Couloir, climbers ascend the West Face of the Aiguille du Goûter.  This ascent is 2,200' (700 meters) of challenging and exposed rock scrambling with a few 4th class sections sprinkled in for good measure, often mixed with snow.  If there is significant snow on the route, climbers may climb the entire face with crampons on.  Later in the season the entire face is devoid of snow and ascents without crampons, including the Grand Couloir, are typical.

The Refuge du Goûter is a massive refuge that sleeps 130 people at the top of the Aiguille du Goûter. Photo: Zeb Blais

At the top of the Aiguille du Goûter, climbers arrive at the Refuge du Goûter.  Most climbers continue from here up the Dome du Goûter, a broad glaciated mass that stands between the Refuge and the summit. 

The Dome du Goûter (left) in snowy, early season conditions. Photo: Zeb Blais

From the Dome du Goûter, climbers descend a couple hundred feet to the Col du Dome before ascending the Bosses Ridge to the summit.  This stretch begins with a broad, low angle face that leads to a narrow ridge with two large protruding "bosses" (bumps).  The first Boss is the Grande Bosse and the second is the Petite Bosse. 

The Dome du Goûter (lower right), the Valot Shelter (on the rock outcropping) and the Bosses (camel's hump feature in the upper left) as taken from near the summit via the Trois Monts Route. Photo: Zeb Blais

The Bosses Ridge is a steep, knife-edge ridge that can vary dramatically with conditions.  When it is in good condition, with solid bucket steps kicked into it and Styrofoam-like neve for cramponing, it feels like fun, easy climbing.  If it is firm or icy or smooth without a boot pack, it can feel much more challenging and exposed.  Either way, it's a steep ridge with significant drops on either side which can be a real challenge if there are significant winds.

The Route on this section can vary based on the movement of the glacier and sometimes traverses onto the North Face of Mont Blanc.  Usually, this deviation from the ridge helps to avoid a steep section or exposure to a crevasse.

The summit of Mont Blanc is a broad, glaciated plateau with plenty of room for multiple climbing teams.  Just to the south, the summit of Monte Bianco di Courmayeur points toward the Puetery Ridge, a highly technical route that culminates in the summit of Mont Blanc.  

The Descent  |  Normal Route of Mont Blanc

The descent of the Normal Route of Mont Blanc simply retraces the steps of the ascent.  It is also used as the descent for many climbers who have ascended other routes, like the Puetery Ridge, the Pope Route (aka the Italian Normal Route) and the Trois Monts Route. 

Most teams choose to descend back to the Goûter Hut and spend the night there.  This puts climbers in the position to cross the Grand Couloir early the next morning, when temps are coldest to help minimize the risk of avalanche and/or rockfall.

Climb Mont Blanc with Blackbird Mountain Guides

Our IFMGA guides know all about the best approaches to climbing Mont Blanc our office team will sort out all of the logistics for you! From trains, cable cars and buses to hut bookings, start times and hazards on the route, our team will make sure everything runs as smoothly as it can on the mountain.   

The best way prepare for Mont Blanc is to do a few days of Private Climbing with us or climb Gran Paradiso with us prior to summit attempt.  This will help you acclimatize to the altitude and ensure that your skills are sharp before we rope up together and climb the highest peak in Western Europe!

Book ahead - Huts Sell Out extremely quickly and our guide team has limited availability!  The best chance of success is to book a full year in advance to get the optimal times for hut reservations in the prime climbing season.

 Climb Mont Blanc with Us!

We're happy to answer any questions you might have about the climb or our guides so reach out today!

About the Author

Zeb Blais is an IFMGA Mountain Guide based in Truckee California.  He loves all the disciplines of mountain guiding - ski, rock and alpine climbing - and tries to spend as much time as he can in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps.  He has summitted and skied Mont Blanc 8 times via 3 routes and loves showing his clients the splendor of Europe's highest peak.