Blackbird Mountain Guides teams tagged another 4,000 meter summit in the Alps this week, climbing to the top of Mont Blanc around 8:30 am via the Trois Monts Route.  Spectacular route conditions and a strong team made the climb an enjoyable one.  The team altered their itinerary due to weather and got off the mountain before heavy rains hit the Chamonix Mont Blanc area this morning.

IFMGA Mountain Guide Zeb Blais Summarizes the Trip:

We started our climb with ascending the Arête á Laurence to the Cosmiques Hut.  This enjoyable and exposed scramble was a great way to add some some fun on our approach to the Cosmiques hut.

The Cosmiques Hut (lower right) and start of the Trois Monts route on Mont Blanc, June 24, 2025.  This face shown is the north face of Mont Blanc du Tacul and is exposed to serac hazard for a significant portion of the face. Photo: Zeb Blais

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We set off up the Mont Blanc du Tacul, moving steadily until we had gained the shoulder of Tacul.  This stretch of climbing is prone to serac fall and I don't like being on it any longer than necessary.  Temps were perfect - cold enough to freeze the snow solidly and warm enough to be climbing in just a fleece.  Winds were light and we made our way onto the north face of Mont Maudit just as the sun was rising.

A climber climbing with a guide just past a large serac fall near the Col du Maudit on the Trois Monts Route.   Photo: Zeb Blais

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Mont Maudit is in great condition.  On the traverse to the face, a serac fall had released a couple days prior leaving a large debris pile and a reminder of the hazard above.  On the face itself conditions are all snow with a great, well kicked in track.  Almost immediately as the slope starts to steepen, there is a bergschrund to cross.  It's been fixed with some solid V-threads and a line running all the way to the low side of the crack, making it significantly easier and faster for climbers to get across it.  

A climber with a guide on the North Face of Mont Maudit (4,465m/14,645') on their way to the summit of Mont Blanc with a guide.  Photo: Zeb Blais

 

Climbers and Guides ascending the North Face of Mont Maudit in the early hours of the morning on June 25, 2025.  The lowest headlamps are climbers traversing through the debris of a large serac fall that happened a day prior.  Photo: Zeb Blais

 

After gaining the shoulder of Mont Maudit, climbing conditions remained excellent to the summit.  The traverse from the shoulder of Maudit to the Col de la Brenva is a wide snow path with a couple of east crevasse crossings and while ice is making an appearance above the Brenva Col, the track is climbing through snow there.  All of the walking above that is on well trodden snow and other than the altitude, it's straightforward, easy walking from there!

On the summit of Mont Blanc with a Guide from Blackbird Mountain Guides.  Photo: Zeb Blais

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After the summit, the descent via the Trois Monts was in good shape, but slow going in places with steep, exposed sections of down climbing and thin crevasse bridges that had warmed throughout the day.  We made it back to the Midi and descended to Chamonix, arriving to an absolutely sweltering, sunny day in town. 

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This morning, driving rain came in sheets, proving again we made the right move to change our plan!  It was a great climb, and we had an amazing day exploring the highest peak in western Europe!  

Mont Blanc with Blackbird Mountain Guides

Our IFMGA guides know all about the best approaches to climbing Mont Blanc and Gran Paradiso and 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 with us on Mont Blanc!

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 10 times via 3 routes and loves showing his clients the splendor of Europe's highest peak.