Mont Blanc : Par les Grands Mulets - Face N et Arête N du Dôme

Approach to the Grands Mulets hut

From the Plan de l'Aiguille, (mid station of the l'aiguille du Midi cable car,) go onto the Pèlerins glacier and head towards the Bossons glacier by contouring under the cable ca. Continue traversing under the line of the old cable car and the Rond glacier, (serac fall risk). From the Bossons glacier, traverse through the maze of seracs and crevasses until the Jonction, directly below the Grands Mulets hit (3051m). Go up the snow slope leading to the hut.

Alternate without using the lift

Start form the Cerro parking (1270m) next to the Mont Blanc tunnel entrance. Take the path on the true right bank of the torrent. Go up the path to the old cable car station, (La Para), and then traverse towards the Bossons glacier, without losing height. Follow the above route to the hut, (1760m height gain.)

Route

From the hut go onto the true left bank of the glacier, and go up this passing the Petites Montées, the Petit Plateau (serac dnager), the Grandes Montées to the Grand Plateau. Reach the Vallot hut (4367m) by the Col du Dôme (4200m).
The rest of the route is obvious évident (in good weather) : les Bosses and the summit ridgeet Skiers can chose either to leave their skis at the Vallot or carry them to the summit for a descent by the N face.

Alternate

It is strongly recommended to go up by the N shoulder of the Dôme du Goûter, It is steeper but is not exposed to serac fall like the « classic » route at the Petit et Grand Plateau. It is reasonable for skiers to descend the « normal » route as the time they spend in the danger zones is very limited.

Descent

By the same route or one of the other Mont Blanc Classic routes for example down to the Gouter or the 3 monts to the Aiguille du Midi

For information on a ski descent please see the French version.

• Spend time to identify the best route from the Plan du Midi, especially if you plan to ski down, (The N face is long. at 35-40º and often has a bergschrund to jump near the bottom.)
• The N ridge of the Dôme du Goûter can have some tricky sections, depending on snow conditions.