Mont Blanc Guided Climbs

Most guided ascents take the Goûter route from Saint-Gervais. The Mont Blanc Tramway climbs to the Nid d'Aigle, and day one goes up past the Tête Rousse refuge, across the Grand Couloir and up the rock rib to the Goûter refuge at 3,835 m. Summit day crosses the Dôme du Goûter, passes the Vallot shelter and climbs the Bosses ridge to the top.

The Grand Couloir is the route's known danger: a rockfall gully that every party crosses, worst in the afternoon and in hot spells. Mont Blanc was last measured in September 2026 at 4,807 m; its snow cap changes height from one survey to the next.

The Goûter and Tête Rousse refuges open from late May to early October, and the Tramway usually runs from mid-June. Most guided climbs run from mid-June to September. In a heatwave the authorities can close the route: the mayor of Saint-Gervais shut both refuges for two weeks in August 2026 after rockfall in the Grand Couloir.

A prefectoral order requires climbers on the Goûter route to hold a named booking at the Nid d'Aigle, Tête Rousse or Goûter refuge. Carry the booking and ID: they are checked on the route and at the hut, and bookings cannot be resold. Bivouacs are banned on the normal route outside the Tête Rousse camping area, and rope teams are limited to three.

Guides will want you acclimatised first, typically on two or three days of training climbs and hut nights before the summit attempt.

For 2027, the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix lists €2,650 per person for a five-day package at two clients per guide, and €3,445 for four days one to one. The Compagnie des Guides de Saint-Gervais lists €2,770 per person for two climbers on its course, and €4,670 alone. Packages include the guide, hut nights with half board and lifts. On summit day, one guide with two clients is the norm, and one to one costs more.