Aiguille de Bionnassay

4,052 m

'Needle of Bionnassay' — named after the hamlet and glacier of Bionnassay on the French (Saint-Gervais) side. Bionnassay is itself from a pre-Romance oronym, possibly meaning 'place of springs'.

Card

Coordinates45.8400° N · 6.8281° E

UIAA rank№ 64 / 82

CountriesFrance · Italy

Normal gradeAD · assez difficile

First ascent1865 · F.C. Grove, E.N. Buxton & R.S. McDonald with J.P. Cachat and Michel Payot

Typical seasonJuly to September

Photo of Aiguille de Bionnassay — Photo: WikiSephiroth · CC BY-SA 3.0

Knife-edged snow summit west of the Dôme du Goûter on the France–Italy border. Normal route follows the long west ridge from the Col de Tricot; often climbed as part of the Royal Traverse to Mont Blanc.

History

Climbed on 28 July 1865 from the Italian side by an English party with the Chamonix guides Cachat and Payot, the Bionnassay was one of the last great snow peaks of the Mont Blanc range to fall during the Golden Age of alpinism. Its long, knife-edged east ridge, linking it to the Dôme du Goûter, is still considered one of the finest snow arêtes in the Alps.

Location

Summit · huts that serve as bases for routes on this peak

Major routes

South ridge from Refuge Durier (Normal route)

AD · assez difficileTopo ↗

Vertical / summit day2,300 m gain · 6h

The standard ascent. From the Contamines valley the approach climbs over the Dômes de Miage to the tiny Refuge Durier (3358 m) at the Col de Miage. Summit day climbs the elegant south ridge (40° snow with sections of mixed III+ on poor rock; one short crux) to the airy summit.

Sections

Contamines / Le Cugnon→Refuge Durier (3358 m)+2,300 m7h

Refuge Durier→Summit (4052 m)+694 m4h

Huts on this route

Refuge Durier3,358 m

NW face from Tête Rousse (alternative)

AD · assez difficile

Vertical / summit day900 m gain · 5h

Steep north-west face above the Tête Rousse hut. 50–55° névé and ice with crevasse and serac hazard; safest in late spring before the snowpack ablates.

Huts on this route

Refuge du Goûter3,835 m

Featured in tours

Miage–Bionnassay–Mont Blanc Traverse3-4 daysAD

Nearby huts

Refuge de Tête RousseCAF · mid-June to mid-September3,167 m Refuge du GoûterCAF · mid-June to mid-September3,835 m Refuge DurierCAF · mid-July to mid-September3,358 m Refuge de Tête RousseCAF · mid-June to mid-September3,167 m Refuge des ConscritsCAF · mid-March to mid-September2,602 m

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