Aiguille Verte
French for 'green needle' — the etymology is debated. The conventional reading is that 'verte' refers to the dark green-grey schist of the lower slopes (in contrast to the granite of the neighbouring Drus); a competing folk etymology traces it to a Savoyard personal name 'Berthe' that was Francised to 'verte' on the 19th-century maps.
Iconic granite-and-ice peak above the Argentière basin in the Mont Blanc massif; its normal route is the Whymper Couloir on the south-east face.
On 29 June 1865 Edward Whymper, with the guides Christian Almer and Franz Biener, climbed the Verte by the steep snow couloir on its south face — now the Whymper Couloir — after three earlier attempts had been turned back. Chamonix's guides were furious that an Englishman with two Oberlanders had taken their mountain, and Whymper was briefly hounded out of the village. Just nineteen days later he made the first ascent of the Matterhorn. The Verte is one of the few 4000ers without an easy route: every line involves serious mixed or ice climbing, and Chamonix guides traditionally say a climber is not a real alpinist until they have stood on its summit.
Summit · huts that serve as bases for routes on this peak
- Refuge du Couvercle2,687 m
- Refuge d'Argentière2,771 m
- Refuge d'Argentière2,771 m