Aiguilles du Diable — Pointe Médiane
French for 'middle point' — descriptive of its position at the centre of the five Aiguilles du Diable on the south ridge of Mont Blanc du Tacul.
Central needle of the Aiguilles du Diable on Mont Blanc du Tacul's south-east ridge; the last of the five to be first ascended.
The 'middle point' and longest of the five Diable needles. Climbed on 25 August 1906 by the Ryan–Lochmatter rope, who in the same Chamonix season took the south face of the Täschhorn and the Aiguille du Jardin. Pointe Médiane is the most technically demanding individual aiguille of the five, with sustained granite cracks at the upper grade of free climbing for its day; the modern voie normale still rates around AD/D depending on conditions and was a benchmark of early 20th-century rock standards.
Summit · huts that serve as bases for routes on this peak
- Refuge des Cosmiques3,613 m