Resorts: Courmayeur
Reserved for expert and well-trained mountaineers, the Italian route from the Gonella refuge is the most evocative route for the climb to Mont Blanc. 1,800 metrres of altitude difference between splendid glaciers and sharp ridges, a sinuous line between the wildest corners of the southern side of the massif. Opened downhill by Achille Ratti in 1890, it later became the "Via Normale Italiana".
Day one
From Lac Combal (closed to traffic in La Visaille), take the path that leads to the edge of the Miage glacier moraine and follow it to the end where the glacier starts. Walk along the sediment moved and accumulated by the glacier and then on the glacier itself for about five hundred meters to where it meets with the Dôme glacier. Here, on the right, continue along the path that winds in numerous hairpins over the exposed segments, some equipped with cords and stairs, to the snowfield. Cross to your right to the rocky spur. Lastly, some anchored cords indicate the route to follow: climb the rocky ridge to the Gonella hut.
Day two
From the hut, start the climb on the Dôme glacier keeping against the Aiguilles Grises edge, always careful of crevasses. Once on the Aiguilles Grises ridge, continue to your right to the Bionnassay ridge which ends with the Dôme de Gouter: Leave it to your left to start on the Col du Dôme where the ridge broadens. Pass by the Vallot hut-observatory which is anchored to a strip of rock emerging from the glacier and then take the steps up the snowy ridge (Arête des Bosses) to the top.
Descent: down the ascent route.
This itinerary requires experience of high mountains and it is recommended that you get a mountain guide to accompany you.
Note - this information is not directly connected to the Cammino Balteo path but it is part of the Aosta Valley tourist offer.
Alpine guides