Aiguille des Grands Charmoz, Mountain summit in Mont Blanc Massif, France
The Aiguille des Grands Charmoz is a mountain summit located in the Chamonix range of the French Alps in Haute-Savoie. It forms part of a granite ridge with several distinct peaks and is accessed from surrounding valleys.
The first ascent of the main summit was made on 9 August 1885 by Henri Dunod and P. Vignon with guides J. Desailloux, F. Folliguet, and F. and G. Simond via the Charmoz-Grépon couloir. Five years earlier, on 15 July 1880, Albert F. Mummery with Alexander Burgener and Benedikt Venetz reached the north-west top (3,435 m). The north face was first climbed in 1931 by Willo Welzenbach and Willy Merkl, who survived a storm-bound ordeal of several days.
The mountain's name comes from the Charmoz, and its most celebrated route is the Charmoz-Grépon traverse, a classic rock climb in the Mont Blanc massif. The normal descent follows the Charmoz-Grépon couloir, first climbed in 1885. The jagged north-east ridge carries named features such as the Aiguille de la République and the Bâton Wicks.
Visitors should expect rocky and steep terrain that requires climbing experience and proper gear. The best climbing conditions occur during the summer months when snow and ice are minimal.
The north face's wall glacier vanished completely in the hot summer of 2017. The 1931 first ascent of that face, by Willo Welzenbach and Willy Merkl, was a drawn-out ordeal: storm-bound for four days and nights, they reached the summit and returned to Montenvers when no one expected them to survive.
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