Aiguille du Dru, Mountain peak in Haute-Savoie, France

The Aiguille du Dru is a mountain with two granite summits, the Grande Aiguille reaching 3,754 meters and the Petite Aiguille slightly lower. The two peaks are joined by the Brèche du Dru, a saddle that marks the passage between them.

The Grand Dru was first climbed on 12 September 1878 by the British alpinists Clinton Thomas Dent and James Walker Hartley, with guides Alexander Burgener and K. Maurer, after 18 attempts over five years; they used a small ladder for the difficult passages. The Petit Dru followed on 29 August 1879 via Jean Charlet-Straton, Prosper Payot and Frédéric Folliguet. Rockfalls in 1950, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2011 reshaped the west and south-west faces, destroying the Bonatti Pillar route in 2005.

The name Les Drus may come from the Gaulish word dru, meaning tree or oak, according to linguist Xavier Delamarre; druides were those with knowledge of the tree. The French word aiguille, needle, describes the pointed profile. Climbers still call the two summits Grand Dru and Petit Dru, and the Brèche du Dru is the notch between them.

Climbing this mountain requires high-altitude equipment and serious climbing experience. Late summer offers the best climbing conditions, though rockfall remains a constant hazard throughout the year.

The north face of the Petit Dru is one of the great north faces of the Alps and draws climbers from around the world. This sheer granite wall rises more than 1,000 meters and ranks among Europe's most demanding climbing routes.