The Monarch
4,392 m · grade IV · Mont Blanc Massif
The mountain
The Monarch is a granite giant — 4,392 metres of clean north face and a summit ridge sharp enough to split the wind. It holds the range's hardest ice line and its easiest classic, often on the same weekend.
The standard route
approach 2 days from the hut, glacier + moraine route SE ridge, grade IV, 1,100 m gain crux the Pinnacle traverse, 5.8 / IV descent abseil the ridge, then the west col
When to go
July to early September. The north face comes into condition for ice in March, when the gullies freeze and the crowds are still asleep.