Krister Jonsson / IFMGA Mountainguide: Clocher du Tacul

Jul 17, 2019

Clocher du Tacul

Clocher du Tacul
A great little route up in the middle of the great Massif du Mont Blanc. Six pitches of relaxed climbing on mostly perfect granit, once the first section from the glacier over the fist blocks are made.
A route that is reached in some 45min/1h from the Helbronner lift and usually never crowded with people
The third pitch is the mist eye-catching one, but over all the four last pitches are of great quality
Specially impressive is pitch five, the Giljotin pitch!

Approache

Go up Maudit Combe and join the base of the base of clocher of Tacul. The route attacks on the right of the pillar. This can be reached from either aig. du Midi or Helbronner. We took the Panoramique from Midi to Helbronner, which gave us a reason to have a relaxed Italian espresso on the way home
Join R0 (relay on spits), comfortable terrace, after the bergschrund and a few blocks

the approach...

Itinerary

Start up some loose looking rocks up to a single spit

From here slent up/rightwards below an other spit, don’t go to that one!, passing the formations more right behind a corner. Belay on spits 5b

Up again over loose looking rocks, easy scrambling straight up and then right to the base of the big corner/dihedral. Spits 5b

Climb the corner. Belay on spits 6b

Climb the corner, pass the blocks and then step out to the thin vertical crack. Climb this to a spit and then climb back right, airy step, up to a belay. Short crux, 35m. Belay on spits 6c

The Giljotine pitch

Climb some steep sections, then an airy traverse out left passing a spit and continue up just below a section of white rock. Belay on 2 spits. 6a+

The white pitch

Continue up some wide cracks. Mostly on easy ground. A full pitch up to the abseils, the anchor of Empire State 6b+