Trident du Tacul

Haute Savoie, France, Europe

Tom Fralich

Gabriele Roth

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Trident du Tacul

Page Type:	Mountain/Rock
Lat/Lon:	45.85220°N / 6.89770°E
Activities:	Trad Climbing, Sport Climbing
Season:	Summer
Elevation:	12116 ft / 3693 m
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Overview

Scenery: you are spending your summer holidays in Val Ferret, in a comfortable campingplace, you feel a little tired for yesterday climb, it is 6 o'clock (in the morning) and the weather is wonderful.
You have already climbed the Pyramide, the Salluard .. what to do ?
the Lepiney to the Trident du Tacul
one rope and some carabiniers in your backpack and a run to the cable car to Punta Helbronner, a comfortable walk along the tracks to Col de la Fourche and Capucin ( you'll pay it coming back ! ) .. and you get the starting point of one of the most amusing climbs of the Circus.

The Trident du Tacul is a minor summit of Tacul satellits, the last summit of the most southern subridge (Clochers)
coming down from Tacul, just very close to Grand and Petit Capucin.

Looking at the picture you can easily understand its name
Due to its fantastic rock a lot of very difficult short routes have been found on its SE and SW sides.
Climbing there in a hot sunny day with warm rock is really a pleasure.

South side of Trident du Tacul <i>3639m</i><br> seen from Cirque Maudit

Getting There

Can be done in one day starting directly
- from Courmayeur (cable car to Punta Helbronner)
- from Chamonix (cable car to Aiguille du Midi)

All routes start from Glacier du Geant

Starting point :
Rif Torino - 1 hour using the route to Col du Gros Rognon - Col du Midi
Rif Cosmiques - 1 hour passing the Col di Gros Rognon
Rif du Requin - 2 hours through "la Bediere" and the Route to Col du Geant
Montenvers ... it's a long way ... forget it !

Routes overview

Its SW face - "normal route" is the Lepiney, an amusing route with difficulties up to 5° - 200 m
- starting point is the snow channel on the left (west) of Trident.
This route was discovered in 1919 !!! and climbed with no pegs (maybe at that time they didn't yet exist)

modern routes on the SW face
- Eclipse (Amstutz-Vogler) - ED sup - 250 m
- Les intouchables (Bouvard-Piola) - ABO inf - 250 m

modern routes on the SE face
- Settimo sigillo (Canepeparo-Ricchitelli) - TD sup - 250 m
- La peau et les os (Amstutz-Vogler) - ED - 200 m
- Week-end in Transylvania (Arneodo-Bagliani) - ED - 250 m
- Bonne éthique (Amstutz-Vogler) - ED sup - 200 m

Logistics and Huts

Rif. Torino
directly with the cable car from Entrèves/Courmayeur (Italy).
You can reach the hut directly also with the Helbronner cable car from the Aiguille du Midi (to Aiguille du Midi with the cable car from Chamonix).
Pay attention: The Helbronner cable car, traversing the Géant glacier, is mostly closed.
Or you go on foot from the Aiguille du Midi over the glacier du Géant (3 h): From the foot of the S-face of the Aig. du Midi you go on the almost even glacier to the Pointe Lachenal, turn left (E) to the glacier valley below the rugged E-face of the Mont Blanc du Tacul. You go along this E-face of the Tacul and the Pointe Adolphe Rey in order to loose only little height. Now you turn to the ESE to the Col des Flambeaux. From here in a few minutes to the Ref. Torino. It is a very beautiful glacier walk with 200 hm ascent. Difficulty: F.

Courmayeur (Italy) by bus or car:
- from Chamonix through the Mont Blanc Tunnel from the NW.
- from Milano or Torino (from the SE) on the A5 via Aosta valley

Ref. Cosmiques:
In about 1/2 h from the Aig. du Midi (cable car from Chamonix).
If you leave the cable car station via the bridge, you go to the Southsummit. On the firn ridge, you go down with SE-direction to an even ridgeplatform; then turn right to the S and SW-direction below the S-face of the Aig. du Midi. Pay attention to crevasses!

Chamonix Valley by train
- from Martigny (Switzerland) via Vallorcine
- from Geneva (airport) via Anncey (TGV till here) and St. Gervais.

Chamonix Valley by bus:
- from/via Annecy, Geneva, Grenoble, Courmayeur, Aoste and Turin

Chamonix Valley by car:
- from Geneva (from the NW) on the A40 till St. Gervais and from here on the N205.b. From Martigny (from the NE, Switzerland) via Vallorcine and the Col des Montets on the road no. N506.