Over six days in December, French alpinist Charles Dubouloz soloed the iconic Divine Providence route on the Grand Pilier d’Angle (4,243m). He then continued to the summit of Mont Blanc.
Between December 9-14, with five hanging bivouacs, Dubouloz began his journey on December 7 by cycling 120km from his home in Annecy to Chamonix in heavy rain, pulling a loaded trailer with his gear.
The next day, accompanied by friend Antoine Bouqueret on skis, he climbed 2,500m across the Mer de Glace to the Torino Refuge. Other friends joined briefly to help carry the equipment, allowing Dubouloz to arrive prepared at the base of the route.
The full Divine Providence-Mont Blanc summit route. Photo: Charles Dubouloz
On December 9, he started alone up the 900m face of the Grand Pilier d’Angle. Short daylight hours and intense cold defined the mid-December conditions. Over the following days, he climbed through demanding mixed terrain, setting five hanging bivouacs and hauling heavy loads.
Dubouloz topped out on the Grand Pilier d’Angle on December 13. Exhausted, he made one more bivouac above 4,000m. The following morning, he continued along the exposed upper Peuterey Ridge, reaching the summit of Mont Blanc in the early afternoon of December 14.
On the route. Photo: Charles Dubouloz
Unfavorable weather ruled out his plan to paraglide down, so he decided to walk back to Chamonix. The entire adventure took eight days and resulted in an eight-kilo weight loss. Dubouloz described the experience as one of extreme fatigue that stripped everything to its essentials.
The ascent marked the first chapter of a larger winter project, his Winter Trilogy, which aims to link iconic routes across the Alps and Pyrenees using only human-powered travel.
Photo: Charles Dubouloz
Route history
The 900m Divine Providence route is graded ED+, with rock sections up to 7b+. It is considered one of the most iconic and demanding lines in the Mont Blanc massif.
French climbers Patrick Gabarrou and Francois Marsigny first ascended the route over four days in the summer of 1984, using aid on harder pitches. Alain Ghersen and Thierry Renault did the first free ascent in July 1990. Later that summer, Jean-Christophe Lafaille completed the first solo ascent in August 1990, describing it as the most difficult and committing route in the entire massif.
Cycling to the mountain. Frame of a video by Charles Dubouloz
Winter conditions add significant challenges due to cold, short days, and altered terrain. Italians Roberto Bressan, Saverio Occhi, and Paolo Tamagnini made the first winter ascent to the top of the Grand Pilier d’Angle in 1992. The first complete winter ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc followed later that year, by Brendan Murphy and Dave Wills. Alain Ghersen achieved the first winter solo in February 1993.
This recent ascent is considered a major milestone because winter solos on this route are extremely rare. It’s only the second-known winter solo of the full route. Charles Dubouloz is well-known for his historic solo winter ascent of the Rolling Stones route on the Grandes Jorasses in January 2022.
