'Bianco Invisibile' added to Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey (Mont Blanc) by François Cazzanelli, Giuseppe Vidoni

On 7 March 2025, Italian alpinists François Cazzanelli and Giuseppe Vidoni established Bianco Invisibile on the east face of the Aiguille Blanche (4,112m) in the Mont Blanc massif. After months of observing conditions and a failed first attempt, the pair set off at 4:30 a.m. from the Peuterey hamlet in Val Veny. Their goal was ambitious: skin up for 1,600 meters, then switch gear, forge 800 meters across all types of terrain, and then descend safely, all in just one day.

The climb began up an obvious corner, dispatched with in climbing shoes, followed by a series of gullies that led to the final couloir. The climbers reached the Brèche at 3,900 meters at 6:00 p.m. and, aware they were only halfway through the endeavor, immediately began the long descent. They returned to their starting point at 11:30 p.m., exhausted but thrilled with their ascent.

Bianco Invisibile tackles a line between Vols Incertains (Sébastien Ibanez, Baptiste Obino 2022) on the left and the route put up by Arnaud Clavel and Matteo Pellin on the right.

François, you’ve described this new route as "splendid."
Yes, and I truly think it is.

Tell us about it.
We started by climbing the corner, comprised of four pitches: 6c, 6b, 6c, and then 6b again. A beautiful intro, on generally good rock. Protecting the start of the corner wasn't easy, and here we had to place some knifeblades. After a short traverse across an easy snowfield we reached the first small gully, which provided some great climbinf. Then we traversed rightwards to take the most direct line, up some superb ice and mixed terrain.

With the hardest mixed difficulties?
Yes. Bepi was brilliant there — he led a fantastic pitch that looked deceptive from below. From the belay it didn’t seem feasible, but he reckoned there was ice and some small cracks. And there was. It turned out to be an M7 pitch, really fun to climb. This was followed by another challenging ice pitch, and then three more sections of pure ice that brought us to the final couloir and eventually the Brèche.

What time did you reach the col?
6:00 p.m. From there, the descent proved adventurous — 17 abseils, if I remember correctly, using pegs, cams, Abalakovs, the works. We downclimbed the final section.

And then back down into Val Veny?
Yes, we'd started at 4:30 a.m. from the Peuterey hamlet and returned 18 hours later. At midnight we were back in Courmayeur, using the snowmobile Pietro Picco lent us to get up and down the valley.

One long day in the mountains!
That’s what we loved about this project, and what set it apart from some of the things we’ve done in the past. We wanted to try completing the climb in a single day, without a bivouac. We knew it would be tough, but were convinced it was possible.

Can you expand this idea?
Without a bivy, you rule out a lot of things. Just reaching the base of the climb requires skinning up for 1,600 meters of elevation gain, with all the gear on your back, even before you start climbing 800 meters of new terrain, at an altitude of almost 4,000 meters. We liked the idea — it was something different, maybe even useful as training for the Himalayas. It was an extra challenge for us, and we spent the entire winter preparing for this climb.

Sounds like you're happy with the result
Very. It was a beautiful, long day in the mountains — 18 hours of ski mountaineering, rock climbing, mixed climbing, and ice climbing. A bit of everything, just as we like it. And on a mountain that’s fallen a bit into oblivion.

You mentioned that once you reached the col, you descended immediately.
Yes. The initial plan was to continue to the summit, it’s not that far to be honest, just 200 meters of elevation gain up classic terrain. But that first corner at the start of the route had slowed us down a lot, and we were behind schedule. We thought it'd be wiser to descend.

The successful ascent came after a first attempt, right?
One day we skinned up to scout the line, and a week ago we made an attempt but got a bit "screwed." In that area of Mont Blanc, clouds often cling to the mountain, bringing with them considerable humidity. After ascending for 1,100 meters we reached the plateau and came across 10 centimeters of fresh snow. Conditions weren’t right, so we descended. We were a bit disappointed but, on the plus side, the ski down was amazing!

And it’s amazing to find such a line in 2025!
In some ways, yes, but in others, it doesn’t really surprise me. On rocky terrain, I wouldn’t say that all the obvious cracks in the Mont Blanc area have already been climbed, but almost. But modern mixed climbing, like what we just did, opens up plenty of new possibilities.

For climbs like these in the Alps, you mean?
Absolutely. The more I progress, the more ideas I get for climbs over here. I’m not against expeditions, don't get me wrong, I’ve been on them, and I’ll go on them again. They’re an important part of mountaineering. That said, I care deeply about rediscovering the Alps. I truly believe that with this mindset, there’s still a lot to do in our backyard mountains.