La Vierge du Flambeau in Mont Blanc massif / Miss Go by Ezio Marlier

La Vierge du Flambeau, not to be confused with the Vierge d'Argentière, is a granite spire located in the middle of Vallée Blanche with considerably diverse flanks and faces.

Also known for having been included in the highly popular 2015 Italian reality show Monte Bianco, its most beautiful aspect, from a mountaineering point of view, is certainly its steep NE Face that hosts a series of vertical pillars and corners.

Despite its relatively easy access, strangely this summit has almost never been of particular interest to climbers. In 1959 Christian Mollier and Georges Payot established their Mollier-Payot route on the north face, while in 1968 Giorgio Bertone and Guido Machetto established the Bertone-Machetto climb on the west face. The Courmayeur mountain guide Eliseo Cheney teamed up with Gianfranco Lauri in 1981 to climb a great rock route up the southeast face, the so-called via Cheney. Cheney perished a few years ago, but in 1985 he also climbed the Vierge solo in winter, adding a variation to his route on 21 December that year.

In the spring the Vierge’s northeast face offers some beautiful modern mixed climbs. Miss No was the first I established with habitual battle partner Elisabetta Ceaglio!

by Ezio Marlier

TOPO: Miss No, Vierge du Flambeau, Mont Blanc


Ezio thanks: CAMP - Cassin, Elbec, Crazy Idea, Mtbness, Movement Ski

Link: FB Ezio Marlier