Divine Providence + Central Pillar of Frêney, an extraordinary enchainment on Mont Blanc by Luca Ducoli, Mirco Grasso, Giacomo Mauri

From 25 to 27 April 2026 the Italian alpinists Luca Ducoli, Mirco Grasso and Giacomo Mauri accomplished a truly remarkable feat on the south side of Mont Blanc that will be long remembered, linking the famous Divine Providence on Grand Pilier d'Angle with the Pilone Central Pillar of Frêney. Setting off from the Aiguille du Midi on the night of 25 April, the three climbed the route established in 1984 by Patrick Gabarrou and François Marsigny up to mid‑height, where they bivouacked after fixing another three pitches. The following day they reached the summit of Grand Pilier d'Angle; then, instead of continuing along the Peuterey ridge, they abseiled down towards the Frêney glacier, where they bivied a second night. Early the next morning they tackled the long Central Pillar via the Bonington route, then the long trudge up to the summit of Mont Blanc, before descending to Chamonix. This is a demanding, fast and clean ascent in one of the most grandiose and wild places on Mont Blanc – on two of the routes that have most captured the imagination of generations of alpinists, but which had never before been linked in this way. Grasso provides the details.

COMBO DIVINE PROVIDENCE + CENTRAL PILLAR OF FRENEY
For years, every time I thought of doing something badass on Mont Blanc, this project came to mind. I live on the other side of the Alps and don't know the Mont Blanc massif that well, but this link‑up always seemed so obvious to me that I'm surprised no one has done it before.

Anyway, I'm not after records – this was just something I wanted to do. So, when the chance came to prepare for our next expedition to Pakistan, Jack, Luck and I started plotting our attack.

The Skyway was closed, so we left from the Aiguille du Midi at 3 a.m. On day one, we reached the Grand Pilier d'Angle just as the sun hit it – much faster than expected – and climbed all the pitches up to the midway terraces, where the real difficulties of Divine Providence begin. We still had plenty of daylight left, but we'd planned to spend the night there; pushing on would have been pointless. To get a head start for the next day, while Luck sorted the bivouac, Jack and I fixed our half ropes on the next three pitches. We rejoined Luck, had dinner at 4 p.m., and were in our sleeping bags by 6 p.m.

It was April, still chilly up there. We wanted to climb when it was warm, and the great thing about this wall is that it heats up fast as soon as the sun rises. Breakfast in the dark, we packed our gear and jugged the fixed lines with the first rays of sun. Jack had already done Divine the previous year, so we decided I'd lead all the pitches, to see if I could climb it clean – though I had serious doubts.

Pitch after pitch, with a bit of luck and some gut‑wrenching effort, I climbed free all the way to the top of the Grand Pilier d'Angle. When I brought Jack and Luck up, I almost wept. Normally from here you'd continue along the Peuterey ridge to the summit of Mont Blanc, but for us the day was far from over. We rigged a few abseils towards the Frêney glacier and reached the ground before dinner. We spent the night on a platform we dug in the middle of the glacier, about an hour from the base of the Central Pillar.

The alarm went off early – same plan as before: hands on rock at first light. Our goal was to climb the entire Pillar and return to sleep at the Aiguille du Midi station. I had already climbed the Pillar before, so this time Luck led, then Jack. We climbed fast and reached the top of the Pillar by 4 p.m., but it took another three hours to get to the summit of Mont Blanc. The snow conditions were awful – we went from knee‑deep wallowing to traversing steep, completely icy slopes.

We were tired and it was late. To be honest, I was the most cooked. I'm 32, the old man of the team – I had to slow down; those two had pushed me hard. So we decided against heading for the Aiguille du Midi – too far – and instead went to the Vallot hut, about an hour from the summit on the other side. We spent a comfortable night there, and the next day, in a snowstorm, we descended to Plan de l'Aiguille and then back to Chamonix for a 30‑euro‑each breakfast.

- Mirco Grasso, Spinea, Venice

Thanks
Ducoli: Ferrino, Singing Rock
Grasso: Ferrino, HDry, Karpos, SCARPA, Wild Country, CAAI
Mauri: C.A.M.P., Evil Eye, Rock Experience, SCARPA, CAAI, CAI Lecco, Ragni di Lecco