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The image below shows the “Cosmiques” or “3 Monts” route in red on the left and the Gouter route in green on the right (the Gonella route comes up from the other side and joins the Gouter at about half height). 

One starts the red 3 Monts route from the Aiguille du Midi cable car (3842m) and you might think therefore that this was the easiest way of getting to the top of Mont Blanc. Look more closely however and you will see how much steeper the ground on the red route is compared to the green Gouter route, and how much more climbing and descending is involved.

Despite starting higher, the effort required to get up and down the red route is in fact significantly more than for the green route.

When it’s cloudy or windy rescue helicopters can’t fly and teams suddenly have to become very self-reliant.

If someone gets altitude sickness mid way along the red route they could have major problems climbing back up to get out, and the objective dangers of seracs (unstable ice cliffs) and avalanche on the steep open slopes are also significant.

All in all then, despite its much higher starting point the 3 Monts route is a less reliable option than the Gouter or Gonella routes, as well as being more technically difficult. Though we have occasionally used it in the past, it is no longer part of out Mont Blanc program.