Easiest route South-west face (AD) Prominence 139 m | Elevation 4,013 m First ascent 28 July 1882 Parent range Graian Alps | |
![]() | ||
Isolation 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) Similar Grandes Jorasses, Mont Blanc du Tacul, Aiguille de Rochefort, Pointe Helbronner, Mont Maudit |
The Dent du Géant (It.: Dente del Gigante, "giant's tooth") (4,013 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in France and Italy.
Map of Dent du G%C3%A9ant
The Dent du Géant remained unclimbed during the golden age of alpinism, and was a much-coveted peak in the 1870s, repelling many parties who attempted it mostly from the Rochefort ridge. In 1880 the strong team of Albert F. Mummery and Alexander Burgener tried to force a passage via the south-west face but were repelled by a band of slabs, causing Mummery to exclaim 'Absolutely inaccessible by fair means!'
The mountain has two summits, 88 feet (27 m) apart and separated by a small col (an 'extremely awkward notch' according to W. W. Graham):
This ascent marked the end of the so-called silver age of alpinism.
On 28 July 1935 the Austrian climbers Herbert Burggasser and Rudi Leitz first ascended the vertical-to-overhanging 160 m-high south face. It was the first climb in the Western Alps systematically aided by the pitons and artificial techniques that were already in use by climbers in the Eastern Alps.
The following huts serve the mountain: