Refuge Quintino Sella (Mont Blanc) - From la Visaille

Access

Park the car near the barrier in Val Veny, Italy.

Route # 6 hours

Walk up the road to the Lac Combal. Then take the signposted path on the right which goes up onto the grassy moraine on the true right-hand side of the Miage Glacier. This becomes quite thin (an alternative path comes in from the right) before you drop down onto the glacier rubble. Go up this in the middle, faint path with some cairns.
After about 3km on the glacier go to the right towards the Glacier du Mont-Blanc.

There are three options depending on the season/conditions.

• Option 1 - At the end of the season when the gully is no longer in condition. Climb the first snow gully on the left of the glacier, (crevassed,) or go up the rock buttress to the left of the gully (2). At two thirds of the way up the gully go to the right onto some grassy slopes. Climb a wall in a shallow and steep gully. N.B. Do not climb the more obvious gully to the right. Climb the gully, (2) to reach the crest of the wall. Reach the ruins of the old hut. 200m higher up, on one of the little towers, is the new hut. Easy climbing along a rocky ridge leads to the hut, (3371m)
• Option 2 - At the beginning of the season when the snow in the gully is still in condition. Go up the steep section of the glacier by its true right side, (left looking up), (60° à 70° ice), to leave it by a snow gully that leads to a snowy col followed by a snow ridge. Then climb a rocky ridge all the way to the Quintino Sella hut . If you take this option it is important to start very early to diminish the risk of stone fall in the gully.
• Option 3 - At the beginning of the season. There is a gully leading from the Miage glacier leading directly to a snowy col, a short distance above the hut.

The approach seems to be increasing in difficulty in recent years. Technical axes and crampons probably a good idea.