La Meije is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins range, located at the border of the Hautes-Alpes and Isère départements.
Neighboring peaks are Le Râteau (3,809 m) to the west, past the Brèche de la Meije (3,357 m) and fr:Le Pavé (3,823 m) and Pic Gaspard (3,881 m) to the southeast, past the Brèche Maximin Gaspard (3,723 m) The central and second highest summit has five teeth, the highest of which is known as Doigt de Dieu (English: Finger of God).
The ridge from the central to the main, Western peak, which is 13 meters higher, was considered an insurmountable obstacle for the next 15 years.
The last major peak in the Alps to be climbed, its first ascent was eventually made from the southwest on 16 August 1877 by father and son Pierre Gaspard and their client Emmanuel Boileau de Castelnau.
Their approach, over the south buttress Arête du Promontoire and further over the Glacier Carré and the southwest face of the Grand Pic, is now the normal route.