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Mont-Blanc
Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the List of European ultra-prominent peaks, second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and it is the List of peaks by prominence, eleventh most prominent mountain summit in the world. It gives its name to the Mont Blanc massif which straddles parts of France, Italy and Switzerland. Mont Blanc's topographical summit, summit lies on the drainage divide, watershed line between the valleys of Ferret Valley, Ferret and Val Veny, Veny in Italy, and the valleys of Montjoie, and Arve Valley, Arve in France. Ownership of the summit area has long been a subject of dispute between France and Italy. The Mont Blanc massif is popular for outdoor activities like hiking, climbing, trail running and winter sports like skiing, and snowboarding. The most popular climbing route to the summit of Mont Blanc is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mont Blanc Massif
The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over in height. It is named after Mont Blanc (), the highest point in western Europe and the European Union. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the massif is covered by glaciers, which include the Mer de Glace and the Miage Glacierthe longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively. The massif forms a watershed between the vast catchments of the rivers Rhône and Po, and a tripoint between France, Italy and Switzerland; it also marks the border between two climate regions by separating the northern and western Alps from the southern Alps. The mountains of the massif consist mostly of granite and gneiss rocks and at high altitudes the vegetation is an arctic-alpine flora. The val ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trail Running
Trail running is a sport-activity which combines running, and, where there are steep gradients, hiking, that is run "on any unpaved surface". It is similar to both mountain and fell running (also known as hill running). Mountain running may, however, include paved sections. Trail running normally takes place in warm climates, or on good paths, or tracks which are relatively easy to follow, and does not necessarily involve the significant amounts of ascent, or need for navigating skills, normal in fell running. Unlike road running and track running it generally takes place on hiking trails, often in mountainous terrain, where there can be much larger ascents and descents. It is difficult to definitively distinguish trail running from cross country running. In general, however, cross country is an IAAF-governed discipline that is typically raced over shorter distances. The number of organized trail races grew 1,000% from 2008 to 2018, from 160 to more than 1,800 globally. Runners ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Val Veny
Val Veny (also Val Vény) is a lateral valley of the Mont Blanc massif, lying to the south-west of Courmayeur. The valley head is at the Seigne Pass. Geography Val Veny was formed by two glaciers: the Miage Glacier and the Brenva Glacier. Val Veny is divided into three parts: * the part that lies parallel to the Mont Blanc massif, between the Seigne pass (2,512m) and part of the Miage Glacier * the part called ''Plan Vény'' * the mouth of the valley, dominated by Mont Blanc and the lower Brenva Glacier (1,444m) Chécrouit Lake (2,165m) lies on the right side of the Val Veny, near Courmayeur. On the opposite side you can see Mont Blanc, the Dent du Géant (4,013 m ) and the Brenva Glacier. At the entrance of the valley lies the shrine of Our Lady of Healing (french: Notre-Dame-de-guérison). Mountaineering Val Veny is the starting point of the normal Italian route on Mont Blanc via the Miage Glacier and the Francesco Gonella Refuge. Shelters and bivouacs * Refuge Mont- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia. The Alpine arch generally extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains 128 peaks higher than . The altitude and size of the range affect the climate in Europe; in the mountains, precipitation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goûter Route
The Goûter Route (also known as the Voie Des Cristalliers and Voie Royale) is one of the two normal mountaineering routes used to reach the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps, ascending to a height of . The route lies on the north side of the mountain, in France. Usually reckoned as the easiest route up Mont Blanc, it is extremely popular with mountaineers, seeing thousands of ascents per year. History The first attempt of this route (from the Aiguille du Goûter up to the ''Col du Dôme'', but not further), was completed on 17 September 1784 by Jean Marie Couttet and François Cuidet. This was two years prior to the first successful attempt to reach Mont Blanc's summit in 1786. However, the first complete ascent of the mountain the via the Aiguille du Goûter, the Dôme du Goûter and L'Arête des Bosses (Bosses Ridge) was only accomplished on 18 July 1861, more than seventy years later. The first ascensionists were Leslie Stephen and Francis Fox Tuckett with the guides Melchio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arve Valley
The Arve Valley (La vallée de l'Arve) is an alpine valley located in the French Haute-Savoie department. The namesake of the valley is the river at the bottom: the Arve. The valley as a whole makes up the majority of Faucigny, one of the Natural Regions of France, and one of six that make up the Savoie region. Geography The Arve Valley consists of the upper reaches of the river Arve, whose source is in the Mont Blanc massif, on the Savoyard Col-du-Balme side. Down stream, the river passes through the plain of Annemassy, before emptying into the Rhône in the Swiss canton of Geneva. The Valley came into being during the last ice age when the Alpine glaciers extended beyond Geneva. There is controversy over the true extent of the upper valley. The broadest definition makes the start upstream of Sallanches, including Passy and the valleys of Mégève, Montjoie, and Chamonix. This also describes the region of "Mont Blanc country" (Pays du Mont Blanc.) Some consider the upper va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michel-Gabriel Paccard
Portrait of Michel Gabriel Paccard. Reproduced from an old portrait in the possession of M. J. P, Cachat, of Chamonix (his great grandson). From a photograph by Tairraz, of Chamonix Michel Gabriel Paccard (; 1757–1827) was a Savoyard doctor and alpinist, citizen of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Born in Chamonix, he studied medicine in Turin. Due to his passion for botany and minerals, he met Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, who initiated the race to be the first to ascend Mont Blanc. Gaston Rébuffat wrote "Like Saussure a devotee of the natural sciences, he has a dream: to carry a barometer to the summit and take a reading there. An excellent mountaineer, he has already made several attempts." Paccard had a first, unsuccessful, attempt in 1783 with Marc Theodore Bourrit. In 1784, he made several attempts with Jacques Balmat before they made the first ascent of Mont Blanc together on 8 August 1786. Balmat and Paccard's ascent of Mont Blanc was a major accomplishment in the early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Alpine Peaks By Prominence
This is a list of the mountains of the Alps, ordered by their topographic prominence. For a list by height, see the list of mountains of the Alps. By descending to 1,500 m of prominence, this list includes all the Ultras of the Alps. Some famous peaks, such as the Matterhorn and Eiger, are not Ultras because they are connected to higher mountains by high cols and therefore do not achieve enough topographic prominence. Where the '' prominence parent'' and the '' island parent'' differ, the prominence parent is marked with "1" and the island parent with "2" (with Mont Blanc abbreviated to ''MB''). The column "Col height" denotes the lowest elevation to which one must descend from a peak in order to reach peaks with higher elevations; note that the elevation of any peak is the sum of its prominence and col. The column "Col location" denotes the pass where the col height is located. See also * Worldwide list of peaks ranked by prominence *List of mountains of Switzerland (with he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games. Snowboarding was developed in the United States, inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing, and skiing. It became popular around the globe, and was introduced as a Winter Olympic Sport at Nagano in 1998 and featured in the Winter Paralympics at Sochi in 2014. , its popularity (as measured by equipment sales) in the United States peaked in 2007 and has been in a decline since. History The first snowboards were developed in 1965 when Sherman Poppen, an engineer in Muskegon, Michigan, invented a toy for his daughters by fastening two skis together and attaching a rope to one end so he would have some control as they stood on the board and glided downhill. Dubbed the "snurfer" (combining snow and surfer) by his wife Nancy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski Federation (FIS). History Skiing has a history of almost five millennia. Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in what is now China, according to an interpretation of ancient paintings. However, this continues to be debated. The word "ski" comes from the Old Norse word "skíð" which means to "split piece of wood or firewood". Asymmetrical skis were used in northern Finland and Sweden until at least the late 19th century. On one foot, the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, and a shorter ski was worn on the other foot for kicking. The underside of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Sports
Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice. Artificial ice can be used to provide ice rinks for ice skating, ice hockey, para ice hockey, ringette, broomball, bandy, rink bandy, rinkball, and spongee in a milder climate. The sport of speed skating uses a frozen circular track of ice, but in some facilities the track is combined in an enclosed area used for sports requiring an ice rink or the rink itself is used. Alternatively, ice cross downhill uses a track with various levels of elevation and a combination of bends. Long distance skating ( "marathon skating") such as tour skating is only performed outdoors and uses the available natural ice from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done for locomotion, sporting recreation, and for competition, and is also done in trades that rely on ascension; such as emergency rescue and military operations. Climbing is done indoors and outdoors and on natural (e.g. rock and ice) and artificial surfaces. Professional mountain guides or rock climbing guides (e.g. the UIAGM), were a significant element in developing the popularity of the sport in the natural environment, and remain so today. Since the 1980s, the development of competition climbing and the availability of artificial climbing walls have dramatically increased the popularity of rock climbing as a sport and led to the emergence of professional rock climbers, such as Wolfgang Güllich, Chris Sharma, Lynn Hill and Catherine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
