Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the
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, Sw ...
and
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
, rising above sea level. It is the
second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after
Mount Elbrus, and it is the
eleventh most prominent mountain summit in the world.
It gives its name to the
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 indepen ...
which straddles parts of France, Italy and Switzerland. Mont Blanc's
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
lies on the
watershed line between the valleys of
Ferret and
Veny in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and the valleys of Montjoie, and
Arve
The Arve (french: L'Arve, ) is a river in France (''département'' of Haute-Savoie), and Switzerland (canton of Geneva). A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long, of which 9 km in Switzerland. Its catchment area is , of which 80 km2 ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. 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
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
,
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 fo ...
,
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, h ...
and
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 are ...
like
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 (IO ...
, and
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 Paralympi ...
. The most popular climbing route to the summit of Mont Blanc is the
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 mo ...
, which typically takes two days.
The three towns and their communes which surround Mont Blanc are
Courmayeur
Courmayeur (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
History
The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (16 ...
in
Aosta Valley
, Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title = Official languages
, population_blank1 = Italian French
...
, Italy; and
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, southeastern France.
The village is best known for tourism and has been a popular holiday destination since the early 1900s.
It has of ...
and
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
in
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is Ann ...
, France. The latter town was the site of the
first Winter Olympics. A
cable car ascends and crosses the mountain range from Courmayeur to Chamonix, through the
Col du Géant
The ''Col du Géant'' (''Giant Pass'') at is the main passage of the Mont Blanc massif between Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley and Chamonix-Mont Blanc in the Arve Valley. On the French side, to the north is the Géant Glacier which overlooks the ...
. The
Mont Blanc Tunnel
The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under the Mont Blanc mountain in the Alps. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian T ...
, constructed between 1957 and 1965, runs beneath the mountain and is a major transalpine transport route.
Geology
Mont Blanc and adjacent mountains in the massif are predominately formed from a large intrusion of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
(termed a
batholith) which was forced up through a basement layer of
gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
and
mica schists during the
Variscan mountain-forming event of the late
Palaeozoic period. The summit of Mont Blanc is located at the point of contact of these two rock types. To the south west, the granite contact is of a more
intrusive nature, whereas to the north east it changes to being more
tectonic
Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...
. The granites are mostly very-coarse grained, ranging in type from microgranites to
porphyroid granites. The massif is tilted in a north-westerly direction and was cut by near-vertical recurrent faults lying in a north–south direction during the Variscan orogeny. Further faulting with shear zones subsequently occurred during the later
Alpine orogeny. Repeated tectonic phases have caused breakup of the rock in multiple directions and in overlapping planes. Finally, past and current glaciation caused significant sculpting of the landscape into its present-day form.
The first systematic account of the minerals of the Mont Blanc area was published in 1873 by
Venance Payot. His list, entitled "Statistique minéralogique des environs du Mt-Blanc", catalogued 90 mineral types although it also included those present only as very small components of rocks. If these are excluded, it is known today that at least 68 separate mineral species occur across the wider range of the Mont Blanc massif.
Climate
Located on the watershed between the Rhône and the
Po, the massif of Mont Blanc is also situated between the two different climatic regions of the northern and western Alps, and that of the southern Alps. Climatic conditions on the Mer de Glace are similar to those found on the northern side of the
Swiss Alps.
[
The climate is cold and temperate (]Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Cfb''), and is greatly influenced by altitude.
Being the highest part of the Alps, Mont Blanc and surrounding mountains can create their own weather patterns. Temperatures drop as the mountains gain in height, and the summit of Mont Blanc is a permanent ice cap, with temperatures around . The summit is also prone to strong winds and sudden weather changes. Because of its great overall height, a considerable proportion is permanently glaciated or snow-covered and is exposed to extremely cold conditions.
There is, however, significant variation in precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
with altitude. For example, the village of Chamonix below Mont Blanc is at an elevation of approximately and receives around of annual precipitation, whilst the Col du Midi, which is at above sea level, receives significantly more, totalling . However, at an even higher altitude (near to the summit of Mont Blanc) precipitation is considerably less, with only around recorded, despite the latter measurements being taken at a height of .
History
Since 1760 Swiss naturalist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure began to go to Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
to observe Mont Blanc. He tried with the Courmayeur
Courmayeur (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
History
The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (16 ...
mountain guide Jean-Laurent Jordaney, a native of Pré-Saint-Didier
Pré-Saint-Didier ( Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy, at above sea level.
Transportation
The terminus of the regional railway is located there, although with no services since 2015. Before ...
, who accompanied De Saussure since 1774 on the Miage Glacier and on Mont Crammont.
The first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc (at the time neither within Italy nor France) was on 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat
Jacques Balmat (), called ''Balmat du Mont Blanc'' (1762–1834) was a mountaineer, a Savoyard mountain guide, born in the Chamonix valley in Savoy, at this time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Description
A chamois hunter and collector o ...
and the doctor Michel Paccard. This climb, initiated by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, who gave a reward for the successful ascent, traditionally marks the start of modern mountaineering. The first woman to reach the summit was Marie Paradis
Marie Paradis (1778 – 1839) was the first woman to climb Mont Blanc.
Paradis was a poor maidservant who lived in Chamonix at that time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 14 July 1808, in the company of renowned mountain guide Jacques Balmat, s ...
in 1808.
Ownership of the summit
At the scale of the 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 indepen ...
, the border between Italy and France passes along most of the main Alpine watershed, from the Aiguille des Glaciers to Mont Dolent
Mont Dolent () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif and lies on the border between Italy, Switzerland and France.
As a mountain, Mont Dolent is regarded as the tripoint between Italy, Switzerland and France, although the tripoint itself lies a ...
, where it reaches the border with Switzerland. However, its precise location near the summits of Mont Blanc and nearby Dôme du Goûter
The Dôme du Goûter (4,304 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif. It is a shoulder of Mont Blanc, whose summit lies two kilometres to the south-east. The Dôme is traversed on ascents of Mont Blanc via the ''Bosses'' route.
The summit of t ...
has been disputed since the 18th century. Italian officials claim the border follows the watershed, splitting both summits between Italy and France, while French officials claim the border avoids the two summits, placing both of them entirely with France. The size of these two (distinct) disputed areas is approximately 65 ha on Mont Blanc and 10 ha on Dôme du Goûter.
Since the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the issue of the ownership of the summit has been debated. From 1416 to 1792, the entire mountain was within the Duchy of Savoy. In 1723, the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II
Victor Amadeus II (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of Prince of Piedmont, Duke of Montferrat, Marquis of Saluzzo and Count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice.
Louis XIV ...
, acquired the Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
. The resulting state of Sardinia was to become preeminent in the Italian unification
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
. In September 1792, the French Revolutionary Army of the Alps
The Army of the Alps (''Armée des Alpes'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It existed from 1792–1797 and from July to August 1799, and the name was also used on and off until 1939 for France's army on its border with Italy.
1792 ...
under Anne-Pierre de Montesquiou-Fézensac seized Savoy without much resistance and created a department of the 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 second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...
. In a treaty of 15 May 1796, Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amadeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia from 1773 to his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until he declared war on Revolu ...
was forced to cede Savoy and Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
to France. In article 4 of this treaty, it says: "The border between the Sardinian kingdom and the departments of the French Republic will be established on a line determined by the most advanced points on the Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
side, of the summits, peaks of mountains and other locations subsequently mentioned, as well as the intermediary peaks, knowing: starting from the point where the borders of Faucigny
Faucigny ( it, Fossigni) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
Historically, Faucigny was a region in Savoy which included the area of the modern ''département'' of Haute Sav ...
, the Duchy of Aoust and the Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...
, to the extremity of the glaciers or Monts-Maudits: first the peaks or plateaus of the Alps, to the rising edge of the Col-Mayor". This act further states that the border should be visible from the town of Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
and Courmayeur
Courmayeur (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
History
The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (16 ...
. However, neither is the peak of the Mont Blanc visible from Courmayeur nor is the peak of the Mont Blanc de Courmayeur visible from Chamonix because part of the mountains lower down obscure them.
After the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
restored the King of Sardinia in Savoy, Nice, and Piedmont, his traditional territories, overruling the 1796 Treaty of Paris. Forty-five years later, after the Second Italian War of Independence
The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...
, it was replaced by a new legal act. This act was signed in Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
on 24 March 1860 by Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
and Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy
en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas
, house = Savoy
, father = Charles Albert of Sardinia
, mother = Maria Theresa of Austria
, religion = Roman Catholicism
, image_size = 252px
, succession1 ...
, and deals with the annexation of Savoy (following the French neutrality for the plebiscites held in Tuscany, Modena, Parma and Romagna to join the Kingdom of Sardinia, against the Pope's will). A demarcation agreement, signed on 7 March 1861, defined the new border. With the formation of Italy, for the first time Mont Blanc was located on the border of France and Italy, along the old border on the watershed between the department of Savoy and that of Piedmont formerly belonging to the Kingdom of Savoy.
The 1860 act and attached maps are still legally valid for both the French and Italian governments. In the second half of the nineteenth century, on surveys carried out by a cartographer of the French army, Captain JJ Mieulet, a topographic map was published in France, which incorporated the summit into French territory, making the state border deviate from the watershed line, and giving rise to the differences with the maps published in Italy in the same period.
Modern Swiss mapping, published by the Federal Office of Topography
Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography (in German: ''Bundesamt für Landestopografie''; French: ''Office fédéral de topographie''; Italian: ''Ufficio federale di topografia''; Romansh: ''Uffizi federal da ...
, plots a region of disputed territory (statut de territoire contesté) around the summits of both Mont Blanc and the Dôme du Goûter. One of its interpretations of the French-Italian border places both summits straddling a line running directly along the geographic ridgeline (watershed) between France and Italy, thus sharing their summits equally between both states. However, a second interpretation places both summits, as well as that of Mont Blanc de Courmayeur
Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (; it, Monte Bianco di Courmayeur) is a point () on the south-east ridge of Mont Blanc that forms the peak of the massive south-east face of the mountain. It is connected to the main summit via the ''Col Major'' ().
De ...
(although much less clearly in the latter case), solely within France.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
maps take data from the Italian national mapping agency, the Istituto Geografico Militare
The ''Istituto Geografico Militare'' (IGM), or Military Geographic Institute, is an Italian public organization, dependent on the Italian Army general staff (''Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito''). It is the national mapping agency for Italy.
Overvie ...
, which is based upon past treaties in force.
As of 2021, the border dispute between the two countries is ongoing.
Vallot
The first professional scientific investigations on the summit were conducted by the botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
–meteorologist
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...
Joseph Vallot
Joseph Vallot (16 February 1854 – 11 April 1925) was a French scientist, astronomer, botanist, geographer, Cartography, cartographer and Mountaineering, alpinist and "one of the founding fathers of scientific research on Mont Blanc". He is kno ...
at the end of the 19th century. He wanted to stay near the top of the summit to undertake detailed research, so he built his permanent cabin.
Janssen observatory
In 1890, Pierre Janssen
Pierre Jules César Janssen (22 February 1824 – 23 December 1907), usually known as Jules Janssen, was a French astronomer who, along with English scientist Joseph Norman Lockyer, is credited with discovering the gaseous nature of the solar ...
, an astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
and the director of the Meudon astrophysical observatory, considered the construction of an observatory at the summit of Mont Blanc. Gustave Eiffel
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...
agreed to take on the project, provided he could build on a rock foundation, if found at a depth of less than below the ice. In 1891, the Swiss surveyor Imfeld dug two horizontal tunnels below the ice summit but found nothing solid. Consequently, the Eiffel project was abandoned.
Despite this, the observatory was built in 1893. During the cold wave of January 1893, a temperature of was recorded on Mont Blanc, being the lowest ever recorded there.
Levers attached to the ice supported the observatory. This worked to some extent until 1906 when the building started leaning heavily. The movement of the levers corrected the lean slightly, but three years later (two years after Janssen's death), a crevasse started opening under the observatory. It was abandoned. Eventually the building fell, and only the tower could be saved ''in extremis''.[Janssen et l'observatoire du sommet du mont Blanc (1893-1909)](_blank)
JM. Malherbe, Observatoire de Paris, section de Meudon
Air crashes
The mountain was the scene of two fatal air crashes; Air India Flight 245
Air India Flight 245 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight that crashed into Mont Blanc, France on the morning of 3 November 1950.
The plane operating the flight was a Lockheed L-749A Constellation named ''Malabar Princess'', registered ...
in 1950 and Air India Flight 101
Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight from Bombay to London. On the morning of 24 January 1966 at 8:02 CET, the aircraft operating the flight accidentally flew into Mont Blanc in France. The accident was caused by a mi ...
in 1966. Both planes were approaching Geneva Airport
Geneva Airport ,, german: Flughafen Genf, it, Aeroporto di Ginevra, rm, Eroport de Genevra formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport, is the international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It i ...
and the pilots miscalculated their descent; 48 and 117 people, respectively, died. The latter passengers included nuclear scientist
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
Homi J. Bhabha
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Colloquially known as "Father of Indian nuclear pro ...
, known as the "father" of India's nuclear programme.
Tunnel
In 1946, a drilling project was initiated to carve a tunnel through the mountain. The Mont Blanc tunnel would connect Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
, France, and Courmayeur
Courmayeur (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
History
The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (16 ...
, Italy, and become one of the major transalpine transport routes between the two countries. In 1965, the tunnel opened to vehicle traffic with a length of .
1999 disaster
In 1999, a transport truck caught fire in the tunnel beneath the mountain. In total 39 people were killed when the fire raged out of control. The tunnel was renovated in the aftermath to increase driver safety. Renovations include computerised detection equipment, extra security bays, a parallel escape shaft, and a fire station in the middle of the tunnel. The escape shafts also have clean air flowing through them via vents. Any people in the security bays now have live video contact to communicate with the control centre. A remote site for cargo safety inspection was created on each side: Aosta in Italy and Passy-Le Fayet in France. Here all trucks are inspected before entering the tunnel. These remote sites are also used as staging area
A staging area (otherwise staging point, staging base, or staging post) is a location in which organisms, people, vehicles, equipment, or material are assembled before use. It may refer to:
* In construction, a designated area in which vehicles, ...
s to control commercial traffic during peak hours. The renovated tunnel reopened three years after the disaster.
Elevation
The summit of Mont Blanc is a thick, perennial ice-and-snow dome whose thickness varies. No exact and permanent summit elevation can therefore be determined, though accurate measurements have been made on specific dates.
For a long time, its official elevation was . In 2002, the IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
and expert surveyors, with the aid of GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
technology, measured it to be .
After the 2003 heatwave in Europe, a team of scientists remeasured the height on 6 and 7 September. The team was made up of the glaciologist Luc Moreau, two surveyors from the GPS Company, three people from the IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
, seven expert surveyors, four mountain guides from Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
and Saint-Gervais and four students from various institutes in France. This team noted that the elevation was , and the peak was away from where it had been in 2002.
After these results were published, more than 500 points were measured to assess the effects of climate change and the fluctuations in the height of the mountain at different points. Since then, the elevation of the mountain has been measured every two years.
The summit was measured again in 2005, and the results were published on 16 December 2005. The height was found to be , more than the previous recorded height. The rock summit was found to be at , some west of the ice-covered summit.
In 2007, the summit was measured at and in 2009 at .
In 2013, the summit was measured at and in 2015 at .
From the summit of Mont Blanc on a clear day, the Jura, the Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
, the Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
and the Massif Central
The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France.
Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...
mountain ranges can be seen, as well as the principal summits of the Alps.
Climbing routes
Several classic climbing routes lead to the summit of Mont Blanc:[Routes description](_blank)
from camptocamp.org
* The most popular route is the 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 mo ...
, also known as the ''Voie Des Cristalliers'' or the ''Voie Royale''. Starting from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, southeastern France.
The village is best known for tourism and has been a popular holiday destination since the early 1900s.
It has of ...
, the Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB) is taken to get to the Gare du Nid d'Aigle. The ascent begins in the direction of the Refuge de Tête Rousse
Refuge is a place or state of safety. It may also refer to a more specific meaning:
Safety
* Area of refuge, a location in a building that may be used by occupants in the event of a fire
* Bunker, a defensive fortification designed to protect pe ...
, crossing the ''Grand Couloir'' or ''Goûter Corridor'', considered dangerous because of frequent rockfalls, leading to the Goûter Hut
The Goûter Hut (french: Refuge du Goûter), is a mountain refuge in the French department of Haute-Savoie. It is located at a height of on the Arete du Goûter in the municipality of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains. It overlooks the Glacier de Bio ...
for night shelter. The next day the route leads to the Dôme du Goûter
The Dôme du Goûter (4,304 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif. It is a shoulder of Mont Blanc, whose summit lies two kilometres to the south-east. The Dôme is traversed on ascents of Mont Blanc via the ''Bosses'' route.
The summit of t ...
, past the emergency Vallot cabin and L'arrête des Bosses.
* ''La Voie des 3 Monts'' is also known as ''La Traversée''. Starting from Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi is taken towards the Col du Midi. The Cosmiques Hut
The Cosmiques Hut ( French: ''Refuge des Cosmiques'') is a mountain hut in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps at an altitude of 3,613 m (11,854 ft). It is a large structure capable of accommodating 148 mountaineers. It was constructed in ...
is used to spend the night. The next day the ascent continues over Mont Blanc du Tacul
Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps situated midway between the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc.
The official first ascent of Mont Blanc du Tacul was by a guideless party comprising Charles Hu ...
and Mont Maudit
Mont Maudit (4,465 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in France and Italy. The French name literally means "Cursed Mountain". Until the end of the 18th century, Mont Blanc and its satellite peaks were collectively known in French as the '' ...
.
* The historic itinerary via the Grands Mulets Hut
The Grands Mulets Hut (French: ''Refuge des Grands Mulets'') is a mountain refuge in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps at an altitude of 3,051 m. It is owned by the Club Alpin Francais. The hut is located on a pyramidal rock island, at ...
, or old normal route on the French side, which is most frequently traversed in winter by ski, or in summer to descend to Chamonix.
* The normal Italian itinerary is also known as ''La route des Aiguilles Grises''. After crossing the Miage Glacier
The Miage Glacier (french: Glacier du Miage; it, Ghiacciaio del Miage) is a debris-covered glacier in the upper Aosta Valley, in northwestern Italy.
Description
It is situated on the southwest flank of the Mont Blanc massif, flowing from the ...
, climbers spend the night at the Gonella refuge. The next day, one proceeds through the Col des Aiguilles Grises and the Dôme du Goûter, concluding at L'arête des Bosses (Bosses ridge).
* The Miage – Bionnassay – Mont Blanc crossing is usually done in three days, and has been described as ''a truly magical expedition of ice and snow arêtes at great altitude''.[Helmut Dumler and Willi P. Burkhardt, ''The High Mountains of the Alps'', London: Diadem, 1994] The route begins from Contamines-Montjoie, with the night spent in the Conscrits Hut. The following day, the Dômes de Miages is crossed and the night is spent at the Durier cabin. The third day proceeds over l'Aiguille de Bionnassay and the Dôme du Goûter, finally reaching the summit of Mont Blanc via the Bosses ridge.
Nowadays the summit is ascended by an average of 20,000 mountaineer tourists each year. It could be considered a technically easy, yet arduous ascent for someone well-trained and acclimatised to the altitude. From l'Aiguille du Midi
The Aiguille du Midi () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
Cable car
The idea fo ...
(where the cable car stops), Mont Blanc seems quite close, being higher. But while the peak seems deceptively close, the La Voie des 3 Monts route (known to be more technical and challenging than other more commonly used routes) requires more ascent over two other mountains, Mont Blanc du Tacul
Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps situated midway between the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc.
The official first ascent of Mont Blanc du Tacul was by a guideless party comprising Charles Hu ...
and Mont Maudit
Mont Maudit (4,465 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in France and Italy. The French name literally means "Cursed Mountain". Until the end of the 18th century, Mont Blanc and its satellite peaks were collectively known in French as the '' ...
, before the final section of the climb is reached and the last push to the summit is undertaken.
Each year climbing deaths occur on Mont Blanc, and on the busiest weekends, normally around August, the local rescue service performs an average of 12 missions, mostly directed to aid people in trouble on one of the normal routes of the mountain. Some routes require knowledge of high-altitude mountaineering, a guide (or at least an experienced mountaineer), and all require proper equipment. All routes are long and arduous, involving delicate passages and the hazard of rockfall or avalanche. Climbers may also suffer altitude sickness
Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People can respond to high altitude in different ways. Sympt ...
, occasionally life-threatening, particularly if they are not properly acclimatised.
Fatalities
A 1994 estimate suggests there had been 6,000 to 8,000 alpinist fatalities in total, more than on any other mountain. These numbers exclude the fatalities of Air India Flight 245
Air India Flight 245 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight that crashed into Mont Blanc, France on the morning of 3 November 1950.
The plane operating the flight was a Lockheed L-749A Constellation named ''Malabar Princess'', registered ...
and Air India Flight 101
Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight from Bombay to London. On the morning of 24 January 1966 at 8:02 CET, the aircraft operating the flight accidentally flew into Mont Blanc in France. The accident was caused by a mi ...
, two planes that crashed into Mont Blanc. Despite unsubstantiated claims recurring in media that "some estimates put the fatality rate at an average of 100 hikers a year", actual reported annual numbers at least since the 1990s are between 10 and 20: in 2017, fourteen people died out of 20,000 summit attempts and two remained missing; with 15 in 2018 as of August.
A French study on the especially risky " Goûter couloir, on the normal route on Mont Blanc" and necessary rescue operations found that, between 1990 and 2011, there were 74 deaths "between the Tête Rousse refuge (3,187 m) and the Goûter refuge (3,830 m)". There were 17 more in 2012–15, none in 2016, and 11 in 2017.
Refuges
*Refuge Vallot, 4362 m
*Bivouac Giuseppe Lampugnani, 3860 m
*Bivouac Marco Crippa, 3840 m
*Refuge Goûter
Merienda is a light meal in southern Europe, particularly Spain (merenda in Galician, berenar in Catalan), Portugal (lanche or merenda) and Italy (merenda), as well as Hispanic America, Philippines (meryenda/merienda), North Africa (Morocco), ...
, 3817 m
*Bivouac Corrado Alberico – Luigi Borgna, 3684 m
*Refuge Cosmiques, 3613 m
*Refuge Tête Rousse, 3167 m
*Refuge Francesco Gonella, 3071 m
*Refuge Grands Mulets, 3050 m
Impacts of climate change
Recent temperature rises and heatwaves, such as those of the summers of 2015 and 2018, have had significant impacts on many climbing routes across the Alps, including those on Mont Blanc. For example, in 2015, the Grand Mulets route, previously popular in the 20th century, was blocked by virtually impenetrable crevasse fields, and the Gouter Hut was closed by municipal decree for some days because of a very high rockfall danger, with some stranded climbers evacuated by helicopter.
In 2016 a crevasse
A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...
opened at high altitude, also indicating previously unobserved glacial movements. The new crevasse forms an obstacle to be scaled by climbing parties on the final part of the itinerary to the top shared by the popular 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 mo ...
and the Grand Mulets Route.
Exploits and incidents
*
*
*
*
*
* 1950: Air India Flight 245
Air India Flight 245 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight that crashed into Mont Blanc, France on the morning of 3 November 1950.
The plane operating the flight was a Lockheed L-749A Constellation named ''Malabar Princess'', registered ...
crashes into Mont Blanc.
* 1966: Air India Flight 101
Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight from Bombay to London. On the morning of 24 January 1966 at 8:02 CET, the aircraft operating the flight accidentally flew into Mont Blanc in France. The accident was caused by a mi ...
crashes into Mont Blanc.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* 11 July 2013: Kilian Jornet beat the fastest overall time for ascent and descent with 4 hours 57 minutes and 40 seconds.
* 21 June 2018: Emelie Forsberg
Emelie Tina Forsberg (born December 11, 1986) is a Swedish athlete specializing in trail running (skyrunning, mountain running) and ski mountaineering. She has won repeated victories in different disciplines, including European and World Champion ...
set a women's fastest known time up and down from Chamonix with 7 hours 53 minutes and 12 seconds, improving her previous record of 8 hours 10 minutes from 2013.
Incidents involving children
In July 2014, an American entrepreneur and traveller Patrick Sweeney attempted to break the record with his nine-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. They were caught in an avalanche, escaped death and decided not to pursue their attempt.[
]
In August 2014, an unknown Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n climber with his 5-year-old son were intercepted by mountain gendarmes at and forced to turn back.
On 5 August 2017, 9-year-old Hungarian twins and their mother were rescued from by helicopter while their father and family friend continued their summit attempt.
Cultural references
Cinema and television
* ''La Terre, son visage'', is a documentary by Jean-Luc Prévost and published by Édition Société national de télévision française, released in 1984. It is part of the ''Haroun Tazieff raconte sa terre, vol. 1'' series. In it he talks about the west–east crossing of Mont Blanc.
* The film ''Malabar Princess
''Malabar Princess'' is a 2004 in film, 2004 Cinema of France, French film directed by Gilles Legrand. The film is about a young boy called Tom, who is sent to live with his grandfather in the French Alps after his mother disappeared during an exc ...
''.
* The television-film ''Premier de cordée''.
* '' Storm over Mont Blanc'' (''Stürme über dem Mont Blanc'', 1930) with Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda.
A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
and directed by Arnold Fanck
Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White He ...
* ''La Roue
''La Roue'' (, 'The Wheel') is a French silent film, directed by Abel Gance, who also directed '' Napoléon'' and '' J'accuse''. It was released in 1923. The film used then-revolutionary lighting techniques, and rapid scene changes and cuts.
...
'' (''The Wheel'', 1923) is a 273-minute film by Abel Gance depicting rail operations, workers, and families in south-eastern France, including the Mont Blanc area.
Literature
* ''Premier de cordée'' by Roger Frison-Roche
* ''Hugo et le Mont Blanc'' by Colette Cosnie – Édition Guérin
* ''Hymn Before Sunrise, in the Vale of Chamouni'' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...
* ''Manfred
''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction.
Byr ...
'' by Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
* ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...
'' by Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...
* ''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 second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...
'' by Percy Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
* ''Point Blanc
''Point Blanc'' is the second book in the ''Alex Rider'' series, written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The book was released in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2001 and in North America on April 15, 2002, under the alternate title ' ...
'' by Anthony Horowitz
Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense.
His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the '' Alex Rider'' series, and '' ...
* ''The Prelude
''The Prelude or, Growth of a Poet's Mind; An Autobiographical Poem '' is an autobiographical poem in blank verse by the English poet William Wordsworth. Intended as the introduction to the more philosophical poem ''The Recluse,'' which Wordsw ...
Book VI'' by William Wordsworth
* ', by Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L.
The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...
, a poem to accompany an engraving of a painting by J. M. W. Turner.
* ''Kordian'' by Juliusz Słowacki
Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the " Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of m ...
*''Eiger Dreams
''Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains'' is a non-fiction collection of articles and essays by Jon Krakauer on mountaineering and rock climbing. Eleven out of twelve of the chapters were initially published between 1982 and 1989 in the ...
: Ventures Among Men and Mountains'' by Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—'' Into the Wild''; ''Into Thin Air''; ''Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat ...
* ''Running Water'' by AEW Mason
* ''La neige en deuil'' by Henri Troyat
Henri Troyat (born Lev Aslanovich Tarasov; – 2 March 2007) was a Russian-born French author, biographer, historian and novelist.
Early life
Lev Aslanovich Tarasov (russian: link=no, Лев Асланович Тарасов, ''Lev Aslanovich ...
Protection
The Mont Blanc massif is being put forward as a potential World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
because of its uniqueness and its cultural importance, considered the birthplace and symbol of modern mountaineering. It would require the three governments of Italy, France and Switzerland to request UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
for it to be listed.
Mont Blanc is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world, and for this reason, some view it as threatened. Pro-Mont Blanc (an international collective of associations for the protection of Mont Blanc) published in 2002 the book ''Le versant noir du mont Blanc'' (The black hillside of Mont Blanc), which exposes current and future problems in conserving the site.
In 2007, Europe's two highest toilets (at a height of 4,260 metres, 13,976 feet) were taken by helicopter to the top of Mont Blanc. They are also serviced by helicopter. They will serve 30,000 skiers and hikers annually, helping to alleviate the discharge of urine and faeces that spreads down the mountain face with the spring thaw, and turns it into 'Mont Marron'.
Global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
has begun to melt glaciers and cause avalanches on Mont Blanc, creating more dangerous climbing conditions.
Panorama
See also
* Exploration of the High Alps
The higher region of the Alps were long left to the exclusive attention of the inhabitants of the adjoining valleys, even when Alpine travellers (as distinguished from Alpine climbers) began to visit these valleys. It is reckoned that about 20 gla ...
* Haute Route
The Haute Route (or the High Route or Mountaineers' Route) is the name given to a route (with several variations) undertaken on foot or by ski touring between the Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France, and the Matterhorn, in Zermatt, Switzerland.
Fir ...
* Mont Blanc (Moon)
Mont Blanc is a mountain in the Montes Alpes range on the Moon. It is located on the western edge of the range, near the shore of Mare Imbrium, at . Its width is about 25 kilometers; the height is 3.7–3.8 km above adjacent plains of Mare ...
* Tête Rousse Glacier
The Tête Rousse Glacier ( French: ''Glacier de Tête Rousse'') is a small but significant glacier located in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps whose collapse in 1892 killed 200A contemporary account by J Vallot, cited here, states ...
* 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 indepen ...
* Mont Blanc Tramway
* Mont Blanc Tunnel
The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under the Mont Blanc mountain in the Alps. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian T ...
* Tour du Mont Blanc
The Tour du Mont Blanc or TMB is one of the most popular long-distance walks in Europe. It circles the Mont Blanc massif, covering a distance of roughly with of ascent/descent and passing through parts of Switzerland, Italy and France.
...
* Top of the Mont Blanc
The so-called Top of the Mont Blanc is a collection piece on display in the Oval Room of Teylers Museum. The specimen was cut off from the highest findable piece of exposed rock of the Rocher de la Tournette, high on the snow covered summit r ...
* List of Alpine four-thousanders
This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of or more in height in the Alps, as defined by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). All are located within France, Italy or Switzerland, and are often refe ...
Notes
References
External links
* Topographic map of Mont Blanc
French IGN map
Swiss National Map (showing disputed areas)
*
Places to visit around Mont Blanc
In-depth guide to Mont Blanc
Mont-Blanc summit webcam
Close up of the summit of the Mont Blanc and its glaciers at 4811m.
Mont-Blanc panoramic webcam
See several points of view of the Mont-Blanc range and zoom on the top.
*
Mont Blanc on Summitpost
Descent into the Ice
Companion website to the PBS NOVA program which follows a glaciologist and a climber into the glacier caves of Mont Blanc
The scientific observatories on Mont Blanc.
Why Is Mont Blanc One of the World's Deadliest Mountains?
Mont Blanc on Peakclimber
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanc, Mont
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 second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...
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 second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...
Mountains of Aosta Valley
Alpine four-thousanders
Seven Summits
France–Italy border
International mountains of Europe
Highest points of countries