The Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey (4,112 m) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is considered the most difficult and serious of the alpine 4000-m mountains to climb. There are three tops to the mountain: *''Pointe Güssfeldt'' (4,112 m) *''Pointe Seymour King'' (4,107 m) *''Pointe Jones'' (4,104 m) The three tops are named after

Paul Güssfeldt Dr Paul Güssfeldt (spelled Güßfeldt in German) (14 October 1840 – 18 January 1920) was a German geologist, mountaineer and explorer. Biography Güssfeldt was born in Berlin, where he also died almost 80 years later. After attending the C ...

Henry Seymour King Sir Henry Seymour King, 1st Baronet KCIE (4 January 1852 – 14 November 1933) was a British banker, mountaineer and Conservative politician. King was born at Brighton, the son of Henry Samuel King. He was educated at Charterhouse School and B ...

and Humphrey Owen Jones.

Ascents

The highest point, ''Pointe Güssfeldt'', was first climbed by Henry Seymour King with guides

Emile Rey Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

, Ambros Supersaxo and Aloys Anthamatten on 31 July 1885. In July 1882,

Francis Maitland Balfour Francis (Frank) Maitland Balfour, known as F. M. Balfour, (10 November 1851 – 19 July 1882) was a British biologist. He lost his life while attempting the ascent of Mont Blanc. He was regarded by his colleagues as one of the greatest biologist ...

, a young English professor, lost his life whilst attempting the as-yet-unclimbed summit of the Aiguille Blanche along with his guide Johann Petrus (an uncle of Joseph Knubel). C. D. Cunningham and

watched anxiously and silently as the pair set off on the 18th, and it was Rey who was subsequently leader of the search party that brought back their bodies to Courmayeur.

Peuterey ridge

Together with its neighbour – the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey (3,773 m) – the Aiguille Blanche forms part of the Peuterey ridge that leads, via the summit of the Grand Pilier d'Angle, to the summit of

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 ...

. James Eccles, with guides Alphonse and Michel Payot, made the first ascent of the upper part of the ridge during their first ascent 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 ...

on 31 July 1877.Dumler, Helmut and Burkhardt, Willi P., ''The High Mountains of the Alps'', London: Diadem, 1994, p. 193 The main ridge itself was first climbed via a couloir on the Brenva face by

with Emile Rey,

Christian Klucker Christian Klucker (28 September 1853 – 21 December 1928) was a Swiss mountain guide who made many first ascents in the Alps, particularly in the Bernina Range, the Bregaglia and the Pennine Alps. Amongst his first ascents were: :*''Gurgel'' ...

and César Ollier on 15–19 August 1893 (the second ascent was a week later by Klucker and John Percy Farrar). The first ascent of the complete ridge including the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey (the ''Intégrale'') was on 28–31 July 1934 by Adolf Göttner, Ludwig Schmaderer and Ferdinand Krobath.

References

External links

The Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey on SummitPost
{{Mont Blanc massif Alpine four-thousanders Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Aosta Valley Mont Blanc massif

Ascents

Peuterey ridge

See also

References

External links