From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Le Mont Blanc (pronounced ; : Monte Bianco ), meaning "White Mountain", is the
and the highest in
west of Russia’s
peaks. It rises 4,808 m (15,774 ft) above sea level and is ranked
in . The mountain stands in a range called the , between the regions of , , and
and , . The location of the
line between the valleys of
and the valleys of , and
in France. The
is popular for , , and .
The three towns and their communes which surround Mont Blanc are
in Aosta Valley, I and
in Haute-Savoie, France. The latter town was the site of the . A
ascends and crosses the mountain range from Courmayeur to Chamonix, through the . The 11-km (7 1/4 -mi) , constructed between 1957 and 1965, runs beneath the mountain and is a major trans-Alpine transport route.
Mont Blanc seen from the Rébuffat platform on
Mont Blanc from the
The first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc was on 8 August 1786 by
and the doctor . This climb, initiated by , who gave a reward for the successful ascent, traditionally marks the start of modern mountaineering. The first woman to reach the summit was
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 who is well-trained and acclimatized to the altitude. From l' (where the cable car stops), Mont Blanc seems quite close, being 1,000 m (3,300 ft) higher. But while the peak seems deceptively close, La Voie des 3 Monts route (known to be more technical and challenging than other more commonly used routes) requires much ascent over two other 4,000-m mountains,
and , before the final section of the climb is reached and the last 1000-m 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 rock-fall or avalanche. Climbers may also suffer , occasionally life threatening, particularly if they do not
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1832 Map of the Kingdom of Sardinia showing an administrative border passing through the summit of Mont Blanc. This was the same map annexed to the 1860 treaty to determine the current border between France and Italy.
Captain Mieulet map of 1865 showing the border through Mont Blanc, called "a historical falsehood" by Italian historians
Since the , the issue of the ownership of the summit has been debated. From 1416 to 1792, the entire mountain was within the . In 1723, the Duke of Savoy, , acquired the . The resulting state of Sardinia was to become preeminent in the . In September 1792, the French revolutionary
without much resistance and created a
of the . In a ,
was forced to cede Savoy and
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
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 , the
and the , 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
and . 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.
A Sardinian Atlas map of 1869 showing the summit lying two thirds in Italy and one third in France.
After the Napoleonic Wars, the
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 , it was replaced by a new legal act. This
was signed in
on 24 March 1860 by
and , and deals with the annexation of
(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.
The 1860 act and attached maps are still legally valid for both the French and Italian governments. One of the prints from the 1823
positions the border exactly on the summit edge of the mountain (and measures it to be 4,804 m (15,761 ft) high). The convention of 7 March 1861 recognises this through an attached map, taking into consideration the limits of the massif, and drawing the border on the icecap of Mont Blanc, making it both French and Italian. Watershed analysis of modern
not only places the main summit on the border, but also suggests that the border should follow a line northwards from the main summit towards , leaving the southeast ridge to
wholly within Italy.
Although the Franco-Italian border was redefined in both 1947 and 1963, the commission made up of both Italians and French ignored the Mont Blanc issue. In the early 21st century, administration of the mountain is shared between the Italian town of
and the French town of , although the larger part of the mountain lies within the commune of the latter.
Vallot refuge near Mont Blanc summit, at an altitude of 4,362 m
The first professional scientific investigations on the summit were conducted by the -
at the end of the 19th century. He wanted to stay near the top of the summit, so he built his own permanent cabin.
In 1890, , an
and the director of the Meudon astrophysical observatory, considered the construction of an observatory at the summit of Mont Blanc.
agreed to take on the project, provided he could build on a rock foundation, if found at a depth of less than 12 m (39 ft) below the ice. In 1891, the Swiss surveyor Imfeld dug two 23 m (75 ft) long horizontal tunnels 12 m (39 ft) 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 -43 °C (-45 °F) 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 .
The mountain was the scene of t
in 1966. Both planes were approaching
and the pilots miscalc 48 and 117 people, respectively, died. The latter passengers included
, known as the "father" of 's nuclear programme.
In 1946, a drilling project was initiated to carve a tunnel through the mountain. The Mont Blanc tunnel would connect ,
and , , and become one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes between the two countries. In 1965, the tunnel opened to vehicle traffic with a length of 11,611 metres (7.215 mi).
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, reopening after three years.
The youngest person to climb Mont Blanc record set in 2009 by 10-year-old Asher Silver ()
In July 2014, an
entrepreneur and traveler
attempted to break the record with his nine-year-old son P.J. and 11-year-old daughter Shannon. They were caught in , luckily escaped death and decided not to pursue their attempt.
In August 2014, an unknown
climber with his 5-year-old son were intercepted by
at 3200 metres and forced to turn around.
On 5 August 2017, 9-year old
twins and their mother were rescued from 3800 metres by helicopter while their father and family friend continued their summit attempt.
Mont Blanc summit
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 4,807 m (15,771 ft). In 2002, the
and expert surveyors, with the aid of
technology, measured it to be 4,807.40 m (15,772 ft 4 in).
in Europe, a team of scientists re-measured 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 , seven expert surveyors, four mountain guides from
and four students from various institutes in France. This team noted that the elevation was 4,808.45 m (15,775 ft 9 in), and the peak was 75 centimetres (30 in) 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 interpretation that the heatwave had caused this fluctuation is disputed because the heatwave is known not to have significantly affected the glaciers above 4,000 m (13,000 ft). The height and position of the summit could have been moved by general glacial forces. At this elevation, the temperatures rarely rise above 0  (32 ). During the summer of 2003, the temperature rose to 2 °C (36 °F), and even 3 °C (37 °F), but this would not have been enough for the ice to melt that amount.
The summit was measured again in 2005, and the results were published on 16 December 2005. The height was found to be 4,808.75 m (15,776 ft 9 in), 30 cm (12 in) more than the previous recorded height. The rock summit was found to be at 4,792 m (15,722 ft), some 40 m (130 ft) west of the ice-covered summit.
In 2007, the summit was measured at 4,807.9 m (15,774 ft) and in 2009 at 4,807.45 m (15,772 ft). In 2013, the summit was measured at 4,810.02 m (15,781 ft) and in 2015 at 4,808.73 m (15,777 ft). From the summit of Mont Blanc on a clear day, the , the , the
mountain ranges can be seen, as well as the principal summits of the Alps.
A panoramic view of Mont Blanc from Aiguille du Midi
View from Vallee Blanche of Glacier du Géant and Dent du Géant, looking down Glacier du Tacul towards the Mer de Glace, with Aiguille du Moine, les Drus and Aiguille Verte in centre-left
Mont Blanc 3D
The Mont Blanc Massif averages nearly 100 fatalities a year. A published estimate suggests there have been 6,000-8,000 alpinist fatalities in total, more than on any other mountain.:208 Several classic climbing routes lead to the summit of Mont Blanc:
The most popular route is the Voie Des Cristalliers, also known as the Voie Royale. Starting from , the
is taken to get to the . The ascent begins in the direction of the
and through the Go?ter Corridor, considered dangerous because of frequent rock-falls, leading to the Go?ter cabin for night shelter. The next day the route leads to the , past the emergency Vallot cabin and L'arrête des Bosses.
La Voie des 3 Monts is also known as La Traversée. Starting from , the
is taken towards the Col du Midi. The Cosmiques cabin is used to spend the night. The next day the ascent continues over
The historic itinerary through the , 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 , climbers spend the night at the . The next day, one proceeds through the Col des Aiguilles Grises and the D?me du Go?ter, 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.:199 The route begins from Contamines-Montjoie, with the night spent in the Conscrits cabin. The following day, the D?mes de Miages is crossed and the night spent at the Durier cabin. The third day proceeds over
and the D?me du Go?ter, finally reaching the summit of Mont Blanc via the Bosses ridge.
Refuge Vallot, 4362 m.
Refuge Go?ter, 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.
Recent temperature rises and heatwaves, such as that of summer 2015, 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
was closed by municipal decree for some days because of very high stonefall danger, with some stranded climbers evacuated by helicopter.
of the south-eastern side of Mont Blanc, taken on a commercial flight
"The First Ascent of Mont Blanc"
by T. Louis Oxley 1881
Read by Phil Schempfn for LibriVox
Audio 00:39:46 ()
Problems playing this file? See .
1786: The first ascent, see .
1787: The fourth ascent, by Englishman , with at least six guides and a servant.
July 1808): The first ascent by a woman, , with Balmat as her guide.
July 1838): The second ascent by a woman, .
1890: Giovenni Bonin, Luigi Grasselli and Fr. Achille Ratti (later ) discovered the normal Italian route (West Face Direct) on descent.
1960: The airplane pilot Henri Giraud landed on the summit, which is only 30 m (98 ft) long.
, leaving from , completed the ascent and descent in 5 hours, 10 minutes and 14 seconds.
30 May 2003):
tried to beat the record by ski-walking. They went up in 4 hours and 7 minutes, and came back down in 1 hour and 8 minutes. In total they did the ascent and descent in 5 hours and 15 minutes.
13 August 2003): Seven
paraglider pilots landed on the summit. They reached a peak altitude of 5,200 m (17,100 ft), thanks to the hot weather conditions, which provided strong hot air currents. Five had left from , one from
and the last one from .
8 June 2007): Danish artist
draped the peak of Mont Blanc with red fabric, along with a 20-foot (6.1 m) pole with a flag reading "Pink State". He had been arrested and detained earlier on 6 June for attempting to paint a pass leading up to the summit red. His aim was to raise awareness of environmental degradation.
13 September 2007): A group of 20 people set up a hot tub at the summit.
19 August 2012): Fifty paraglider pilots landed on the summit, beating the previous record of seven top landing pilots, set in 2003. This included the second ever tandem landing on the summit.
11 July 2013 -
beat the fastest overall time for ascent and descent with 4 hours 57 minutes and 40 seconds.
La Terre, son visage, is a documentary by
and published by ?dition Société national de télévision fran?aise, 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 .
The television-film Premier de cordée.
(Stürme über dem Mont Blanc, 1930) with
and directed by
(The Wheel, 1923) is a 273-minute film by
depicting rail operations, workers, and families in southeastern France, including the Mont Blanc area.
Premier de cordée by
Hugo et le Mont Blanc by
Hymn Before Sunrise, in the Vale of Chamouni by
Book VI by William Wordsworth
Kordian by
Running Water by
La neige en deuil by
The Mont Blanc massif is being put forward as a potential
because of its uniqueness and its cultural importance, considered the birthplace and symbol of modern mountaineering. It would require the three governments of ,
to make a request to
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'.
has begun to melt glaciers and cause avalanches on Mont Blanc, creating more dangerous climbing conditions.
The highest resolution panorama of the Mont Blanc ever made:
Mont Blanc seen from Les Arcs 1950
North side of Mont Blanc
glacier on the left
Mont Blanc seen from
of the south-western side of Mont Blanc in early September, taken on a commercial flight
View taken "par grand beau temps" from the upper terrace, on Aiguille du Midi (2015). Need to reach second floor of the cable railway
is normally considered the tallest mountain in Europe, the latter continent is part of the
land mass, which culminates at Mount Everest (lowest col between Mont Blanc and Mount Elbrus: 113 lowest col between Mount Elbrus and Mount Everest: 901 m ).
The Caucasus watershed has conventionally been used as the
since the mid-19th century. The Caucasus has a number of peaks higher than Mont Blanc either marking the
or just within Russia ( in the
at ;m is the tallest in Europe when including the Caucasus).
. 6 November
– via The Sydney Morning Herald.
the prominence of 4,696 m for Mont Blanc is taken from the "Ultras Project" (), "List compiled 2004 by Petter Bj?rstad, Jonathan de Ferranti, Eberhard Jurgalski, Vasja Kavcic and Aaron Maizlish". A footnote to this entry at peaklist.org r (Citation). The Mont Blanc key saddle has been identified in Northern Russia near ." See also .
Green, Stewart. .
Muza, SR; Fulco, CS; Cymerman, A (2004). . US Army Research Inst. of Environmental Medicine Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division Technical Report (USARIEM-TN-04-05) 2009.
Cymerman, A; Rock, PB. . USARIEM-TN94-2. US Army Research Inst. of Environmental Medicine Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division Technical Report 2009.
(in Italian).
. www.lunacommons.org 2017.
The map is based on measurements taken in 1856 before the convention of 7 March 1861, and is identical to the map attached to the Treaty of Turin. See
. questions.assemblee-nationale.fr 2017.
, JM. Malherbe, Observatoire de Paris, section de Meudon
20 June 2009 at the .
. 23 October
– via news.bbc.co.uk.
. 19 September
– via www.bbc.co.uk.
. atmb.com. Archived from
on 4 January .
. www.tunneltalk.com 2017.
Lizzie Dearden (28 July 2014). . . Archived from
on 28 October .
Constance Jamet (). . . Archived from
on .(in French)
Kim Willsher (). . . Archived from
Nelly Assénat (). . . Archived from
on .(in French)
Vincent, Christian (2 August 2004). . Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Archived from the original on 2 May .
Helmut Dumler and Willi P. Burkhardt, The High Mountains of the Alps, London: Diadem, 1994
, from camptocamp.org
Boscoe, Charlie. . www.ukclimbing.com 2015.
Abjad (27 August 2008).
2017 – via Wikimedia Commons.
Gaventa, Jonathan. . www.ukclimbing.com 2015.
. www.flight-system.com 2017.
, 8 June 2007
] on Mont-Blanc summit[]
, ’50' pilots topland Mont Blanc as Chamonix sees record day, XC Mag, 19 August 2012
. climbing.com 2017.
chamonix.net. . www.chamonix.net 2017.
. UNESCO World Heritage Centre 2011.
. archive.org. 9 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October .
. Ananova. Archived from
on 8 December .
. The Times. London. 28 May 2013.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to .
at 4000er.de (in German)
: Close up of the summit of the Mont Blanc and its glaciers at 4811m.
: See severals points of view of the Mont-Blanc range and zoom on the top.
Companion web site to the PBS NOVA program which follows a glaciologist and a climber into the glacier caves of Mont Blanc
 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "".
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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