- ANNECY AND MONT BLANC -

Mont Blanc and Aiguille du Midi Part 2

LINKS to other pages in the Annecy and Mont Blanc website and to the Travelling Days series:

The western outskirts of Chamonix from the summit of Aiguille du Midi (below).

A large diagram of the summit area is to be found on the lower viewing platform (left). The cable car to Chamonix is depicted on the right of the diagram.

The bridge between the two parts of the summit station (left).





Spot the climbers on the rockface...... (below).

......here they are! (left)

Other climbers arriving at the summit of Aiguille du Midi (right and below).

Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco ('White Mountain') is also known in France as "La Dame Blanche" ('The White lady'). It is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe. The summit is 4,810 metres (15,781 feet) above sea level and the mountain is ranked 11th in the world in topographic significance (right and below).

The mountain lies between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France. A demarcation agreement, signed in Turin on 7 March 1861, defined the "new border". The Sarde Atlas produced in 1823 positioned the border exactly on the summital edge of the mountain. The convention held in March 1861 recognised this.

Watershed analysis of modern topographic mapping 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 Mont Maudit, leaving the south east ridge to Mont Blanc de Courmayeur wholly within Italy. Despite the fact that the Franco-Italian border was redefined in both 1947 and 1963, the commission, made up of both Italians and French, tactfully ignored the Mont Blanc issue!

The first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc was on 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat and 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 in 1808.

Now the summit is climbed by an average 20,000 mountaineer-tourists each year and could be considered an easy, yet long, ascent for someone who is well trained and used to the altitude. This impression is reinforced by the fact that from l'Aiguille du Midi (where the cable car stops), Mont Blanc seems quite close, being merely 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) higher.

However, every year the Mont Blanc massif takes many victims, and in peak weekends (normally around August) the local rescue service flies an average of 12 missions, mostly directed towards people in trouble on one of the normal routes of the mountain.

The climbing routes require knowledge of high-altitude mountaineering, a guide (or at least a veteran mountaineer) and proper equipment. The journey includes having to negotiate narrow passages and accepting the possible hazard of rock slides and snow avalanches. Also, at least one night at the refuge is required to get used to the altitude (the summit is almost 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) above sea level); less could lead to altitude sickness and possible death.

The Mont Blanc summit and glacier is shown in the pictures (above).

The western approach road to Chamonix and Mont Blanc Tunnel from Aiguille du Midi (left and below)

A viewing area situated within the mountain (left). The summit of Mont Blanc is visible in the upper right portion of the picture.

Covered passageway to the shop and café - and a nice mug of hot chocolate before the return to Chamonix! (right).