Mont Blanc

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Mont Blanc (French for white mountain) or Monte Bianco (Italian, same meaning) also known as La Dame Blanche (Fr., the white lady), in the Alps, is the highest mountain in Western Europe. Its height is about 4,810 m (15,780 feet), but varies from year to year by a few metres, depending on snowfall and climate conditions.

The mountain lies between the regions of Haute-Savoie, France and Aosta Valley, Italy. The location of the summit itself is a subject of controversy between the two countries, and each tends to place it within its own boundaries on maps. In a convention between France and Kingdom of Sardinia, in Turin (1861), the border [1] was fixed on the highest point of the Mont Blanc (monte sur le groupe du Mont Blanc, en touche le point le plus élevé) and this was the last definition of this border, but often the French maps do not agree about this solution.

The two most famous towns near Mont Blanc are Chamonix, in Haute-Savoie, France (site of the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924); and Courmayeur, in the Aosta Valley in Italy.

Begun in 1957 and completed in 1965, the 11.6–kilometre (7.25–mile) Mont Blanc Tunnel runs beneath the mountain between these two cities and is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes.

The Mont Blanc massif is very popular for mountaineering, hiking, and skiing.

1 The ascent
2 The Mont Blanc glaciers
3 See also
4 External links

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The ascent

The first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc was on August 8, 1786 by Jacques Balmat and the doctor Michel Paccard. This climb, initiated by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, traditionally marks the start of modern mountaineering. The first woman to reach the summit was Marie Paradis in 1808.

Now the summit is ascended by thousands of mountaineer-tourists every 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 1000 m higher.

However every year the Mont Blanc massif takes many victims. This is a course that requires knowledge of high-altitude mountaineering, a guide (or at least someone who knows what they're doing), and proper equipment. It is a long course that includes delicate passages and the hazard of rock slides. Also, at least one night at the refuge is required to condition oneself to the altitude; less could lead to altitude sickness and possible death.

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The Mont Blanc glaciers

Image:Mont-Blanc.jpg

Mont Blanc has traditionally been considered to be 4807 m high, but GPS-based measurements made in 2001 and 2003 by the Institut géographique national and other experts show differences of a few metres from year to year. These seem to result from fluctuations, caused by the weather, in the thickness of the glacier that covers the peak to a depth of up to 23 m. This interpretation is disputed, since the 2003 heat wave did not significantly affect the glaciers above 4000 metres altitude. It could also be explained by random movements of the summit icecap, due to the violent winds at this altitude.

The mountain has a number of glaciers among which the Glacier des Bossons and the Glacier d'Argentière can be seen streaming slowly down its flanks; the Mer de Glace is the largest of these.

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