Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the European Alps and one of the most iconic mountains in the world. It is located on the border between France and Italy, with its summit reaching an elevation of 4,810.45 meters (15,782 feet) above sea level.

The name "Mont Blanc" comes from the French words "mont" (mountain) and "blanc" (white).

Mont Blanc

On July 24, 1760, a prize was offered for the first person to climb Mont Blanc. The date is celebrated by many as the birth of mountaineering, or at least Alpinism. The prize was offered by Horace Bénédict de Saussure, praised by many as the first modern meteorologist and inventor of the solar oven. 

On August 8, 1786, Jacques Balmat, a local guide, and Michel-Gabriel Paccard, a doctor, made the first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc. The climb was a difficult one, and it took the two men several days to reach the summit. 

The first woman to reach the summit, in 1808, was Marie Paradis, a maidservant in Chamonix. On reaching the summit, she is said to have begged her companions to throw her into the nearest crevasse to end her exhaustion and misery. 

Tschingel was a St. Bernard who was born in Grindelwald, Switzerland in 1865. She was a member of the "Tschingel Company," a group of dogs who were trained to climb mountains. Tschingel's owner, Christian Almer, was a Swiss mountain guide. Almer trained Tschingel to climb mountains from a young age. In 1875, Tschingel made history when she became the first dog to climb Mont Blanc. She was accompanied by Almer and a group of other climbers.

The Treaty of Turin, signed on March 24, 1860, ceded the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice to France. The treaty also established the border between France and Italy, which runs through the summit of Mont Blanc.

The Mont Blanc Tunnel under the mountain is a major transportation route that passes beneath the mountain, connecting Chamonix, France, with Courmayeur, Italy. It provides a vital link for road traffic traveling between the two countries. The tunnel took eight years to build and was finished in 1965. It is 11.6 kilometers (7.2 miles) long. 

On September 11, 2007, a group of 20 people from Switzerland held a Jacuzzi party at the summit of Mont Blanc. The group, which called themselves Jacuzzi Events, carried a custom-made hot tub up the mountain over the course of two days. The hot tub was filled with hot water and champagne, and the group enjoyed a relaxing soak at the top of the world.

The current record for the fastest ascent and descent of Mont Blanc is 4 hours and 57 minutes, set by Basque speed-climber Kilian Jornet on July 11, 2013. Jornet and his friend Mathéo Jacquemond ascended the Grands Mulets route on the north face of the mountain, reaching the summit in three hours and 30 minutes. They then descended the Gouter route on the south face, reaching Chamonix in 1 hour and 27 minutes.

Mont Blanc is a dangerous mountain, and it is not for the faint of heart. Climbers must be well-prepared and experienced in order to safely summit the mountain.

According to the Chamonix Mountain Guides Association, about 30,000 people attempt to climb Mont Blanc every year.

The number of people who die trying to climb Mont Blanc each year varies, but it is estimated that about 100 people pass away on the mountain every year.

Source Daily Express