Mont Blanc

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This article is about the mountain. For other uses, see Mont Blanc (disambiguation).
Mont Blanc - Monte Bianco

Mont Blanc and the Dôme du Goûter
Elevation 4,808 m / 15,774 ft
Location Flag of Italy Italy / Flag of France France
Range Graian Alps
Prominence 4695 m ranked 11th
Coordinates 45°50′1″N, 6°51′54″ECoordinates: 45°50′1″N, 6°51′54″E
First ascent August 8, 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard
Easiest route Basic snow/ice climb

Mont Blanc (French for white mountain) or Monte Bianco (Italian, same meaning) also known as "La Dame Blanche" (French, the white lady), in the Alps, (4,808 m / 15,774 ft), is the highest mountain in Western Europe.[1]

The mountain lies between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy and Haute-Savoie, France. 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 [2] was fixed on the highest point of Mont Blanc and this was the last official definition of this border, but often the French maps do not respect this solution.

The two most famous towns near Mont Blanc are Chamonix, in Haute-Savoie, France (site of the first Winter Olympics) and Courmayeur, in the Aosta Valley in Italy. Begun in 1957 and completed in 1965, the 11.6 km (7¼ mi) 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 popular for mountaineering, hiking, and skiing.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] First ascents

Flight over Mont Blanc in early November, on a Paris–Turin commercial flight. A makeshift hut is clearly visible on the crest.
Flight over Mont Blanc in early November, on a Paris–Turin commercial flight. A makeshift hut is clearly visible on the crest.

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, 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. United States president to-be Theodore Roosevelt also led an expedition, reaching the summit while on his honeymoon in 1886.

Now the summit is ascended 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 1000 m 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. These are courses that require knowledge of high-altitude mountaineering, a guide (or at least a veteran mountaineer), 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 get used to the altitude; less could lead to altitude sickness and possible death.

[edit] Who owns the summit?

Since the French Revolution this question has spurred many debates. Before this event, the whole mountain was in the Kingdom of Sardinia for several centuries.

The first treaty to define a border in the region is dated May 15, 1796. In this treaty the Sardinian king was forced by Napoleon to cede Savoie and Nice's territories to the French Republic, and in article 4 of this treaty it says: "The border between the Sardinian kingdom and the departements of the French Republic will be established on a line determined by the most advanced points on the Piedmont 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 Faucigny, the Duchy of Aoust and the Valais, to the extremity of the glaciers or the Monts-Maudits: first the peaks or plateaus of the Alps, to the rising edge of the Col-Mayor". This act is even more confusing, because it states that the border should be visible from the town of Chamonix and Courmayeur. The summit is not visible from Courmayeur, because part of the mountain lower down obscures it. Already inaccurate at the time, this treaty is no longer valid, because it was replaced by a later legal act.

Mont Blanc summit border line as stated on the act signed in Turin on March 7, 1861
Mont Blanc summit border line as stated on the act signed in Turin on March 7, 1861

This act was signed in Turin on March 24, 1860 by Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, and deals with the annexation of Savoie. A demarcation agreement, signed on March 7, 1861, defines the "new border".

One of the prints from the Sarde Atlas,[2] made in 1823 and positions the border exactly on the summital edge of the mountain (and measures it to be 4,804 m high.

The convention of March 7, 1861 recognizes this, through an attached map, but takes into consideration the limits of the massif, and draws the border on the icecap of the Mont Blanc, and therefore makes it both French and Italian. 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.

[edit] The Vallot cabin

The first real scientific investigations on the summit were conducted by the botanist-meteorologist Joseph Vallot at the end of the 19th century. He wanted to stay near the top of the summit, so he had to build his own permanent cabin.

[edit] The Janssen Observatory

In 1891, Pierre Janssen, a scientific academic, envisaged the construction of an observatory at the summit of Mont Blanc. Gustave Eiffel agreed to take on the project, provided he could find strong foundations. The Swiss surveyor Imfeld dug down 15 m but found nothing solid, so Eiffel gave up.

Despite this, the observatory was built in 1893. 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 Jannsen’s death) a crevasse started opening under the observatory and it was abandoned. Eventually the building fell, and only the tower could be saved in extremis.

[edit] Air crashes

The mountain was the scene of two fatal Air India air crashes, in 1950 [1] and 1966. Both planes were approaching Geneva airport and the pilots miscalculated their descent; 48 and 117 people lost their lives. [2]

[edit] Altitude

The Mer de Glace glacier can be seen slowly streaming down the flanks of Mont Blanc on the left side of the image
The Mer de Glace glacier can be seen slowly streaming down the flanks of Mont Blanc on the left side of the image

The summit of Mont Blanc is a thick, perennial ice and snow dome whose thickness varies, so no exact and permanent summit altitude can be determined. But accurate measurements have been made. For a long time its official altitude was 4,807 m. Then in 2002, the IGN and expert surveyors, with the aid of GPS technology, measured it to be 4,810.40 m.

After the 2003 heatwave in Europe, a team of scientists re-measured the height on the 6th and 7th of September. The team was made up of the glaciologist Luc Moreau, two surveyors from the GPS Company, three people from the IGN, seven expert surveyors, four mountain guides from Chamonix and Saint-Gervais and four students from various institutes in France. This team noted that the altitude was 4,808.45 m, and the peak was 75 cm 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. From then on the altitude 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 4000 m. The height and position of the summit could have been moved by general glacial forces. At this altitude, the temperatures rarely rise above 0°C. During the summer of 2003, the temperature rose to 2°C, and even 3°C, but this would not have been enough for the ice, which stayed at -15°C, to melt.

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, 30 cm more than the previous recorded height.

The actual rock summit is at 4,792 m, and is 40 m away from the ice-covered summit.

[edit] Climbing routes

There are a few 'classic' climbing routes of Mont Blanc:

  • The most popular route to climb Mont Blanc is The Voie des Cristalliers, also known as Voie Royale. Starting from Saint-Gervais the Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB) is taken to get to the Nid d'Aigle. The ascent then begins in the direction of the Tête Rouge cabin and then through the Goûter Corridor, considered very dangerous because of frequent rock-falls, leading to Goûter cabin for night shelter. The next day the route leads to the Dôme du Goûter, the Vallot cabin and L'arrête des Bosses.
  • La Voie des 3 Monts is also known as La Traversée. Starting from Chamonix, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi is taken towards the Col du Midi. The Cosmiques cabin is used to spend the night. The next day the ascent continues through Mont Blanc du Tacul and Mont Maudit.
  • The historic itinerary through the Grand Mulets, which is most frequently traversed in winter by skis or in summer to go down to Chamonix.
  • The normal Italian itinerary is also known as La route des Aiguilles Grises. After crossing the Miage glacier, the night is spent at the Gonella cabin. The next day proceeds through the Col des Aiguilles Grises and then the Dôme du Goûter, concluding at L'arête des Bosses.
  • The Miage - Bionnassay - Mont Blanc crossing is usually done in three days. The route begins from Contamines-Montjoie, with the night spent in the Conscrits cabin. The following day, the Dômes de Miages is crossed and the night spent at the Durier cabin. The third day proceeds through l'Aiguille de Bionnassay and then the Dôme du Goûter.

From the summit of Mont Blanc on a clear day, the Jura, the Vosges, the Black Forest and the Massif Central mountain ranges can be seen, as well as the principal summits of the Alps.

[edit] Exploits

  • In 1886 Future US President Theodore Roosevelt led the third recorded expedition to the peak.
  • In 1960, the airplane pilot Henri Giraud landed on the summit, which is only 30 m long.
  • In 1990, the Swiss Pierre-André Gobet, leaving from Chamonix, completed the ascent and descent in 5 hours, 10 minutes and 14 seconds.
  • On May 30, 2003, Stéphane Brosse and Pierre Gignoux try 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.
  • On August 13, 2003 seven French paragliders landed on the summit. They reached a peak altitude of 5,200 m, thanks to the hot weather conditions, which provided strong hot air currents. Five had left from Planpraz, one from Rochebrune at Megève and the last one from Samoëns.

[edit] Cultural works

[edit] Cinema and television

  • La Terre, son visage, is a documentary by Jean-Luc Prévost and published by Édition Société national de télévision française, 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 Malabar Princess.
  • The television-film Premier de cordée.
  • Stürme über dem Mont Blanc (Storm Over Mont Blanc, 1930) with Leni Riefenstahl and directed by Arnold Fanck.

[edit] In literature

[edit] Protection of Mont Blanc

The Mont Blanc massif is being put forward as a potential World Heritage Site because of its uniqueness and its cultural importance, considered the birthplace and symbol of modern mountaineering. However not everyone shares this goal and it would require the three governments of Italy, France and Switzerland to make a request to UNESCO for it to be listed.

Mont Blanc is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world, and for this reason, it is 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.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Caucasus mountains, which include higher peaks than Mont Blanc, are included on political maps of Europe, although the case can be made that they are geographically and culturally more Asian than European. Excluding the Caucasus, Mont Blanc is the highest summit in Europe.
  2. ^ a b Image:1823_Mont_Blanc_1.jpg

[edit] Photo gallery

Mont Blanc Massif (view from the air)

Mont Blanc (view from Aiguille du Midi)

Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc Area, Mer de Glace (glacier)

Mont Blanc as seen from the GR 5

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:


Seven Summits
Asia: Everest  •  South America: Aconcagua  •  North America: Mount McKinley  •  Africa: Kilimanjaro  •  Europe: Elbrus / Mont Blanc  •  Antarctica: Vinson Massif  •  Oceania: Puncak Jaya / Kosciuszko

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