From June 29th to November 2nd 2015 and from December 19th 2015 to April 17th 2016, a unique opportunity to discover British Mountaineering and cultural heritage in Chamonix Mont-Blanc
For the first time in history, the Treasures of the Alpine Club are being exhibited on the continent and indeed Chamonix is privileged to host this unique display of Alpine art and documentation.
Not only can visitors discover over 50 works by 36 nineteenth century artists, but a ground floor display describes and illustrates the genesis of mountaineering, a sporting and cultural activity which was born in the Chamonix Valley over 200 years ago.
Find out more about why the British played such a major role in the development of Alpine literature, art and exploration. Indeed it was an Englishman, Wyndham, who first named the Mer de Glace, a Scot, Forbes, who drew the first map of this same glacier and an Irishman, Adams-Reilly who was the first to map the entire Mont-Blanc Massif during the Golden Age of Mountaineering.
During this period, the British conquered 31 of the 39 major summits across the Alps and the majority of these summits are immortalized in the magnificent collection of paintings at the Alpine Museum.