10 Interesting Mont Blanc Facts
Mont Blanc Facts present the detail information about the mountain located at the border of France and Italy. It has the elevation of 4,810 meters or 15,782 feet. Mont Blanc is a changeling mountain to ascend. Look at the following post for more information about this highest mountain in the Alps.
Mont Blanc Facts 1: the first ascent
Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard made the first ascent to Mont Blanc. They did it on 8 August 1786.
Mont Blanc Facts 2: name
As I have stated before, Mont Blanc is located between two countries, Italy and France. The French people call it Mont Blanc, while the Italian people call it Monte Bianco. The meaning of both words is White Mountain. It is due to the fact that the mountain is covered by snowfield and glaciers. Find out glacier facts here.
Mont Blanc Facts 3: the highest mountain
Even though Mont Blanc isn’t the highest mountain in the world, many people want to conquer it. It is considered as the highest mountain in the Alps and in Western Europe.
Mont Blanc Facts 4: height
It is a bit difficult to define the exact height of Mont Blanc because the summit snow cap has different height from year to year. In 2002, it had the height of 15,782 feet (4,810 meters). However, it had the height of 15,776 feet 9 inches (4,808.75 meters) in 2005.
Mont Blanc Facts 5: Marie Paradis
Do you know that the first woman who reached the summit of Mont Blanc was Maris Paradis? She did the ascent in 1808. Now the mountain is very popular. Each year, there are more than 20,000 people climbing it.
Mont Blanc Facts 6: the climbing route
The most popular climbing route taken by the climbers is the Voie des Cristalliers or Voie Royale. To start the ascent to Mont Blanc, you need to take Tramway du Mont Blanc to the Nid d’Aigle.
Mont Blanc Facts 7: A scientific observatory
In 1892, there was a scientific observatory at the top the mountain. But the observatory was abandoned today after a crevasse was built under the building.
Mont Blanc Facts 8: Pierre-André Gobet
Pierre-André Gobet was an inspiring climber. In 1990, he just needed 5 hours, 10 minutes and 14 seconds to climb the mountain from Chamonix.
Mont Blanc Facts 9: air planes crash
There were two Indian airplanes crashed on Mont Blanc. The first one was The Malabar Princess plane crashed on 3 November 1950. The Kanchenjunga was the second plane which crashed on 24 January 1966.
Mont Blanc Facts 10: portable toilets
To make the climbers and skiers comfortable and to keep the mountain polluted free from any waste, two portable toilets were placed in the height of 14,000 feet by using a helicopter in 2007.
Percy Bysshe Shelley was the famous British poet who was amazed with beauty of Mont Blanc. He wrote a poem about it after he visited Chamonix in July 1816. Are you impressed with facts about Mont Blanc?