Mont Blanc massif


The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over in height. It is named after Mont Blanc, the highest point in western Europe and the European Union. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the massif is covered by glaciers, which include the Mer de Glace and the Miage Glacierthe longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively.
The massif forms a watershed between the vast catchments of the rivers Rhône and Po, and a tripoint between France, Italy and Switzerland; it also marks the border between two climate regions by separating the northern and western Alps from the southern Alps. The mountains of the massif consist mostly of granite and gneiss rocks and at high altitudes the vegetation is an arctic-alpine flora.
The valleys that delimit the massif were used as communication routes by the Romans until they left around the 5th century AD. The region remained of some military importance through to the mid-20th century. A peasant farming economy operated within these valleys for many centuries until the glaciers and mountains were "discovered" by the outside world in the 18th century. Word of these impressive sights began to spread, and Mont Blanc was first climbed in 1786, marking the start of the sport of mountaineering. The region is now a major tourist destination, drawing in over sixmillion visitors per year. It provides a wide range of opportunities for outdoor recreation and activities such as sight-seeing, hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering and skiing. Around one hundred people a year die across its mountains and, occasionally, bodies have been lost and entombed in its glaciers for decades.
Access into the mountains is facilitated by cable cars, mountain railways and mountain huts which offer overnight refuge to climbers and skiers. The long-distance Tour du Mont Blanc hiking trail circumnavigates the whole massif in an 11-day trek of. The Mont Blanc Tunnel connects the French town of Chamonix on the northern side with the Italian town of Courmayeur in the south. The high mountains have provided many opportunities for scientific research, including neutrino measurements within the tunnel and impact of climate change on its highest slopes. Recent rises in average temperatures have led to significant glacial retreat across the massif and an awareness of the need for better environmental protection, including a call for World Heritage Site status.

Geography

The Mont Blanc massif is long and lies in a southwest to northeasterly direction across the borders of France, Italy and Switzerland. At its widest point the massif is across. The northwestern side of the massif lies mostly within France, and is bounded by the valley of the Arve, containing the towns of Argentière, Chamonix and Les Houches. To the west it is bounded by the Val Montjoie, containing Les Contamines-Montjoie and the river Le Bon Nant which flows northwards to a confluence with the Arve near Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, and onwards to the Rhône.
The southern side of the massif lies mostly within Italy and is bounded by the Val Veny and Val Ferret whose watercourses meet just above Courmayeur. From Courmayeur these waters flow southwards as the Dora Baltea towards Aosta, eventually joining the Po. However, the extreme western end of the southern side of the massif does lie within France and is bounded by the Vallée des Glaciers, and its waters flow southwards towards the Isère and onwards to the Rhône.
The northernmost section of the massif falls within Switzerland, and is bounded to the east by a separate valley, confusingly also called Val Ferret, and which separates it from the Pennine Alps. Its watercourse, la Dranse de Ferret, flows northwards to join the Rhône at Martigny. The west side of the northern end of the massif is drained by the Trient, also joining the Rhône near Martigny.
The borders of all three countries converge at a tripoint near the summit of Mont Dolent at an altitude of. From here the French – Italian border runs southwestwards along a ridge of high summits on the southern side of the massif, many of which are over in height, including the Grandes Jorasses, Rochefort Ridge, Dent du Géant, Mont Maudit, Mont Blanc and its western satellite, the Aiguille de Bionnassay. From here the border turns southwards over the Dômes de Miage and Aiguille de Tré la Tête before dropping down to the Col de la Seigne. North of Mont Dolent the border between France and Switzerland meanders roughly north-northwestwards along a ridge-line of slightly lower peaks, including the Aiguille d'Argentière, the Aiguille du Chardonnet and the Aiguille du Tour, before dropping down to the Col de Balme. The Swiss – Italian border runs southwest from Mont Dolent, down to the twin passes of Col Ferret.
The massif contains 11 main summits over in altitude, as well as numerous subsidiary points above this height. Crowning the massif is Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and in western Europe. From the summit of Mont Blanc to the Arve near Chamonix there is a drop in altitude over a distance of just. Because of its great elevation, much of the massif is snow- and ice-covered, and has been deeply dissected by glaciers. The Mer de Glace is the longest glacier in the range as well as the longest in France and the second longest in the Alps. The debris-covered Miage Glacier on the southern side of the massif is the longest in Italy. The summit of Mont Blanc is an ice cap whose thickness varies from year to year.
The entire massif can be circumnavigated by the Tour du Mont Blanc, a walking route of approximately. It usually takes around 11 days to complete, but is also used for an annual mountain ultramarathon, with top competitors expected to complete the whole route in less than 21 hours.
The main mountain passes, or cols, that connect different valleys and towns around the Mont Blanc massif are:
  • Col du Bonhomme
  • Col de la Seigne
  • Col Ferret
  • Col de Champex and La Forclaz, or Fenêtre d'Arpette
  • Col de Balme
  • Col de la Forclaz

    Summits

The Mont Blanc massif includes eleven independent and six subsidiary summits over in height. These are shared between Italy and France only, the highest in Switzerland being the Aiguille d'Argentière. The massif is amongst the three major subranges of the Alps having the highest concentration of four-thousanders, together with the Pennine Alps and the Bernese Alps.
The first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard initiated the sport of alpine mountaineering, and it was during the golden age of alpinism and the silver age of alpinism that the majority of the main summits of the massif were first attained. Members of the England-based Alpine Club were instrumental in many of the first ascents, usually accompanied by guides from Chamonix or Courmayeur, such as Michel Croz, Michel Payot and Émile Rey, as well as the Swiss guide, Christian Almer. Across the massif there are now more than two thousand different mountaineering routes to the summits, ranging greatly in both length and difficulty. These attract climbers from all over the world who, unlike the early ascensionists, now have access to numerous climbing guidebooks, modern safety equipment, good information on climbing routes and technical difficulty, as well as weather forecasts and mountain accommodation and food.

NameHeight Height
Mont Blanc4,808.7315,776.7
Mont Blanc de Courmayeur4,74815,577
Mont Maudit4,46514,649
Picco Luigi Amedeo4,46914,630
Dôme du Goûter4,30414,121
Mont Blanc du Tacul4,24813,937
Grand Pilier d'Angle4,24313,921
Grandes Jorasses4,20813,806
Aiguille Verte4,12213,524
Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey4,11213,491
Mont Brouillard4,06913,350
Aiguille de Bionnassay4,05213,294
Pic Eccles4,04113,258
Dôme de Rochefort4,01513,173
Dent du Géant4,01313,166
Aiguille de Rochefort4,00113,127
Les Droites4,00013,123
Aiguille de Tré la Tête3,93012,894
Aiguille d'Argentière3,89812,799
Aiguille de Triolet3,87012,697
Aiguille du Midi3,84212,605
Tour Noir3,83612,585
Aiguille du Chardonnet3,82412,546
Mont Dolent3,82312,543
Aiguille des Glaciers3,81612,520

NameHeight Height
Tour Ronde3,79212,441
Aiguille Noire de Peuterey3,77312,379
Aiguille du Dru3,75412,316
Dômes de Miage3,67312,051
Aiguille du Plan3,67312,051
Aiguilles d'Entrèves3,60011,800
Aiguille du Tour3,54011,614
Aiguilles Marbrées3,53511,598
Aiguilles Dorées3,51411,529
Grand Darray3,51411,529
Grande Lui3,50911,512
Petit Darray3,50811,512
Aiguille du Grépon3,48211,424
Aiguille des Grands Charmoz3,44511,302
Petit Grépillon3,35811,017
Le Portalet3,34410,971
Pointe d'Orny3,27110,732
Mont Tondu3,19610,486
Petite Pointe d'Orny3,18710,456
Grande Pointe des Planereuses3,15110,338
Pointe des Grands3,10110,174
Pointe des Plines3,05210,013
Pointe des Berons2,9549,692
Lancebranlette2,9369,633
Le Génépi2,8849,462
Pointe des Ecandies2,8739,426
Pointe Ronde2,6558,711
Catogne2,5988,524
La Breya2,3747,789