Mont-Blanc

Mont-Blanc (4,807m/15,772ft), the highest peak in the Alps, over which the French-Italian frontier runs, was first climbed in 1786 by a village doctor named Michel Paccard with Jacques Balmat of Chamonix, and in the following year by the scientist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure with Balmat and 16 porters. To experienced climbers with a guide the climb offers no particular difficulties, but it is extremely strenuous. From Les Houches the climb takes 10-12 hrs, taking the cabin cableway to the Pavillon de Bellevue and the "Tramway du Mont-Blanc" to the Glacier de Bionnassay and continuing on foot to the Chalet-Hôtel de Tête-Rousse (3,167m/10,391ft; 2 hrs). From there it is 3 hrs to the Refuge de l'Aigle du Gôter (3,817m/12,524ft), and another