Jacques Balmat Jacques Balmat Jacques Balmat, called "le Mont Blanc" (1762–1834) was a mountaineer, a Savoyard mountain guide, born in the Chamonix valley in Savoy, at this time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. A chamois hunter and collector of crystals, Balmat completed the first ascent of Mont Blanc with physician Michel-Gabriel Paccard on 8 August 1786. For this feat, King Victor Amadeus III gave him the honorary title "le Mont Blanc". Balmat and Paccard's ascent of Mont Blanc was a major accomplishment in the early history of mountaineering. C. Douglas Milner wrote "The ascent itself was magnificent; an amazing feat of
Geladaindong Peak on the same expedition. Mark Newcomb was a guide with Exum Guides from Grand Teton National Park. Although a dangerous peak to climb, Geladaindong is popular among Chinese mountain climbers. In 1994, the Mountaineering Association of Peking University (MAPKU) became the first Chinese climbing team to reach the summit of Geladaindong. Geladaindong Peak Geladaindong Peak (also spelled Geladandong, Geladaintong or Kolha Dardong) is a snow-covered mountain (or massif) located in southwestern Qinghai province of China near the border of Tibet Autonomous Region. It is the tallest mountain in the Tanggula Mountain Range of the Tibetan Plateau with an elevation of