Mont Blanc and snowboarding. The three towns and their communes which surround Mont Blanc are Courmayeur in Aosta Valley, Italy; and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and Chamonix in Haute-Savoie, France. The latter town was the site of the first Winter Olympics. A cable car ascends and crosses the mountain range from Courmayeur to Chamonix, through the Col du Géant. The 11 km (7¼-mile) Mont Blanc Tunnel, constructed between 1957 and 1965, runs beneath the mountain and is a major trans-Alpine transport route. The first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc was on 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat and the doctor Michel Paccard. This climb, initiated
First ascent of the Matterhorn mountain, he meant to reach the Hörnli (north-east) ridge and follow it to the summit. However, when this route was attempted, the mountain discharged an avalanche of stone upon the climbers, and the ascent failed. His guides refused to make any further attempts by this route. In the meantime Carrel had spoken with Whymper and had engaged himself for an attempt on the Swiss side. Carrel was engaged to the Englishman until Tuesday, the 11th, inclusive, if the weather were fine; but the weather turned bad and he was thus free. On the morning of the 9th, Whymper, as he