Ice axe 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard made the first ascent of Mont Blanc. Balmat, a chamois hunter and crystal collector, had experience with high mountain travel, and Paccard had made previous attempts to climb the peak. Illustrations show Balmat carrying two separate tools that would later be merged into the ice axe – an alpenstock (or baton) and a small axe that could be used to chop steps on icy slopes. According to the earliest manufacturer of ice axes, Grivel, these two tools were merged to create the first true ice axe around 1840. Early ice axes had a vertical
Deaf climbers with an artificial leg, and a person with epilepsy. Only two of the individuals in the group did not reach the summit. Heidi Zimmer is the first deaf woman to reach the summit of Mt. McKinley in Alaska. She is the first deaf individual to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, as well as Mt. Elbrus in the Republic of Russia which has an elevation of 18,510 feet. She has a goal of completing the seven summits which consist of the highest peak in each continent. This is considered a huge accomplishment in the climbing world. Yasayuki Okobu,