Mont Blanc massif less than 21 hours. The main mountain passes, or cols, that connect different valleys and towns around the Mont Blanc massif are: 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 (185465) and the silver age of alpinism (186582) 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 the towns of Chamonix or Courmayeur, such as Michel
Jacques Benoist-Méchin Jacques Benoist-Méchin Jacques Michel Gabriel Paul Benoist-Méchin (1 July 1901 – 24 February 1983) was a French far right politician and writer. He was born and died in Paris. Well known as a journalist and historian, he would later become prominent for his collaborationism under the Vichy regime. After being condemned in 1947 and released from prison in 1954, he became a specialist of the Arab world in the second part of his life. Benoist-Méchin was educated at leading schools in Switzerland and the United Kingdom as well as the Lycée Louis-le-Grand before attending the Sorbonne. He subsequently served in