Jacques Balmat for gold in the Sixt valley in 1834. 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
Dom (mountain) the Festigletscher glacier towards the Festijoch pass (3,720 m). Then it follows the Hohberggletscher glacier to the summit above the north face. The Festigrat, traversed on the first ascent, is the north-western ridge going directly from the Festijoch to the summit. It is preferred by climbers who wish to avoid the long slopes of the north flank. The Mischabel Hut, on the east side below the Lenzspitze, is generally used for the ascent of lower summits in the district, such as the Nadelhorn, Lenzspitze, and other peaks on the Nadelgrat. Dom (mountain) The Dom is a mountain of the Pennine