Mountaineering In 1573 Francesco De Marchi and Francesco Di Domenico ascended Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennine Mountains. During the Enlightenment, as a product of the new spirit of curiosity for the natural world, many mountain summits were surmounted for the first time.. In 1741 Richard Pococke and William Windham made a historic visit to Chamonix. In 1757 Swiss scientist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure made the first of several unsuccessful attempts on Mont Blanc in France, finally offering a reward, which was claimed in 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard. By the early 19th century many of the alpine
Crowders Mountain in height. The cliffs of Crowders Mountain are popular among rock climbers. Rock climbing is no longer permitted on The Pinnacle. Hiking trails lead to both summits, from which it is possible to view the skyscrapers of nearby Charlotte, North Carolina, on a clear day. One of the first FM radio stations in North Carolina, Gastonia's WGNC-FM, erected a transmission tower on Crowders Mountain in the late 1940s. Today three radio towers are located on the mountain. The transmitters are located within a plot of land on the summit that remains privately owned. In addition to commercial radio, the towers