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
Highest unclimbed mountain before been explored, especially since some high peaks in the Greater Ranges are so remote that they were unknown to local inhabitants when first sighted by European explorers. The world's third tallest peak, Kangchenjunga, has been summited a number of times, but after the first climbers of the peak agreed to honor the wishes of locals and not set foot on the topmost part of the mountain, succeeding mountaineering parties may have followed this tradition. Similarly, Nanda Devi has also been climbed but the topmost summit was not ascended and the primary summit is now off limits to climbers. Machapuchare