Chamonix Mountain History Mont Blanc First Ascent Conquest Monument Summit Stock Image

Jacques Balmat left at the side of Horace Benedict de Saussure, The Father of Alpinism, in a monument erected at Chamonix. In 1760 he offered a financial reward to anyone who could complete the first ascent of Mont Blanc Monte Bianco and reach the summit. Jacques Balmat, a mountaineer, a Savoyard mountain guide, born in the Chamonix valley in Savoy, completed the first ascent of Mont Blanc with doctor physician Michel-Gabriel Paccard on 8 August 1786. It was a major accomplishment in the early history of mountaineering, an amazing feat of endurance, determination and sustained courage.