000075C5DHD – Magnificent view from the Aiguile Summit in French Alps. From the left side in the mountains The Aiguille Verte (4122m), next The Grandes Jorasses (4208m) and on the right Mont Blanc massive (4810m).
Info about the summits:
The Aiguille Verte (4,122 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps.
It was first climbed on 29 June 1865 by Edward Whymper, Christian Almer and Franz Biner, a fortnight before the fateful first ascent of the Matterhorn. Whymper was unable to climb with his usual guide, Michel Croz, who had to wait for a client in Chamonix. As a result, Whymper hired the services of Christian Almer, who had been with Alfred Wills on the Wetterhorn in 1854. Whymper describes the push for the summit:
“At the top of the small gully we crossed over the intervening rocks into the large one [the eponymous Whymper couloir]. At last ice replaced snow, and we turned over to the rocks upon its left. Charming rocks they were; granitic in texture, gritty, holding the nails well. At 9.45 we parted from them, and completed the ascent by a little ridge of snow which descended in the direction of the Aiguille du Moine. At 10.15 we stood on the summit (13, 541 feet [sic]), and devoured our bread and cheese with a good appetite.”
The second ascent was by Charles Hudson, T. S. Kennedy and Michel Croz via the Moine ridge.
The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif.
The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (Pointe Walker) was by Horace Walker with guides Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange on 30 June 1868. The second-highest peak on the mountain (Pointe Whymper, 4,184 m; 13,727 ft) was first climbed by Edward Whymper, Christian Almer, Michel Croz and Franz Biner on June 24, 1865, using what has become the normal route of ascent and the one followed by Walker’s party in 1868.
The summits on the mountain are the following:
Pointe Croz (4,110 m; 13,484 ft) – named after Michel Croz, a guide from Chamonix
Pointe Elena (4,045 m; 13,271 ft) – named after Princess Elena of Savoy
Pointe Margherita (4,065 m; 13,337) – named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, wife of King Umberto I of Italy
Pointe Walker (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) – named after Horace Walker, who made the first ascent of the mountain
Pointe Whymper (4,184 m; 13,727 ft) – named after Edward Whymper, who made the first ascent of this, the second-highest summit
Pointe Young (3,996 m; 13,110 ft) – named after Geoffrey Winthrop Young
Mont Blanc (French) or Monte Bianco (Italian), meaning “White Mountain”, is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union.[1] It rises 4,810.45 m (15,782 ft)[2] above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence. It is also sometimes known as La Dame blanche (French for “the White Lady”) or Il Bianco (Italian for “the White One”).
The mountain lies between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France and the location of the summit is on the watershed line between the valleys of Ferret and Veny in Italy and the Arve Valley in France.
The two most famous towns near Mont Blanc are Courmayeur in Aosta Valley, Italy, and Chamonix in Haute-Savoie, France—the site of the first Winter Olympics. A cable car ascends and crosses the mountain from Courmayeur to Chamonix.
Begun in 1957 and completed in 1965, the 11.6 km (7¼ mi) Mont Blanc Tunnel runs beneath the mountain between these two countries and is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes.
My trip to Mont Blanc -> http://blog.wandzelphoto.com/2011/09/05/mont-blanc-kolejna-lekcja-pokory-2/
