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Chamonix regularly received
two famous visitors at the end of the 18th century. Their lives
will be forever tied to a generation of mountain men of the valley
as well as the legendary premier ascent. The first, Bourrit, cantor of the Geneva cathedral, is a great lover of mountains; his writings made the valley famous. Bourrit never concealed his admiration for the guides who carry the supplies and help to make the difficult crossings. The official tariffs do not yet exist, but the guides usually make 4 pounds a day, and the same for each mule. Bourrit writes that if the voyagers are content, they always tip the guide. Always perspicacious, he observed that the tourists sometimes become irritated with the guides when these poor men cannot make the route smooth enough for their clients, or get rid of the clouds that cling to the summits. |
 Jacques Balmat |
| Bourrit tried in vain to attain the summit of Mont Blanc. Because of his hot temper, and plagued with bad luck, he will never reach his goal. It was he who, upon the return of the conquerors of the Mont Blanc, will heap all responsibility for the success upon the shoulders of the guide, Jacques Balmat, at the detriment of the client Doctor Paccard, of whose success he was sickly jealous. |
 Horace Benedict de Saussure |
The second is Horace Benedict de Saussure, a naturalist from Geneva, who came to Chamonix the first time by foot in 1760, and who will come back each year thereafter. This is the man that Montaigne will denote as a "tete bien faite," a well-made head. An eminent genius and poet, he was capable of conveying the sensations of the Alps. He was also an accomplished athlete, who during his climb of Mont Blanc--the first ascent with a client, would say: "I decided to push on as long as my forces would allow, I did not ever think of the danger involved." |
 Jacques Balmat |
| De Saussure is bewitched by the summit of Mont Blanc. He prints an offer for a large compensation for he who can find a route to the summit. His goal is to arrive at the summit and conduct certain experiments there. He knows his guides well: their courage, dexterity and their hunger for money. He knew that in offering a reward for the summit, he would stimulate the guides' motivation to make numerous attempts necessary to finally reach the summit. |
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Several guides had already tried for the summit, but with a reward at stake, expeditions went off in every direction. The battle for the summit will take on a real sense of competition between the mountain men of the valley. Attempts were made by the Mer de Glace, by Saint-Gervais (when Bourrit would make the summit before de Saussure), by the Bossons and the Montagne de la Cote, which would seem to be the most direct route. In 1785, Balmat got to the Grand Plateau alone; his audacious advance is stopped by a large crevasse that blocks the passage to the heights certain years. Still, it is a real exploit, for he is the first to make it to this final step proceeding a summit attack. |
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| An unstoppable will fuels this man, who is used to roughing it and sleeping under the stars. His wife is quite used to his habit of disappearing several days at a time, only to reappear ripped to shreds and unshaven. In June 1786, he makes it alone the right shoulder of Mont Blanc (he claims) and from there he sees Courmayeur. Bad weather and the fear to not been seen from Chamonix obliges him to return to Chamonix. After having camped on the glacier at the Grand Plateau, he comes back to Chamonix half-hearted and half-frozen. |
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| Soon after, he goes off again with the Chamonaird Doctor Michel Paccard, in whom he has infinite confidence. Jacques will be able to put all of his qualities to the test in the company of his competent and athletic partner. August 8, 1786, at 6:23 p.m., by the force of will, they make it to the summit together. During the descent, Paccard is hit with altitude blindness; hand-in-hand, the two make it back to the village below. |
| Their success bubbles amongst the guides of the valley. Jacques Balmat receives his reward, plus another prize from the King of Sardaigne, as well as the title "Balmat dit (called) Mont-Blanc." The two were equipped for the ascent with what might be considered the prototype of modern alpinism equipment: alpenstocks, ice cleats, nail socks and gaiters. The alpenstocks proved their worth on several occasions, saving the lives of the two men, fallen several times through the snowbridges into the crevasses at the Junction. Their itinerary for the ascent linked the Montagne de la Cote, the upper glacier de Bossons, the Grands Mulets and the Rochers Rouges. |
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| At this époque, the middle of the 18th century, an ascent of Mont Blanc remains a very perilous adventure, trespassing into the unknown and very expensive. The climbers are considered to be those who trick the grim reaper. The local population, at the latest rumor of an expedition, gather in the square and discuss the possibilities of success. |
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Each caravan is sighted
all along its ascent. A canon salute is given in case of success.
Even the hotels offer a salvo, carefully marked on the bill... Upon the return of the conquerors, it becomes the tradition to offer flowers to the successful and pop the bottles of champagne. Beginning in 1853, an ascent of Mont Blanc starts to lose its prestige quickly with the contraction of the Grand Mulets cabin and an ever-growing number of successful caravan ascents. |
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