If you’ve visited pretty much any ski resort in the Western or Southern Alps, chances are you’re already familiar with an omnipresent, rather bulbous peak which dominates almost every vista. A peak instantly recognisable to skiers the world over as Europe’s highest; the inimitable, stirring monolith that is Mont Blanc.
The summit of Mont Blanc stands proud at 4810m (15,781ft), the pinnacle of a surrounding massif which contains no less than 11 mountains above 4000m, stretching 46km and 400km² over France, Italy and Switzerland. Mont Blanc itself lies close to the Franco-Italian border, slightly on the French side but with southern flanks tumbling down to Italy. It is visible from Geneva to Grenoble and from Lyon to Dijon. It can be seen from the Vosges, the Jura and the Massif Centrale. It is, in short, colossal.
