Mountain landscape - Europe

Mont Blanc and Bossons Glacier

Mont Blanc’s grandeur I’d suggest comes from both its height and bulk. At 4,810m, it’s the highest mountain in Western Europe, with the huge Bossons Glacier streaming down its flanks towards Chamonix. 

Suitably then, this photograph is also huge (relatively speaking, at 15,000 pixels wide) and it’s the second example of an image I’ve created where I’ve taken advantage of the gondola system that deposits you from 1,035m above sea level in Chamonix town centre, France, to the summit of Aiguille du Midi at 4,812m and its wild and fantastic tourist station. (See also this cloud inversion beneath Aiguille du Plan). 

In view, starting from left to right, is the almost vertical rock walls near the summit of Aiguille Du Midi, which lead down to Cosmiques Arete, a narrow rocky ridge, popular with climbers. Behind, on the snow and ice, mountaineers are preparing to ascend the crevassed slopes of Mont Blanc du Tacul, early on in their attempt of the Three Monts route, which goes over Mont Maudit before reaching the snowy summit of Mont Blanc. Dôme du Goûter is to the right of the summit of Mont Blanc, with the Bossons Glacier beneath it, frozen in time in this image but in real life moving imperceptibly downhill, towards the town of Chamonix, which can be seen bottom right. (In the spirit of France building infrastructure in remarkable mountain places, on the rock ridge above the glacier, roughly right of centre and down the ridge slightly, is Refuge des Grands Mulets).

I’ve never had any desire to climb Mont Blanc. 20,000 visitors a year though do, with many if not most ascending the mountain by the Aiguille du Goûter & Arête des Bosses route above Chamonix.