#summits

North face of Mont Blanc and the massif of Mont Blanc at winter time . No. 511. par Izakigur Via Flickr : Mont Blanc and the massif of Mont Blanc at winter time . No. 511. Mont Blanc Monte Bianco North face of Mont Blanc / Monte Bianco Elevation4,810 m (15,780 ft) Prominence4,696 m (15,407 ft) Ranked 11th Mont Blanc is located in Alps Mont BlancMont Blanc Location in the Alps LocationAosta Valley, Italy Haute-Savoie, France RangeGraian Alps Coordinates45°50′01″N 006°51′54″ECoordinates: 45°50′01″N 006°51′54″E Climbing First ascent8 August 1786 by Michel-Gabriel Paccard Mont Blanc (French pronunciation: ​[mɔ̃.blɑ̃]) or Monte Bianco (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmonte ˈbjaŋko]), both meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps and the highest peak in Europe outside of the Caucasus range.It rises 4,810 m (15,781 ft) above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence. The mountain lies in a range called the Graian Alps, between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France. The location of the summit is on the watershed line between the valleys of Ferret and Veny in Italy and the valleys of Montjoie Valley and Arve Valley in France. The Mont Blanc massif is popular for mountaineering, hiking, skiing, and snowboarding. The three towns and their communes which surround Mont Blanc are Courmayeur in Aosta Valley, Italy, and both Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and Chamonix in Haute-Savoie, France — the latter being the site of the first Winter Olympics. A cable car ascends and crosses the mountain range from Courmayeur to Chamonix, through the Col du Géant. 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.