Mont Blanc – the highest mountain of European Union
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and it is also the highest mountain of European Union countries. Mont Blanc peak reaches an altitude of 4810 m. The mountain is located between the regions of Aosta Valley in Italy, and Haute-Savoie in France. Under the Mont Blanc massif leads one of the main routes between Italy and France. The tunnel started to build here in 1957 and was completed in 1965 and is 11.6 km long. The first climbers in Mont Blanc were Jacques Balmat and the doctor Michel Paccard, who reached the peak on 8th August 1786. The first woman who reached the top of Mont Blanc was Marie Paradis in 1808.
The top of Mont Blanc is covered by a thick layer of ice and snow. In 1893 the observatory was built at the top, but due to unfavorable conditions it was abandoned in 1909 and it finally fell. Mont Blanc is very popular for rock climbing, hiking, skiing and snowboarding. In the vicinity there are two towns – Courmayeur in Italy, and Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in France —the site of the first Winter Olympics, there is also a ski resort.
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