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(MLA) « The Birth of Alpinism . » Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Encyclopedia.com. 17 Oct. 2025 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
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« Les noms de Michel-Gabriel Paccard (1757-1827), Jacques Balmat (1762-1834) et Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740-1799) et leur ascension initiale du Mont Blanc, haut de 4 807 mètres, le plus haut sommet d’Europe, sont souvent cités comme le point de départ du sport actuel qu’est l’alpinisme. »
EXTRAITs
Overview
Modern mountaineering had its beginnings in the 1700s when humans began to take to the peaks for reasons of scientific discovery and adventure. The names of Michel-Gabriel Paccard (1757-1827), Jacques Balmat (1762-1834), and Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740-1799) and their initial climbs up the 15,771-ft (4,807 m) tall Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe, are often cited as the starting point for the present-day sport of mountaineering, or alpinism. Paccard and Balmat were the first to the top of the Mont Blanc in 1786. Saussure followed a year later.
Background
[…] As early as 1742 scientists began pointing to Mont Blanc as the highest peak in all of western Europe. While that designation brought attention to the mountains, it was not until 1760, when Swiss scientist and mountain explorer Horace Bénédict de Saussure offered a monetary prize to the first person who climbed it, that the name of Mont Blanc gained prominence. Saussure hoped to be the first to reach the pinnacle, but offered the prize with the intention of encouraging others to make the climb as well.
The challenge inspired many to attempt the summit, but no one was able to find a path to the top until Paccard and Balmat did in 1786. […]
Impact
« Le statut d’aristocrate et de scientifique respecté de Saussure a permis à la nouvelle de la conquête du Mont Blanc de se répandre rapidement, et l’alpinisme est rapidement devenu un nouveau sport passionnant »
As the first to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, Balmat and Paccard’s ascent was significant. However, the true impact of their effort was realized through Saussure’s climb a year later. Saussure’s status as an aristocrat and respected scientist ensured that word would quickly spread about the conquest of Mont Blanc, and mountaineering soon became an exciting new sport.
Alpinism grew in popularity. People began to climb mountains not for scientific reasons but for the adventure of being the first to reach a new summit. Others did not care to be first, but instead sought merely to climb. By the mid-1800s French and Swiss guides were leading mountaineers by established routes to peaks throughout Europe […]
LESLIE A. MERTZ
« Au milieu du XIXe siècle, des guides français et suisses conduisaient des alpinistes sur des itinéraires établis vers les sommets de toute l’Europe »
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