![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/10\/mont-blanc-1117821_960_720.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
If you happen to be a Francophile like me, you probably have heard of Mont Blanc<\/b> (White Mountain), the highest peak in the Alps and coincidentally, the tallest summit in the European Union. Mont Blanc is part of the Massif du Mont Blanc<\/b>, a mountain range in the Graian Alps that covers part of Italy, France (part of the Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes region) and Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Ever since la premi\u00e8re ascension<\/b> (the first ascent) in 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard, Mont Blanc has remained one of the most popular go-to destinations for those hardy souls who enjoy l\u2019alpinisme<\/b> (mountaineering) and l\u2019escalade<\/b> (rock climbing). Attempting to climb Mont Blanc is neither for the faint of heart nor for those who suffer from le vertige<\/b> (vertigo\/dizziness). Reaching an altitude of 4,810 m (15,781 ft), the mountain can be very unforgiving, as evidenced par la mort<\/b> (by the death) of seven climbers in the summer of 2014 alone. A sad affair indeed, however, for those who reach le sommet <\/b>(the summit) the view is breathtaking as you can imagine (and measures only 30 m in length).<\/p>\n
Mont Blanc became internationally renown as the site of the first Jeux Olympiques d\u2019hiver<\/b> (winter Olympics) in 1924. Hosted in Chamonix, a small ski resort on the north side of the mountain, Mont Blanc went from being a regular ski destination for locals in the early 20th<\/sup> century to becoming a world renown resort for more extreme sports such as ice climbing, paragliding, Wingsuit flying and extreme skiing.<\/p>\n Should you ever have a chance to visit the Alps, whether in Italy, France or Switzerland, consider taking a detour to visit la Dame Blanche <\/b>(the White Lady). Both beautiful and deadly, she inspires a sense of awe and wonder that reminds us just how small and finite we really are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bonjour mes amis! (Hello my friends!) I thought it might be interesting to study un peu de G\u00e9ographie (a little Geography). Histoire\/G\u00e9ographie (History\/Geography) was a combined course in French schools and part of the standard curriculum in the early 1990s. Students would call it Histoire\/G\u00e9o for short and I clearly remember the green cahier (notebook)…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/10\/mont-blanc-1117821_960_720-350x263.jpg\")