1757-1827

French Physician and Mountaineer

Michel-Gabriel Paccard and his porter Jacques Balmat (1762-1834) were the first to ascend Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in Europe. With that climb, they became known as the two men who initiated the sport of modern mountaineering. Paccard and Balmat made the climb in 1786, more than two decades after Genevan scientist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740-1799) offered a monetary prize to the first climbers of the mountain. Mont Blanc had significance not only because of its height, but because it was the site of nearly 40 square miles of glaciers, which carried substantial interest for scientists. The glaciers were periodically active, having advanced to such a degree in the seventeenth century that they buried valley farmland and homes in the Chamonix area of France.

Paccard was a doctor in the town of Chamonix, which lies at the base of Mont Blanc...