Mont Blanc, one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world has had it?s share of wacky people doing wacky things. How about the Danish artist Marco Evaristti who in June 2007 draped the peak of Mont Blanc with red fabric, along with a 6m flag pole with a flag reading “Pink State” He had been arrested two days earlier for attempting to paint a pass leading to the summit red. His aim was to raise awareness to environmental degradation. In September 2007 a group of 20 people thought it might be a good idea to set up a hot tub at the summit, surely the worlds highest ever jacuzzi. Not exactly sure where they got the hot water from to fill the tub but you can be pretty certain there?s no hot supply on top of “La Dame Blanche”

Believe it or not in 1960 Henri Giraud actually managed to land a plane on the summit which is only 30m long, sounds improbable? well he must have also took off again because the last time anyone checked there was no sign of a plane. How about the 50 paraglider pilots who landed on the summit beating the previous record set in 2003 by 7 daredevils. Theodore Roosevelt, before he became the 26th President of the United States led an expedition to the peak in 1886, not so wacky but interesting to note that he?s famed for two mountains, as his is one of the faces carved into the side of Mount Rushmore.

The two men who kicked it all off and made the first ascent in 1786 were Michel-Gabriel Paccard, a Frenchman born in Chamonix and Jacques Balmat a Frenchman also born in Chamonix. Jacques later became Michel?s brother-in-law. Michel was a keen botanist and had a dream to carry a barometer to the summit and take readings there. He had already made several attempts, his first being in 1783 but was successful on the 8th August, three years later. At the time it was said "Theirs was an astounding achievement of courage and determination, one of the greatest in the annals of mountaineering. It was accomplished by men who were not only on unexplored ground but on a route that all the guides believed to be impossible." C. Douglas Milner wrote "The ascent itself was magnificent; an amazing feat of endurance and sustained courage, carried through by these two men only, unroped and without ice axes, heavily burdened with scientific equipment and with long iron-pointed batons. The fortunate weather and a moon alone ensured their return alive."

Should you stay in one of our luxury ski chalets in Chamonix you may also feel the urge to try something insane. Most people are content to just gaze in awe, from the comfort of their luxurious surroundings.