Didn’t Jacques Balmat conquer Mont Blanc against all odds? Rue Jacques Balmat is named after this brave mountaineer. He was not just a mountaineer. He was a Savoyard mountain guide. Balmat was born in the Chamonix valley in 1762. This area was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Jacques Balmat is celebrated for his first ascent of Mont Blanc. He climbed it with physician Michel-Gabriel Paccard on August 8 1786. King Victor Amadeus III honored him with the title du Mont Blanc.
Before his fame Balmat was a hunter and crystal collector. He knew the mountains well. In 1786 Horace-Bénédict de Saussure had offered a reward. It was for the first man to climb Mont Blanc. Balmat claimed this reward after his successful ascent.
In 1787 Balmat assisted de Saussure himself. He helped him reach the summit with about 17 people. During the Napoleonic Wars Savoy fell under French control. Jacques Balmat then became a member of the commune council. He tried to introduce Merino sheep into the Chamonix valley but failed.
Balmat’s life ended tragically. At 72 he fell off a cliff in the Sixt valley in 1834. He was prospecting for gold.
C. Douglas Milner praised the ascent as magnificent. He noted the courage of Balmat and Paccard. They climbed unroped without ice axes. They carried heavy scientific equipment. Milner also pointed out errors in Balmat’s accounts.
Eric Shipton admired their achievement. He called it one of the greatest in mountaineering history. Shipton described Balmat as boastful and conceited. Success amplified his role in the exploit he said.
Gaston Rébuffat praised Balmat’s mountaineering skills. He called him robust and resolute. Rébuffat noted his unerring instinct for glaciers.
Balmat’s autobiography was criticized. It downplayed Dr. Paccard’s role. Despite criticisms Jacques Balmat remains a legend. His name marks a street here. Remember him. He dared to climb where others had not. He embodies courage and determination. Rue Jacques Balmat stands as a reminder. It honors a pioneer.