The North face of Mont-Blanc, facing Chamonix, is actually its easiest. It has gentle (but crevassed) snow slopes, on which alpinism (see pictures) was born, more then 200 years ago, when Balmat and Paccard reached the summit of Mont-Blanc through them. By contrast, the Italian side, which comprises the other faces, is considerably steeper and is a playground for modern alpinism.

 Southern side                                                                                      

Eastern side                                                                                                                                                                    

Western side