The white mountain is the tallest... but it sits on top of other tall mountains... so you need to look carefully to see it. The main worry is that it keeps shifting. We need a little bit of history to understand the importance of moving mountains.
Before Napoleon taught Italy a thing or two about fighting, Mt. Blanc was located in a region that would (today) be considered as being part of Italy. Napoleon, having won the war, thought it only fair that France own the tallest mountain in Europe... but on reflection... thought he could show his generosity by splitting it in two... one half for the victorious French... one half to those lovable Italians. He had a specific treaty drawn up so that there could be no argument. The border between France and Italy would go right through the peak of Mt. Blanc. All went well for a couple of centuries until people started measuring the mountain.
Unfortunately, the people measuring the mountain couldn't agree on the height... some parties claimed others were incompetent... others said the tectonic plates were pushing the peak up and down... the climate alarmists said that global warming was melting the ice at the top. After much scientific study, a consensus formed around the theory that the wind changed direction every few years... and blew the peak higher (some years) and lower (some years). But in the process, the location of the peak was observed to move. Generally, over the period since the Napoleon agreement, the peak has moved towards Italy. Now the lawyers stepped in... does the border set by the peak in Napoleon's time remain unchanged... in which case Italy can now have sole sovereign rights to the peak... or, does the border shift... in which case Italy has to shrink. Right now, the peak is 2.5 metres higher than it was 5 years ago. This fits into climate change modelling... which predicts that any global warming has little (or no) effect above 4,000 metres.
Tonight, we are in La Clusaz (at 1,650 metres altitude)... its appeal being that it often is included in the Tour de France bike race. There are dramatic mountains around... and chairlifts aplenty... but we are still recovering from yesterday's walk... and chose to stroll around the town instead of conquering the heights.
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