Who will win the battle for control of Mont Blanc?

telegraph.co.uk:

the crust of Mars. Venture further and the world eventually turns white. At 4,808 metres, Mont Blanc is the highest peak in Western Europe.

For more than 200 years, alpinists and amateur adventurers have been attempting to reach its summit. This is the roof of the Alps – a wild place with what appears to be a steady stream of ants crawling over it from May to October, putting one foot in front of the other, fighting swells of fear, doubt and altitude sickness and testing their fitness and mental strength like never before.

In recent years, a kind of crisis point has been reached on the mountain. Adventure tourism has boomed. People have become obsessed by bagging Munros (conquering Scottish mountains over 3,000ft high), free climbing far-flung rock faces, circumnavigating a whole country in a kayak.

Outdoor wear is the height of fashion; Instagram is full of shots of people standing triumphantly at the top of the globe’s tallest peaks.