The Mont Buet (; 3,096 m) is a mountain of the

Chablais Alps The Chablais Alps (, ) are a mountain range in the Western Alps. They are situated between Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc Massif. The Col des Montets separates them from the Mont Blanc Massif in the south, and the Rhône valley separates them ...

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Mont Buet has played an important role in the history of science at the end of the eighteenth century when a series of Genevan scientists such as

Jean-André Deluc Jean-André Deluc or de Luc (8 February 1727 – 7 November 1817) was a geologist, natural philosopher and meteorologist from the Republic of Geneva. He also devised measuring instruments. Biography Jean-André Deluc was born in Geneva. His ...

Horace Bénédict de Saussure Horace Bénédict de Saussure (; 17 February 1740 – 22 January 1799) was a Genevan geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology, and considered to be the f ...

Marc-Auguste Pictet Marc-Auguste Pictet (; 23 July 1752 – 19 April 1825) was a Genevan scientific journalist and experimental natural philosopher. Pictet's main contribution to learning was his editing of the scientific section of the '' Bibliothèque Britanni ...

climbed to the summit to carry out scientific observations. Before the first successful ascents on the

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

in 1786, Mont Buet was "the highest among those accessible in this area" of the Alps. Mont Buet remains a popular destination especially because of the exceptional view on Mont Blanc, and the panoramic view from the summit.

History

The first known attempt at ascending on Mont Buet was that of the

and his brother in 1765. After a second failed attempt, Deluc and his brother managed to reach the summit on 25 September 1770. Here, they carried out a series of scientific measurements which was the initial purpose of their expedition. Using a portable

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

designed by himself, Deluc measured the air pressure on the summit. By comparing this result to a parallel measurement taken by his father in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and after correcting for temperature, Deluc inferred that Mont Buet was at an altitude of 2674 m above

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

, and 3040 m above sea level (2% less than the modern value). Deluc took advantage of the position and visibility of

from the summit of Mont Buet to determine its relative height, from which he derived that Mont Blanc was 4660 m above sea level. This was 400 m higher than the earlier trigonometric measurement of Mont Blanc by

Nicolas Fatio de Duillier Nicolas Fatio de Duillier (also spelled Faccio or Facio; 16 February 1664 – 10 May 1753) was a mathematician, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, astronomer, inventor, and religious campaigner. Born in Basel, Switzerland, Fatio mostly ...

, and made the Mont Blanc the highest peak in Europe. Deluc also boiled water to determine how its boiling temperature varied with altitude. Deluc reached the summit of Mont Buet from the side of

Sixt Sixt SE is an international mobility service provider with about 2,000 locations in more than 100 countries. Sixt SE acts as a parent and holding company of the Sixt Group, which is internationally active in the business areas of vehicle rental, ...

by climbing directly through the

cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...

of Fonts. Because this route was considered to be too demanding, in 1775 the Genevan artist and travel writer

Marc-Théodore Bourrit Marc-Théodore Bourrit (1739–1819) was a traveller and writer from the Republic of Geneva. Biography Marc-Théodore Bourrit came of a family which was of French origin but had taken refuge at Geneva for reasons connected with religion. His fat ...

sought a different path from the southern side of

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

and Vallorcine. This path follows along the valley of the Bérard to the refuge of the Pierre à Bérard. In 1776, the Genevan geologist

followed the path discovered by Bourrit to reach the summit of Mont Buet. Impressed with the view, Saussure instructed Bourrit with drawing a

panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

(''vue circulaire'') from the summit of Mont Buet. This is generally considered to be the first 360-degree panorama, a genre of representation which became popular in the late eighteenth century. Saussure embarked on a second expedition in 1778 accompanied by

and Jean Trembley who carried out measurements with a barometer and

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

. Using a sextant Pictet also measured the altitude of Mont Blanc, and found it to be 4727 m. Saussure Panorama

Climbing Routes

There are two principle routes to the summit of Mont Buet: * From

, through the . * From Vallorcine, through the .

Views

File:Mont-Blanc depuis le Buet.jpg, View of

from Mont Buet File:Panorama Mont Buet.jpg, View of the

Aiguilles Rouges The Aiguilles Rouges (, "Red Needles") are a crystalline mountainous massif of the French Prealps, opposite the Mont Blanc Massif. The colour of the iron rich gneiss (metamorphique) mountains gives the range its name. The highest summit is the Ai ...

File:Panorama Mont Buet 1900.jpg, Panorama from Mont Buet, around 1900

References

External links

Multimedia archive of historical and contemporary expeditions on Mont BuetMont Buet on Summitpost.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buet Alpine three-thousanders Mountains of Haute-Savoie Mountains of the Alps