Pointe Helbronner () is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the

Mont Blanc massif The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indepen ...

in the

Graian Alps The Graian Alps (french: Alpes grées ; it, Alpi Graie ) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. Etymology The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli'' Celtic tribe, which dwelled in the area surrounding the Mont Cenis pass and ...

on the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The peak, which used to be a mere geodetic reference point, was named after Paul Helbronner, a French '' polytechnicien'', alpinist and geodesist who pioneered

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an ...

of the French Alps. Pointe Helbronner is served on the Italian side by the Skyway Monte Bianco, a cable car from La Palud, a village north of the town of Courmayeur in the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

. Pointe Helbronner is also served by the Vallee Blanche Aerial Tramway, which crosses from the peak to the nearby peak of Aiguille du Midi in France—a peak-to-peak distance of . This, in turn, gives access to the French Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, the cable car connecting Aiguille du Midi to the French village of

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it ha ...

, Courmayeur's sister "city". The Skyway Monte Bianco station platform on Pointe Helbronner offers a remarkable view over the Aosta Valley and the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region. The French-Italian border splits this platform. Pointe Helbronner is the starting point of a ski run via the Glacier du Géant and the

Mer de Glace The Mer de Glace ("Sea of Ice") is a valley glacier located on the northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif, in the French Alps. It is 7.5 km long and deep but, when all its tributary glaciers are taken into account, it can be regarded as ...

to Montenvers and Chamonix. The mountain is the starting point of various routes to other mountains on the

, with many mountaineers staying at the nearby

Refuge Torino The Torino Hut ( it, Rifugio Torino; French: ''Refuge Turin'') is a high mountain refuge in the Alps in northwestern Italy. Located near the border with France, it is about southwest of Mont Dolent, the tripoint with Switzerland. The refuge i ...

. In June 2015, Italian Prime Minister

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having b ...

expressed repeated claims on the territory. Stop stealing Mont Blanc': Italy tells France''
/ref>

References

External links

Point Helbronner on French IGN mapping portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helbronner Alpine three-thousanders Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Haute-Savoie Mountains of Aosta Valley Vertical transport devices