Mont Blanc is the most-climbed mountain in the world, its considerable dangers seemingly disappeared into the crush of bodies swarming its base. From Lukas Eberle and Victoria Weidemann at Spiegel:

“Business with the White Lady is booming. In both Italy and nearby Switzerland, there are some 50 companies offering guided tours up the mountain; in France, there are 70, with 20 of those based in Chamonix. Including training, preparation and acclimatizing to the altitude, the trip to the top takes about a week with customers paying an average of €1,500 ($1,940), including the guide.

‘Demand is huge, we have reached our capacity,’ says Bernard Prud’homme, head of the Chamonix tourism bureau. The municipality, he says, ‘is no longer advertising’ for Mont Blanc. ‘No ads, no campaigns. Otherwise, the routes would be even fuller.’

Mont Blanc has become symbolic of modern-day mountaineering. No longer reserved for experts, the highest peaks are now also frequented by adventure-seekers and outdoor enthusiasts. Mountains like Mont Blanc have come to be seen as tourist destinations.

The routes are prepared with anchors and fixed ropes, with climbers simply clipping in. Last year, the Refuge du Goûter opened at an altitude of 3,835 meters, a futuristically designed mountain hut build by the Club Alpin Français, to provide shelter for those heading to the top. It is designed to withstand wind-speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour (185 miles per hour). Indeed, the mountain is becoming domesticated, made available for consumption. But that hasn’t made it any less dangerous. On the contrary, it is one of the deadliest mountains in the world.”