In 1786, two men walked into a white
unknown. Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard had no map, no fixed
ropes, not even a trail. On August 8, they reached the summit of Mont Blanc and
changed what mountains meant forever.

Mont Blanc has drawn climbers ever since. Some come to follow in Balmat's steps. Others come to chart their own. Trail runners race around the massif in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc—170 kilometers of rock, mud, and memory. In 2013, Kilian Jornet ran from Chamonix to the summit and back in under five hours. Others ascend and descend by ski, carving lines from the summit to the valley floor in a single run.

The mountain holds many names. In Italy, it is Monte Bianco. To climbers, it is La Dame Blanche—the White Lady. Her shape changes with the seasons, but she is always there, towering above the Chamonix Valley, luring people upward.

Our design traces the classic ridge from Chamonix Valley to summit in a single continuous line. You'll see Balmat's original expedition ascending with long poles and wool, their silhouettes small against the mountain's mass. Higher up, modern trail runners and ski mountaineers move fast through the same altitude that once took days to cross.

Gorbea’s founder skied and ran these mountains many times. Artist Katarina Nord drew this in the Alps themselves. As a frequent skier and climber in Chamonix, she knows these ridges—the way light cuts across glaciers, the rhythm of ascent. Every line was born from that intimacy.

The Alps are changing. Glaciers retreat, seasons shift, ancient routes transform. But across the Mont Blanc massif, conservation work continues—protecting alpine meadows, stabilizing trails, adapting to what's coming. 10% of profits from every Mont Blanc piece supports this work in the mountains that inspire us.

Wear the summit that started it all. The one that still calls.

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