Horace Bénédict de Saussure and others descending Mont Blanc. Coloured aquatint.

Horace-Bénédict de Saussure longed to perform scientific experiments on the summit of Mont Blanc, and in 1760, when only twenty years old he offered a prize to anyone finding a route to the top. The first ascent was not made until August 1786. De Saussure finally succeeded in reaching the top himself on 3 August 1787, in an expedition lasting four days 41/2 hours. At the age of 47, he was the oldest person to reach the summit until 1875, when the Marquis de Turenne made the ascent at the age of 72 years