The Mont Blanc Massif is surrounded by some big valleys: The valley of the Arve in the Northwest, the Val Montjoie in the West, the Val Veni and the italian Val Ferret in the South and Southeast, and the swiss Val Ferret in the East.

The Mont Blanc Massif is the most superb area of the Alps, not only because of its highest summit, but also especially because of its wilderness, the big rock- and ice-faces which fall down steeply. The mountains of the Mont Blanc Massif are more varied than the other groups of the Alps. The Arve valley, the Val Vény and the Val Ferret build a natural demarcation in the West and East. The Val d'Etremont is the continuation of the eastern border and the northern border as well. It separates the Mont Blanc Massif and the Walliser Alps. Less natural and distinctive is the southern border. It is the southwestern continuation of the Val Vény over the Col de la Seigne. It follows the uppermost Val des Glaciers till Les Glaciers, or rather Les Chapieux, and goes over the Col du Bonhomme to Les Contamines before it meets the Arvevalley at St. Gervais.

The Mont Blanc shows totally different shapes to the North and to the South: to the Arvevalley, it has huge and beautiful white glaciers and very long firn hangs in the summit region. To the Val Vény and Val Ferret, it shows wild and dirty glaciers which are situated among sharp rock ridges which fall down to the valleys and have very steep faces with rock- and ice-couloirs as flanks.

At the beginning of Alpinism history Mont Blanc Group was considered as composed by 4 different summits : Aiguilles du Trelatete, Mont Blanc, Grandes Jorasses, Mont Dolent..

Now we can consider it a little better and divide the whole group in 2 big areas (the division between the two area is made by the Geant glacier and by the Mer de Glace) and many big ridges bordered by glacier basins.


WESTERN AREA

The western part is almost a unique massif : the Mont Blanc, wherefrom, toward all the directions, start some very big and high ridges without any "easy" passage.

Glaciers

Some very big glaciers come down along main summit sides :

# toward North the 2 big ones : Bossons and Tacconnay

# toward West the ones of Dome and Monte Bianco, joining in the bigger glacier of Miage

# toward South the 2 "small" Brouillard and Freney

# toward East the Brenva

From the big ridge Gouter-Bionassay-Domes de Miage:

# On the French side (toward East) they are (N-S): Griaz (small), Bionassay, Miage, Covagnet, Armancette (small), Trelatéte, Glaciers

# On the Italian side the Glacier di Bionassay (ending in the Miage) and the Lex Blanche (on the S side of the Aiguilles de Trelatete)

From the big ridge Midi-Aiguilles, they are (W-E):

# toward East : the Vallee Blanche (ending into the Mer de Glace),

# toward North : Pelerins, Blaitiere, Nantillons

we haven't to consider as glaciers the icy walls of Maudit and Tacul


EASTERN AREA

The Eastern part is little more complicated.

Glaciers

From the big, long and almost unceasing ridge Geant-Dolent a sequence of glaciers, some small and some important come down

# toward South (W-E): Entreves and Toula (small), Rochefort (small), Planpincieux (small), Jorasses (small), Pra Sec (small), Freboudze, Triolet, Pre de Bars

# toward North (W-E): Periades (small), Mont Mallet-Leschaux - ending into the Mer de Glace, Taléfre - ending into the Mer de Glace being the southern border of the ridge Verte-Dolent

From the big ridge Aiguille Verte-Dolent

# toward West some small glaciers : Charpoua, Dru, Nant Blanc, Montets, Pendant

# toward North only big ice walls but, at the western limit, just beneath the Aiguille Verte, the Glacier des Rognons that ends in the big one of Argentiére

From the big ridge Chardonnet-Dolent

# toward South (ending into the Argentiére) the (W-E): Chardonnet, Milieu, Amèthystes, Tour Noir and the (minor) Dolent

# toward North the Glacier du Tour

# toward East the glaciers of Saleina, de l'A Neuve and of Dolent

From the ridge de l'Aiguille du Tour, toward N the Glacier des Grands, the big glacier named "Plateau de Trient" and the smaller Orny