In 1986, Chamonix dedicated a statue to Michel-Gabriel Paccard during the bicentennial celebrations of the first ascent of Mont Blanc. Paccard sits by himself grasping a wooden alpenstock, with a barometer case over his shoulder and hat and knapsack at his feet. The first version of the statue made from an epoxy resin suffered from Chamonix's severe winters and was replaced by a bronze cast in 1991. The statue sits on a granite plinth elevated above a very large base where Avenue Michel Croz crosses the River Arve. From this position, Paccard looks down the river toward Mont Blanc and over the shoulders of the statues of Balmat and Saussure that were erected a century earlier.

Creator

• Bouvier, Jean-Loup
• Sandel, André

Year

• 1986

Date created

• 1986-08-08

Resource type

• Image

Source

• Photograph of Paccard statue in Chamonix, by Peter H. Hansen

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Last modified

• 2020-08-11