Caption
The Vallot observatory (altitude: 4.350 m) in the Mont-Blanc massif in the French Alps, pictured in 2016 after extension and repair works. Built by Joseph Vallot more than a century ago, this observatory was subsequently donated to the French State by the Vallot family in 1931, and was transferred to CNRS in 1975. In 2016, extensive renovation work was carried out at the observatory on Mont-Blanc, to improve the standard of accommodation. This work included building an extension as well as repairs to the siding and roof. This very high-altitude facility, the only one of its kind in France, is used as a base for glaciological and atmospheric research, as well as research into physiological adaptation to high-altitude conditions.
