that those entering the mountain environment are adequately equipped and skilled. This has led to calls to limit access to the most popular summits and for the mountains to be treated with greater respect. Scientific research The Mont Blanc massif has provided numerous opportunities for academic research, dating back to the very first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 during which Michel Paccard carried scientific equipment to confirm it as the highest summit. In 1820, an ill-fated expedition led by Dr Hamel included pigeons intended for release at varying altitudes to measure the impact of reduced air density on their ability to fly. In 1890, Joseph Vallot built a small meteorological observatory at approximately between the Dôme du Goûter and Mont Blanc's summit from where numerous measurements and scientific experiments were conducted. One study involved taking simultaneous temperature measurements made over many months at Chamonix, the Grands Mulets and at the observatory itself. In 1893, Pierre Janssen constructed an astronomical observatory on the top of Mont Blanc, partially buried within the summit ice to hold it in place. A telescope and a spectrograph for measuring the oxygen content of the sun were installed. The observatory was removed when it started to collapse around 1906. Three examples of modern-day uses of the high mountains for scientific research include neutrino detection, uranium pollution monitoring and climate change: A neutrino detector was installed deep inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel in the early‑1980s in order to take advantage of the shielding from background radiation provided by the 4,800 meter water equivalent (m.w.e.) of solid rock surrounding it in every direction. In February 1987, the underground neutrino observatory reported the detection of a neutrino event, believed to have originated from the explosion of the SN 1987A supernova. In 2005, the technique of remote laser-scanning (LiDAR) was used for the first time in any mountain environment to research the impact of climate change on rock face stability. Seven sites in the Mont Blanc massif were selected, with the Tour Ronde being the first to be analysed. An area of its east face of was laser-scanned from a distance of . This revealed that over a twelve-month period the face had lost of rock. The project concluded that the high rockfall rate on the Tour Ronde and elsewhere in the massif was linked to the degradation of permafrost. This would formerly have held the mountain together more