 The massif has been an important source of mineral specimens for crystal-hunters for over 250 years.The mountaineer and explorer, Edward Whymper, noted that the basin of the Glacier de Talèfre was "considered good hunting-ground for crystals", and that the slopes below les Courtes had yielded many large specimens.He recounted that in 1745 a guide had stated he had collected over of specimens there in just three hours.