By 2005 the newly-evolving technique of Light Detection and Ranging, known as LiDAR, permitted highly detailed laser scanning of high mountain rock faces, measuring many thousands of separate points every second, and from a distance of up to 800 metres. An EU Interreg-funded project was established to undertake research. Known as PERMAdataROC, its aims were to improve our understanding of the relationship between permafrost degradation and slope instabilities by quantifying the occurrence and magnitude of rock falls from high-mountain rock walls. Seven sites in the Mont Blanc Massif were selected, with the east face of the Tour Ronde being the first to be analysed. Measurements were taken in July 2005 and again in July 2006.