He could hardly believe it himself
A mountain climber that climbed Mont Blanc in 2013 discovered a surprise on the mountain. Most mountain climbers are satisfied with just the view that they’re rewarded with for their enormous effort, but they wouldn’t have passed up this discovery either. Imagine you decide to take on the enormous challenge of climbing Mont Blanc.
The mountain in the Alps is the second tallest in Europe, so you have to be prepared for an extensive physical effort. If you succeed, you can bask in the glory of being one of the select few climbers who have made it to the peak of this mountain.
This mountain climber, who wishes to remain anonymous, went home with more than just a good story and special memory. What he discovered on the mountain was something that nobody had ever seen. And according to experts, it had been hidden under the snow for years. This mountain climber’s story would be heard around the world…
Mont Blanc
The Mont Blanc, at 4807 meters high, is the second tallest mountain in Europe. Only Mount Elbrus, in the Caucasus, a mountain range in Russia, reaches higher than the most famous mountain of the Alps. The mountain’s name means “white mountain”: a logical name seeing as the top of the mountain is permanently covered in a layer of snow.
The peak of Mont Blanc was first reached on August 8th, 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard. Since then, numerous mountain climbers have followed the two to the top. Every year around 30,000 people take a shot at reaching the peak. The mountain is known for being extremely dangerous.
Not every attempt ends well…
The mountain climber
While 30,000 people per year may try to the reach the peak of Mont Blanc, not everyone has a happy ending. As far as we know, around 1400 mountain climbers have died on their way to the top. When climbing the mountain, you run the risk of being taken over by an avalanche. There are also often heavy storms in the higher regions of the Alps.
In the summer of 2008 alone, 100 mountain climbers lost their lives while trying to reach the top. It’s especially dangerous in the summer because of how busy it is. Around 200 people per day reach the peak in the summer months.
But none of them discovered what this anonymous mountain climber did…
Eight years of waiting
It makes sense that the person who made this special discovery wants to remain anonymous. If his (or her) identity was made known, it may bring unwanted attention. Not everyone was happy about this mountain climber’s discovery. Some people say that he should have left it alone. Due to the sensitive nature of this find, it took French authorities 8 years to release it.
The mountain climber who made the surprise discovery had to wait from 2013 until December of 2021 for the ever-so-slow bureaucratic system to come to a decision. But once the decision was made, the mountain climber must have been overjoyed! Curious to know what the discovery was?
The mountain climber discovered something in 2013 that made headlines everywhere. During his arduous journey to the top, while fighting the cold winds, something caught his eye that he never expected to see this high up. No, what he discovered was not meant to be on a mountain.
When the man examined the find more closely, his initial hunch was confirmed. This belonged in a museum, not covered in snow on Mont Blanc. How had nobody noticed this? Had some mountaineer dropped this here? Or maybe even hidden it? The mountain climber must have had many questions, because his find was very special.
Green and glistening
The sun was shining from just the right angle on something covered in snow. Beneath the cold white layer, something green glittered and glistened. When the mountain climber examined his find more closely, he realized that he had made the discovery of a lifetime. The mountaineer started digging in the snow, looking for the cause of the green shine.
The mystifying ray of light got brighter and brighter as the man got closer to his find. Once he had gotten to it, his jaw dropped in amazement. He had never expected this. What did the mountain climber find?It could be anything. But who else or what was here on the mountain and put it there? Maybe someone lost something. It could be anything.
Gemstones
The mountaineer raised up a very special find from underneath the snow. There was a large amount of bright green gemstones! The mountain climber couldn’t believe his eyes. How the hell did these end up on Mont Blanc? And what was he supposed to do know? Someone may have lost this treasure…
While the man didn’t have much knowledge on gemstones, he pieced together that this was an unimaginably valuable find. These were the most beautiful gemstones that the man had ever seen. The owner of this treasure must have been horrified when they realized that their gemstones had disappeared.
The mountaineer weighed his options… About gemstones, he knew that these were precious and valuable. He carefully put them in his backpack, making sure not to damage any of the stones. The weight of the backpack increased significantly, but the mountain climber didn’t care. He had just discovered something that would change his life forever.
A life-changing discovery
As the mountain climber continued his climb to the peak, he couldn’t stop thinking about his discovery. What would he do with these gemstones? Should he sell them and become rich? Or should he give them to a museum so that others could appreciate their beauty? The thought of becoming rich was tempting, but the mountain climber realized that his discovery was much more than just a financial gain. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share something truly special with the world. The thought of being the one to uncover something hidden for years filled him with a sense of purpose and pride.
The climb to the peak had been difficult, but the descent was even harder. The weight of the backpack and the slippery snow made the descent much more challenging. But the mountain climber was determined to bring his discovery back to civilization.
He carefully made his way down the mountain, trying not to damage any of the precious gemstones. Every step was a risk, but the mountaineer managed to make it down without any major incidents. Finally, he made it back to his campsite, exhausted but overjoyed.
What to do?
The man considered keeping the gemstones for himself. “Finders keepers”, right? He assumed that he’d be mega rich in no time if he decided to sell the gems. But a voice in the back of his head made him doubt his decision. The gemstones must belong to somebody. Someone had lost them here.
From a moral standpoint, the right thing to do would be to find the original owner of the gemstones. And what if the gemstones had been hidden here on purpose by someone… The mountaineer had seen enough crime films to know how things would end up if he went through with it in that case.
The mountain climber decided to report his find to the police. Was that the right choice?
The police
The local authorities were just as surprised as the mountain climber himself when they saw the gemstones. They could hardly believe that this treasure was found on the mountain. As you read earlier, around 30,000 people take a shot at reaching the top every year. How could nobody have seen it before?
The police figured that the gemstones must have been placed there recently. This was the only answer they could think of to explain how nobody else had seen them. The only other option was bizarre coincidence. A few agents got to work on finding the rightful owner of the gems.
But first, they needed to figure out exactly what they were dealing with.
Real or fake?
Before the police started the case, they had to figure out if they were real gemstones. There was, of course, the possibility that another mountain climber had hidden a pile of fake gemstones there as a practical joke just to make a fool of someone else. They hired an expert who examined each of the gems one by one.
With full concentration, the expert got to work on the beautiful green treasure. It didn’t take long for him to come to a strange conclusion. The police and mountain climber were all as shocked as could be when they heard what the expert had to say.
Curious about the conclusion?
Value
The expert explained that they were real gemstones. And not just any gemstones, but a very rare variant. The mountaineer had, by chance, come across a treasure that was worth more than all of his belongings combined. He couldn’t believe his ears when the expert told him how much they were worth.
The green gemstones that the mountaineer had accidentally found under a layer of snow while trying to reach the top of Mont Blanc was worth 300,000 euros. The police then said that the effort of finding the rightful owner was worth it: something the mountaineer was secretly upset about.
Searching for the owner
The French police swiftly leaped into action to reunite the owner and his expensive emeralds and sapphires. They placed notices in local newspapers, posted on social media, and showed images of the gemstones on tv. They did everything they could to find the owner.
The news of the find made its way around the world. Millions of people saw the gemstones, so surely the rightful owner would make himself known. Every day there were thousands of messages from people saying they had accidentally lost a pile of gemstones on Mont Blanc.
It cost the French police a lot of effort to separate the real ones and the scams…
Interesting message
All potential owners dropped off slowly. Some couldn’t say what kind of gemstones they were, and others couldn’t prove that they had ever had the gems… There were even people who had never set foot in France. That makes it pretty unbelievable to think you may have ever lost your gemstones on Mont Blanc.
Of course, that’s what you’d think. One day, a researcher reached out with a very interesting explanation as to why the owner wouldn’t have reached out to the French police just yet. His speculation would send the search in a whole different direction and eventually be the answer to all the questions.
Curious to know what the researcher’s explanation was? Read on now!
Air India
The researcher directed the police to take a look at an incident from 1966, 47 years before the discovery of the gemstones. On January 24th of 1966, a terrible airplane crash took place wherein a Boeing 707 from Air India, an Indian airline crashed into Mont Blanc. 117 people were killed.
The plane was on its way to Genève, Switzerland when it crashed. All 106 passengers and 11 crew members were killed. This awful accident could explain how the gemstones were on the mountain, because they were found close to where the plane had crashed.
This wouldn’t be the first time that something from this flight was found…
The letters
In 2012, a year before the discovery of the gemstones, a burlap bag full of mail was found near the area where the plane had crashed in 1966. Inside were newspapers, diplomatic letters and personal letters. One of the passengers of the crashed plane was the prominent nuclear energy scientist Homi J Bhabha, also known as the father of India’s nuclear program.
They didn’t find any confidential mail, so it was all sent back to India. There they the personal letters back to the families of the victims that had lost their loved ones 46 years earlier. This seemed to be the only thing left over from the crash, but nothing was further from the truth.
In 2013, the mountaineer discovered the gemstones. Curious to know who the owner was? Read on quickly!
Attempting to find out about the owner
After the researcher’s presumption that the gemstones came from this flight, the French police immediately got to work. They tried to find the Indian family of the deceased owner. While the news had reached India as well, they hadn’t received any tips from this country.
The police could narrow down their search because they knew who the victims were on that disastrous day in the Boeing 707. They contacted the families of the crash victims but unfortunately none of them knew about any family members owning these gems.
The treasure didn’t seem to have an owner anymore…
Eight years
It took eight years for the French authorities to finally make a decision. In December of 2021 they announced their conclusion. After years of searching, they had given up on finding the rightful owner. Now came the question of who they did belong to.
The police contacted the mountain climber who had found the wonderful discovery. They had good news for him: he could call himself a wealthy man. They had come to the conclusion that he had the right to half of the green gemstones. This half was worth 150,000 euros.
The other half? Read on quickly to find out what happened with it!
The other half
The French authorities decided that the other half of the find was to go to the local government in Chamonix, France. They were put on display in the Mont Blanc collection in the local townhall. The mayor was overjoyed by the amazing gift.
Starting on December 19th, 2021, the gemstones can be seen in the townhall of Chamonix which is located at the foot of Mont Blanc. So, if you ever want to get a good look at these beautiful gemstones, you know where to find them! This treasure belongs to the history of the mountain which has been home to many special events over the years.
But not everyone was happy with the French authority’s decision…