The mayor and the policeman of a small mining city in Hunedoara county managed to conquer the Mont Blanc peak, the highest in Central and Western Europe (4, 810 metres). Their climb lasted seven hours.
Brad mayor Florin Cazacu and police officer Radu Pavel left the Gouter hut at 2 a.m. and reached the top at 9 a.m.
Their expedition consisted of seven people aged from 32 to 65, but only four of them reached the peak after the others faced health problems due to the lack of oxygen.
The mayor said the journey had been extremely difficult. The expedition has been prepared by the team since last year, when they climbed all peaks higher than 2,500 metres.
The Mont Blanc Peak, meaning the “White Mountain” s the highest mountain in the Alps and the highest in Europe after the Caucasus peaks, Elbrus (5,642m) and Dykh-Tau (5,204m).
The first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc was on 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat and the doctor Michel Paccard. The first Romanian to climb it was geologist Radu Porumbaru, on October 2, 1877.