Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps, is first ascended on July 30, 1859.

The Grand Combin, which yields in height to only a few European mountains, has long been one of the least known of Alpine summits.

The first to commence the exploration of the great massif that separates the Val de Bagnes from the Val d'Entremont was Gottlieb Samuel Studer, of Berne, who on August 14, 1851 reached for the first time the summit of the Combin de Corbassière with the guide Joseph-Benjamin Fellay, and has published an account of that and a subsequent excursion in Bergund Gletscher-Fahrten.

He was followed in that ascent five years later by W. and C. E. Mathews, and in 1857, William Mathews anticipated Studer in the ascent of the second peak of the Grand Combin.

The first four expeditions on Grand Combin reached only the minor summit east of Grand Combin (Aiguille du Croissant).

The first one was made by mountain guides from the valley (Maurice Fellay and Jouvence Bruchez) on July 20, 1857.

The first complete ascent of Grand Combin is finally made on July 30, 1859 by Charles Sainte-Claire Deville with Daniel, Emmanuel and Gaspard Balleys, and Basile Dorsaz.