In reply to cameron.ree:
Why aim at Mt Blanc particularly? By the usual route, it's crowded and not the most interesting climb in the Alps--a long dull slog is how some describe it. (I haven't done it myself, mind, this is just what I hear.)
You'll have much more fun if you aim instead at becoming a competent all-round Alpinist. Do this by finding someone with Alpine experience who'll take you there for a first trip and show you (ahem) the ropes. Go a couple of times and you'll have got a bunch of people to climb with in the Alps, and also the skills and the experience to climb Mont Blanc--if you think that's a priority. (It isn't for me, not by the ordinary route. I wouldn't turn it down if I got the chance to do it, but lots of other things look a lot more fun--the Weisshorn, the Grand Combin, and the Aiguille d'Argentie're, for instance.)