AIGUILLE DU MIDI - CHAMONIX
Cableway to Europe's Highest Mountain - Mont Blanc Views
Among other competitions in the European world, the duel between Alpine holiday
destinations is fierce. The competition between France and Switzerland
comes down to who has the highest viewpoint. France wins hands down on
the highest mountain, Mont Blanc at 15,781 feet (4,810 meters), beating
Switzerland’s Monte Rosa by about 500 feet. So Switzerland built its viewing
platform
on the Klein Matterhorn to beat out the Auguille Du Midi view platform
by 12 feet . So much for neutrality. But still the view station which looks
upon Mont Blanc within view of the resort town of Chamonix
Mont-Blanc is a stunningly impressive place.
The Aiguille Du Midi-Chamonix cable car from the departure station rises in two stages to the top and taking about 20 minutes to make the ascent. The route to Aiguille du Midi was first conceived in 1909 by the Compagnie Française des Funiculaires on a 3-stage route running along the glacier des Bossons and crossing the Col du Midi. Work had to stop during World War I and then again by the next war. Then, in 1949 an Italian Swiss designer proposed a single cable span from the Plan de l’Aiguille. A one ton cable was carried by relay to the peak then rolled down. The cableway began operation in 1955 and was the highest cable tram in the world for about 20 years until the Klein Matterhorn took the title (see Klein Matterhorn Zermatt). The Aiguille du Midi is still the highest single vertical cable rise in the world, and plans are underway to change the car into a Rotair rotating cabin as found at Mt Titlis (see Mt Titlis Rotair). The cable car cabin is often be filled with skiers in the snowy months and year round with paragliders hauling backpacks, heading up to the popular paragliding jump spots at the Plan du Midi station and the Aiguille where a hike down a ridge leads to the challenging Col du Midi departure spot.
The name Aiguille du Midi means (aiguille means needle) for its rock column form as many of the sharp formed peaks of the French Alps get the designation. The station actually consists of three stone columns connected by tunnels and a foot bridge across a deep chasm escarpment in a precarious seeming balancing act. The arrival and departure cable house station is on the north column, with the 3842 (meter) Restaurant, a cafeteria, souvenir shop and the Mont Blanc Terrace which overlooks Chamonix. The Mont Blanc gallery tunnel leads to the elevator which rises to the Summit Terrace with 360 degree views over Mont Blanc and the other peaks. From here, you can watch the teams of roped mountaineers heading off to climb. At the Rébuffat Terrace is the access to the Helbronner-Italie gondolas of the Mont-Blanc Panoramic. The Aravis Terrace looks over the Glacier des Bossons and the Chamonix Valley toward Geneva, and views of the arriving cable car.
In winter conditions, the Vallée Blanche ski runs start from the Midi station and the Cosmiques Refuge nearby is the starting point for one of the climbing routes to Mont Blanc. In summer a gondola cable car, the Vallee Blanche Aerial Tramway crosses the Glacier du Geant to Pointe Helbronner on the Italian side where it connects to a cable car from La Palud. When the weather is clear the views are stunning, both up to Mont Blanc, and across the range to the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa, visible in the far distance. Mont Blanc itself is less dramatic as a mountain as some of the other Alps peaks, its height somewhat masked by its surrounding massif and snow dome from which it gets its name. Sign boards will point it out. In summer, challenging hiking trails start at the Aiguille, one leads all the way down to Chamonix.
Visiting the Aiguille du Midi
The departure station of the Aiguille d Midi cableway is within walking distance from the center of Chamonix. A Mont Blanc Multi-Pass is available for €52.50 (as of 2012), which is good for all the cable cars and ski lifts in the area (except for the Italian side) and the Montenvers Cog Train to the Mer de Glace glacier (see Montenvers Rack Railway), which can be reached by hiking trail from the Plan du Midi, where you can stop to watch paragliders leaping off into the air, or envision a tandem jump yourself. Allow 2 to 3 hours for a visit. Take warm clothes, sunglasses and sunscreen as the high altitude sun can take quick effect. Children under 3 years are not recommended. © Bargain
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Aiguille du Midi
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See
Also:
MONT BLANC SCENIC FLIGHTS
CHAMONIX ALPINE & CRYSTAL MUSEUMS
SCHILTHORN CABLE – REVOLVING RESTAURANT
LE HAMEAU ALBERT 1ER HOTEL - CHAMONIX
