Aiguille du Midi
12,605 feet, reached in twenty minutes, with Mont Blanc close enough to touch.
Duration
3 hrs – 5 hrs
Difficulty
●●●●○
Best time
First cable car of the day
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The Aiguille du Midi cable car was completed in 1955 and its upper section still holds a record: one thousand five hundred and thirty-five metres of rise with no intermediate pylon, a span nobody has repeated.
At the top, at three thousand eight hundred and forty-two metres, a lift reaches the summit terrace, and the Pas dans le Vide is a glass box hanging over a thousand metres of air. It is also the start of the Vallée Blanche for skiers and of climbing routes: the snow arête dropping from the station is genuine high-mountain ground.
Getting there
Departs from the centre of Chamonix, place de l'Aiguille du Midi. Tickets are booked online with a time slot for the ascent.
What the price covers
paid cable car, rate to be confirmed; the ride runs in two stages
What to bring
- Windbreaker
- Cap
- Sportswear
Rules on site
You go from a thousand to three thousand eight hundred metres in twenty minutes: altitude sickness is common — move slowly up there and go down if your head swims. It is often fifteen to twenty degrees colder than below, and the snow reflects — sunglasses and a warm jacket, even in August.