PlanetSKI Heads Up to the Aiguille du Midi

8th April 2023

Last modified on April 11th, 2023

It is a must-visit spot on any trip to Chamonix. If you are doing the Vallee Blanche take the time to look round or if the ski route is not your cup of tea then it is well worth a visit in its own right.

There is an interesting mix of people heading from Chamonix at 1,035m, to the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842m.

Some will need fur hoods to keep warm on the secure viewing platforms, while others will need full alpinist kit to stay alive as they head into the high-altitude alpine wilderness.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

The journey itself is an absolute treat – here is the first ride of a two-stage cable car journey from from Chamonix to Plan de l’Aiguille at 2,317 m.

The next leg is a near-vertical ascent to the summit.

There are no supporting pylons for the cable car to the upper station at 3,777m.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

The views from the top will take you breath away – literally.

There is 45% less oxygen at 3,842m than at sea level so it pays to take things slowly and breath deeply.

Here’s Mont Blanc and some other surrounding peaks:

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

At the top the skiers and snowboarders head off to the Vallee Blanche and its routes down.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

The first section is a steep descent on a roped path with skis on back, and crampons on feet.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

That’s where they are heading.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

This time PlanetSKI is not skiing, but taking the time to enjoy the Aiguille du Midi itself.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

The idea for a cable car to the summit was originally proposed around 1909 but did not come to fruition until 1955.

The main man behind the project was the Italian, Dino Lora Totino.

He was later the driving force behind the construction of the Mont Blanc tunnel that was completed in 1965.

The Aiguille du Midi cable car held the title of the world’s highest cable car for 20-years.

It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world from 1,035m to 3,842m.

The lift and the whole structure itself is an engineering marvel.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

The Aiguille du Midi is visited by 450,000 people each year.

In December 2013 a glass skywalk ‘Step into the Void’ opened at at the top of the peak.

It has proved hugely popular.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

The valley looks a long, long way away.

It is – 2,807m to be precise.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

The Aiguille du Midi sits in the Mont Blanc Massif, an area that extends from France into Switzerland and Italy.

Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI

It is 30km long and 15km wide with over twenty 4,000m peaks and 90 active glaciers.

The first ascent of the Aiguille du Midi was made by Count Fernand de Bouille on August 5th 1856.

The first ascent of nearby Mont Blanc was made on August 8th 1787 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard – their statues are in the town square.