Today was one of the most thrilling/terrifying of my life. I am scared of heights, so whatever possessed me to go to up the Aiguille du Midi, just 1000m below the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps (and Western Europe) at 4810m high, I will never know!
I don’t know what was more horrifying; the thought of climbing to an altitude of 3842m but a cable car suspended on what looked like a bit of string (perhaps a slight over-simplification!) or the price of the return ticket at 41 euros – eek!
I wasn’t inspired by the notice board at the boarding gate either which announced fine weather, but temperatures of -13˚ and a 3/5 risk of avalanche. The doors to the cable car opened and we surged forward which was probably just as well as I might have turned to flee otherwise.
These cable cars look tiny but can hold between 60-70 people. Our group were mainly skiers off to do the Vallee Blanche (white Valley) which is seriously dangerous off-piste skiing with no marked runs and no surveillance. There are signs everywhere to warn of the risks and these are quite blunt almost to the point of ‘if you do this and die, it’s not our fault’.
The scenery was absolutely stunning, and I would have taken some photos if I’d been able to prise my hands off the handrail, and to be honest, we were only saved from me lying face down on the floor and praying because it was so packed!
The ascent is too high and steep to do in one go – it was the world’s higest cable car for about 20 years, and still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world – I am making myself feel woozy just writing about it!! At the Plan de l’Aiguille (2317m high) you have to get out and then take another cable car to the top.
The views from the summit are something I will never forget, and I was glad that I’d braved it. The other thing that I’ll remember for a very long time was the cold. I have never felt temperatures as low as -13 degrees before and it is a very strange sensation, because it’s a really dry cold.
Fortunately as I am always cold, I’d dressed for the occasion in thermals, fleecy tracksuit trousers, jumper, fleecy thermal top, coat, scarf, gloves, ski socks and snow boats, and I was still freezing to the extent that my breath was freezing my sunglasses!
The altitude is another killer and I am sure that I have abnormally small lungs because even the effort of climbing the steps up to the panoramic terrace at the top was almost too much for me, and I had to sit down to catch my breath. How on earth they ever worked up there to build the cable car is beyond me…
We found the ice tunnel and the start of the Alpine track to where you can ski the Vallee Blanche (mad fools), but because it is so steep and dangerous, only skiers are allowed to descend, even if you have snow boots with crampons.
Although I could have stayed all day and taken photos from all around, it was just too cold, so we decided to go back down to the Plan de l’Aiguille where there is a little snack bar/café. Even though it is still very high here, the sun was beating down and I am ashamed to say that I managed to get a nice set of panda eyes without even sitting directly in the sun!
All in all, this is a trip I will probably never do again (mainly because cable car or helicopter are the only ways to get there), but it was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life so I am so pleased that I did it despite the fear!
I don’t know what was more horrifying; the thought of climbing to an altitude of 3842m but a cable car suspended on what looked like a bit of string (perhaps a slight over-simplification!) or the price of the return ticket at 41 euros – eek!
I wasn’t inspired by the notice board at the boarding gate either which announced fine weather, but temperatures of -13˚ and a 3/5 risk of avalanche. The doors to the cable car opened and we surged forward which was probably just as well as I might have turned to flee otherwise.
These cable cars look tiny but can hold between 60-70 people. Our group were mainly skiers off to do the Vallee Blanche (white Valley) which is seriously dangerous off-piste skiing with no marked runs and no surveillance. There are signs everywhere to warn of the risks and these are quite blunt almost to the point of ‘if you do this and die, it’s not our fault’.
The scenery was absolutely stunning, and I would have taken some photos if I’d been able to prise my hands off the handrail, and to be honest, we were only saved from me lying face down on the floor and praying because it was so packed!
The ascent is too high and steep to do in one go – it was the world’s higest cable car for about 20 years, and still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world – I am making myself feel woozy just writing about it!! At the Plan de l’Aiguille (2317m high) you have to get out and then take another cable car to the top.
The views from the summit are something I will never forget, and I was glad that I’d braved it. The other thing that I’ll remember for a very long time was the cold. I have never felt temperatures as low as -13 degrees before and it is a very strange sensation, because it’s a really dry cold.
Fortunately as I am always cold, I’d dressed for the occasion in thermals, fleecy tracksuit trousers, jumper, fleecy thermal top, coat, scarf, gloves, ski socks and snow boats, and I was still freezing to the extent that my breath was freezing my sunglasses!
The altitude is another killer and I am sure that I have abnormally small lungs because even the effort of climbing the steps up to the panoramic terrace at the top was almost too much for me, and I had to sit down to catch my breath. How on earth they ever worked up there to build the cable car is beyond me…
We found the ice tunnel and the start of the Alpine track to where you can ski the Vallee Blanche (mad fools), but because it is so steep and dangerous, only skiers are allowed to descend, even if you have snow boots with crampons.
Although I could have stayed all day and taken photos from all around, it was just too cold, so we decided to go back down to the Plan de l’Aiguille where there is a little snack bar/café. Even though it is still very high here, the sun was beating down and I am ashamed to say that I managed to get a nice set of panda eyes without even sitting directly in the sun!
All in all, this is a trip I will probably never do again (mainly because cable car or helicopter are the only ways to get there), but it was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life so I am so pleased that I did it despite the fear!
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