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Aiguille du Midi

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Aiguille du Midi
The Aiguille du Midi in summer
Highest point
Elevation3,842 m (12,605 ft)
Prominence310 m (1,020 ft)[1]
Isolation1.72 km (1.07 mi) Edit this on Wikidata
Naming
English translationNeedle of the Mid-day[2]
Language of nameFrench
Geography
Aiguille du Midi is located in France
Aiguille du Midi
Aiguille du Midi
France
LocationHaute-Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France
Parent rangeMont Blanc Massif
Geology
Mountain typeGranite
Climbing
First ascent4 August 1818 by Antoni Malczewski, J. M. Balmat and 5 guides

The Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m / 12,605 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a very popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable-car from Chamonix. It receives half a million visits a year and puts visitors as close to Mont Blanc as they can be without resort to mountaineering experience.[3]

Cable car

The idea for an cable car to the summit, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was originally proposed around 1909, but did not come into operation until 1955 when it held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades.[4] It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 1,035 m to 3842 m.[2] There are two sections: from Chamonix to Plan de l'Aiguille at 2,317 m and then directly, without any support pillar, to the upper station at 3,777 m (the building contains an elevator to the summit). The span of the second section is 2,867 m (1.781 mi) measured directly, but only 2,500 m (1.6 mi) measured horizontally. Thus it remains the second longest span width, measured directly. The tramway travels from Chamonix to the top of the Aiguille du Midi – an altitude gain of over 2,800 m – in 20 minutes, costing around €57 for an adult-ticket from Chamonix and back.

Summit

The Aiguille summit contains a panoramic viewing platform, a café and a gift shop. Even in summer, temperatures in the open viewing areas can reach -10°C, and visitors require both warm clothing and protection from very bright sunlight.[5] Because of the danger, tourists are unable to leave the visitor facilities on the Midi's summit. However, mountaineers and skiers are able to pass through a tunnel to reach the steep and extremely exposed ice ridge to descend to the glacier below.[6] From the Aiguille another cable car (summer months only), the Vallee Blanche Aerial Tramway crosses the Glacier du Géant to Pointe Helbronner (3,462 m) at the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Massif. Pointe Helbronner is served with a new cable car, called Skyway Monte Bianco, from La Palud -a village near Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley (Italy).

In December 2013, a glass skywalk called "Step into the Void" opened at the top of the Aiguille du Midi peak (3842 meters high). The view is 1035 meters straight down, and one can see Mont Blanc to the south.[7] A further tourist development currently under construction (as at 2015) is 'Le Pipe' – a tubular walkway that will completely circle the summit.[8][9]

Mountaineering

A number of routes for fit, experienced mountaineers can either start or finish at the Aiguille du Midi, although the nearby Cosmiques Refuge is the best starting point for the longer routes:

  • Arête des Cosmiques (also known as the Cosmiques Ridge) is a short, mixed rock and ice route which can be reached from the Midi station and which returns there in an unusual manner. It is very popular, and therefore busy, and is often used as an alpine training climb as it requires all-round mountaineering skills. Graded at PD+ to AD, the round-trip can easily be completed from Chamonix in one day. First ascent by George and Maxwell Finched on 2 August 1911[10]
  • Midi-Plan traverse traverse from the Aiguille du Midi to the Aiguille du Plan, either returning to the cable-car, or descending the Mer de Glace from the 'Plan' to the Requin Hut or continuing to Montenvers.[11]
  • Mont Blanc du Tacul Usually done from the Cosmiques Hut, but fit parties sometimes take the first morning telepherique and descend from the 'Midi'. Alternatively it can be combined with a return to the cable-car station via an ascent of the Cosmiques ridge.[12]
  • The Traverse of Mont Blanc, also known in French as La Voie des Trois Mont Blancs or just La Traversée, is a long route, graded at PD+ which starts from the Cosmiques Hut. This popular route is less exposed to danger than the Gouter Route, but under certain conditions both Mont Blanc du Tacul and Mont Maudit can develop slopes with very high avalanche risk.[13]
  • The Vallée Blanche ski run is a 20 km long, unmarked off-piste ski route which begins very steeply from the Aiguille du Midi station and, because of its complexity across crevassed glaciated terrain and need for route-finding, is best undertaken with a mountain guide.[6]

Name

The name "Aiguille du Midi" translates literally as Needle of the Mid-day. The mountain lies south-east of Chamonix and, when seen from in front of the town's church, the sun passes over its summit around noon.[2]


A panoramic view of the Mont Blanc from Aiguille du Midi
  • The north face in winter
    The north face in winter
  • The lower platforms from the summit
    The lower platforms from the summit
  • Cable car terminus (1972)
    Cable car terminus (1972)
  • Cable car terminus (2011)
    Cable car terminus (2011)
  • Cable car going to Aiguille du Midi
    Cable car going to Aiguille du Midi
  • Skywalk, December 27, 2013
    Skywalk, December 27, 2013
  • Summit antenna on Aiguille du Midi
    Summit antenna on Aiguille du Midi
  • Lower terraces seen of Aiguille du Midi seen from top with Chamonix below.Mar 2007
    Lower terraces seen of Aiguille du Midi seen from top with Chamonix below.Mar 2007
  • View along the Cosmiques Ridge toward Refuge des Cosmiques
    View along the Cosmiques Ridge toward Refuge des Cosmiques
  • Alpine climbers on the Cosmiques Ridge use a metal ladder to regain access to the 'Midi station'
    Alpine climbers on the Cosmiques Ridge use a metal ladder to regain access to the 'Midi station'

References

  1. ^ Swisstopo map
  2. ^ a b c "Aiguille du Midi 3842m - Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France". www.chamonix.net. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. ^ Carrel, François (24 July 2015). "Mont Blanc vs Monte Bianco". www.liberation.fr. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  4. ^ Berne, Laurent (2012). L'aventure du premier téléphérique de France. St.-Etienne: ICE. p. 15. ISBN 9782746641556.
  5. ^ "Aiguille du Midi & Cable-car, Chamonix". www.chamonet.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b "La Vallee Blanche Ski Area". www.chamonet.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  7. ^ Will Coldwell,Step into the Void: the glass skywalk at the top of the French Alps – in pictures, The Guardian, 19 December 2013.
  8. ^ Coldwell, Will (19 December 2013). "Step into the Void: the glass skywalk at the top of the French Alps – in pictures". theguardian.com. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  9. ^ "L'Aiguille du Midi bientôt dotée d'un " tube " qui fera le tour du site". Le Monde. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Arête des Cosmiques". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Midi-Plan". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Mont Blanc du Tacul". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  13. ^ Griffin, Lindsay (1991). Mont Blanc Massif Volume 2. London: Alpine Club. p. 55. ISBN 0900523581. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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