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Taking the Auguille du Midi Cable Car to the Top – Near Mont Blanc in France
Written by admin| 4 Comments »
My husband, my family who was visiting, and I took a day to visit Chamonix, specifically to take cable car to the top of the Auguille du Midi. The last part of the first cable car was a bit scary. We thought the second cable car up to the summit would be worse but it was actually a smoother ride, albeit VERY high. The views were spectacular and I would definitely recommend doing this (as long as you don’t have a serious fear of heights). Be aware that the air is thin there and we found ourselves having difficulty breathing normally, especially after walking up the stairs to the observation platforms. We wanted to do the train ride to the Mer de Glace (cave under the glacier) but it was closed due to rock slides.
What astonished all of us was that towards the summit we saw numerous people hiking up the mountain and others with their hang gliders waiting for the right winds to jump. We also saw ski trails down the mountain. Keep in mind these are 85-90 grade slopes. Once you start skiing there’s no stopping and you can’t see that far in advance to know if you’re going off a cliff or not. When we got to the top, we also saw young men and women suiting up to scale down the cliffs. To me, it seemed like everyone had a death wish but I’m just an old woman with a fear of heights so what do I know!
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe, peaking at 15,782 feet. Chamonix was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. You can take the Auguille du Midi to the top of the mountain (about 48 euros) or take a train to see the Mer de Glace (glacier cave). You can also take the train over the mountain into Italy for a quick visit of the local small town (without your passport). More information can be found at:
http://www.chamonix.com/welcome,0,en.html
Enjoy the ride up on the Auguille du Midi:
August 14th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Even though I have faster internet than I did before, it’s still not fast enough to load your videos. I can get U-Tube at its lowest speed now, with only a few pauses in some of them.
I’d love to see the scenery up there, but probably only (I was going to say “on film” but that can’t be what I mean anymore) by media (!), and even that can be daunting. Since I’m on the verge of panic on the funiculars at Montmartre and in Lyon, I’m afraid this cable car would probably kill me! And I don’t walk anywhere above 8,000 ft., so I guess that’s something under 3000m. Rats!
I drive up and down a road that causes near heart failure to some first-timers every time I need to go to the big city. Hard at first but after 20 years, I’m on the fly. I’d hoped this loss of fear would translate to all high places, but alas, no such luck.
P.S. Aha! Just noticed I’ve got your video on a 20 minute download for later viewing.
August 14th, 2010 at 11:53 am
Hi, Lee, I have a fear of heights too but not as bad as you. I definitely wouldnt recommend the Midi for you then because I found the first cable car to be pretty scarey towards the end. The second was an easier ride but higher. Sorry you have trouble with the internet where you are. Keep trying and I hope you can see it. Thanks for following. Cynthia
August 14th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
I do not understand a slope at 85 to 90 degrees being available for use by skiers. 90 degrees from level would be straight down from horizontal or level. 90 degrees from straight up would be on the horizontal, which is level. At what wind velocity do they shut down cable cars? If you are at the top of the mountain and the cars are shut down, for any reason, what do you do to return down the mountain or to survive until transportation is restored? I would like to take the ride if and when we return to France.
August 15th, 2010 at 12:29 am
I am only guessing at the grade based on my ride on the Grenoble funicular which is 86% grade – the slopes were at least this steep. If the weather report shows storms or winds coming, they close the cable car and don’t let people up. We saw a lever in the cable car that said ‘low winds, medium winds and strong winds’ or something like that so they obviously can adjust for certain levels of wind. In fact, when we were there they closed the train up to the glacier cave due to rock slides so they are quite careful and have a good safety record. Cynthia