Aiguille du Midi
Encyclopedia
The Aiguille du Midi is a mountain
in the Mont Blanc massif
in the French Alps
.
The cable car
to the summit, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was built in 1955 and held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 1,035 m to 3,842 m. 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 measured directly, but only 2,500 m measured horizontally. It thus still is 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. An adult ticket from Chamonix (as of July 2011) is €42.50 return.
The Aiguille summit contains a panoramic viewing platform, a cafe and a gift shop. The Vallée Blanche ski run begins here, and the nearby Cosmiques Refuge is the starting point for one of the routes to the Mont Blanc summit. From the Aiguille another cable car (summer months only), the Vallee Blanche Aerial Tramway
crosses the Glacier du Geant to Pointe Helbronner
(3,462 m) at the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Massif. Pointe Helbronner is served with a cable car from La Palud, a village near Courmayeur
in the Aosta Valley (Italy
).
The name "Aiguille du Midi" translates literally as "Needle of the South". It is said to be so called because of its position due south of Chamonix. (Midi literally means "Noon")
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Mont Blanc massif
Mont Blanc Massif
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the western Alps. It is named after Mont Blanc, at 4,810.45 m the highest summit of the Alps. It is located in France , Italy , and Switzerland...
in the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
.
The cable car
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
to the summit, the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was built in 1955 and held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 1,035 m to 3,842 m. There are two sections: from Chamonix
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...
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
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
to the summit). The span of the second section is 2,867 m measured directly, but only 2,500 m measured horizontally. It thus still is 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. An adult ticket from Chamonix (as of July 2011) is €42.50 return.
The Aiguille summit contains a panoramic viewing platform, a cafe and a gift shop. The Vallée Blanche ski run begins here, and the nearby Cosmiques Refuge is the starting point for one of the routes to the Mont Blanc summit. From the Aiguille another cable car (summer months only), the Vallee Blanche Aerial Tramway
Vallee Blanche Aerial Tramway
The Vallée Blanche Aerial Tramway or Funivia dei Ghiacciai or Télécabine Panoramic Mont-Blanc, is a passenger aerial tramway between Courmayeur and Chamonix by passing over the Mont Blanc Massif, in the Alps. The project was by Vittorio Zignoli of Polytechnic University of Turin...
crosses the Glacier du Geant to Pointe Helbronner
Pointe Helbronner
Pointe Helbronner is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps on the watershed between France and Italy.The peak which previously was a mere geodetic reference point was named after Paul Helbronner, a French polytechnicien, alpinist and geodesist who pioneered cartography of the...
(3,462 m) at the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Massif. Pointe Helbronner is served with a cable car from La Palud, a village near Courmayeur
Courmayeur
Courmayeur is an Italian town and comune in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley, in northern Italy. It is located at the foot of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in western Europe, in the Graian Alps range, and is crossed by the Dora Baltea...
in the Aosta Valley (Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
).
The name "Aiguille du Midi" translates literally as "Needle of the South". It is said to be so called because of its position due south of Chamonix. (Midi literally means "Noon")