The Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m/12,605Ã, ft) is a mountain in the massive Mont Blanc in the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by a cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
Video Aiguille du Midi
Cable car
The idea for a cable car to the top, à © rà © de l'Aiguille du Midi, originally proposed around 1909, but did not start operating until 1955 while holding the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the world's highest vertical climbing cable car, from 1,035 m to 3842 m. There are two parts: from Chamonix to Plan de l'Aiguille at 2,317 m and then directly, without supporting pillars, to the top station at 3,777 m (the building contains elevators to the top). The second part range is 2,867 m (1,781 mi) measured directly, but only 2,500 m (1.6 m) is measured horizontally. Thus it remains the width of the second longest span, measured directly. The cable car runs from Chamonix to the top of Aiguille du Midi - an altitude of over 2,800m - in 20 minutes, at a cost of about EUR60 for adult tickets from Chamonix and back.
Maps Aiguille du Midi
Top
The Aiguille Summit contains a panoramic display platform, café and souvenir shop. Even in the summer, the temperature in the open can reach -10 Â ° C, and visitors need warm clothing and protection from the bright sunlight. Due to the danger, tourists can not leave the visitor facility at the summit of Midi. However, mountain climbers and skiers can bypass the tunnel to reach a steep ice ridge and are very open to descend to the glaciers below.
In December 2013, a glass skywalk called "Step into the Void" opens at the peak of Aiguille du Midi (3842 meters tall). The view is 1035 meters straight down, and one can see Mont Blanc in the south. Further tourism development currently under construction (in 2015) is 'Le Pipe' - a tubular walkway that will completely circle the summit.
During the summer months alone, VallÃÆ'Â © e Blanche Cable Car crosses the "peak-to-peak" of Aiguille du Midi to Pointe Helbronner (3,462 m) on the Italian side of Mont Blanc Massif. Pointe Helbronner is served by another cable car, Skyway Monte Bianco, to EntrÃÆ'¨ves, near the Italian town of Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley. It is possible to travel "by air" from Chamonix, France to Courmayeur, Italy - the route usually passed by the highway that crosses the Mont Blanc Tunnel.
Mountaineering
A number of routes to fit, experienced mountain climbers can start or finish at Aiguille du Midi, though [ix. Cosmiques Refuge nearby is the best starting point for longer routes:
- ArÃÆ'ªte des Cosmiques (also known as Cosmiques Ridge ) is a short, rock-and-ice trick that can be reached from Midi station and returns there with unusual way, exit from the top of the stairs to the Midi station display platform. It's very popular, and therefore busy, and is often used as an ascent to alpine training as it requires all-round mountain climbing skills. Rated on PD to AD, a round trip can be easily completed from Chamonix in one day. The first ascent by George and Maxwell Finched on August 2, 1911
- Midi-Plan crossed across from Aiguille du Midi to the Aiguille du Plan, either back on the cable car, or down the Mer de Glace from 'Plan' to the Requin Hut or proceed to Montenegro.
- Mont Blanc du Tacul Usually done from Cosmiques Hut, but the fitting party sometimes picks up the first morning telepherique and descends from 'Midi'. Alternatively it can be combined with a return to the cable car station through the ascent of the Cosmiques ridge.
- Traverse of Mont Blanc , also known in France as La Voie des Trois Mont Blancs or just La TraversÃÆ' Â © e , is a route length, assessed in PD starting from Cosmiques Hut. This popular route is less exposed to danger than the Gouter Route, but under certain circumstances both Mont Blanc du Tacul and Mont Maudit can develop slopes with very high risk of avalanches.
- The VallÃÆ' Â © e Blanche ski track is an off-piste ski route of 20s km, with no sign starting steeply from the Aiguille du Midi station and, due to its complexity across glaciated wrinkles and the need to search route, best done with mountain guides.
Name
The name "Aiguille du Midi" is translated as Needle of the Mid-day , and has been suggested this may be because the sun appears above its peak around midday when viewed from one of the city's churches.
The account must be treated as an apocrypha because, by definition: the sun will be visible from the church to pass by day only if it falls south.
Photo gallery
References
External links
- The Aiguille du Midi telepherique website
- 360 Â ° panorama of air from Aiguille du Midi (note: many tops are labeled incorrectly)
- A panoramic virtual tour from the top of Aiguille du Midi
- (Photos) 'Peak France' Photojournal from a short visit in TÃÆ'Ã… © Ã © rique de l'Aiguille du Midi
- (YouTube video) Climb Cosmiques Ridge from Aiguille du Midi
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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