Today is Mont Blanc day - the day we finally get up close and personal with the big mountain. And what luck! This is the most beautiful day we have had and no clouds in the sky to hide our view.
A short walk from our hotel was the station for the cable cars which take us to several levels.
We first packed 50 people into one that took us to Plan de L’Aiguille at 7,600 ft.
The views looking back on the Chamonix valley were awesome.
We debarked from that and got on another cable car that took us to a facility known as Aiguille de Midi.
To get a sense of high up we are going, look at this photo of Plan de L’Aiguielle as we lift off and how it looks as we elevate.
Immediately, we boarded an elevator that took us to the summit of this peak at 12,604 ft.
From here we had a clear view of Mont Blanc. In this photo, the summit is the rounded hump in the middle.
(Mont Blanc hump is to our far right.)
This really makes you feel like you are on top of the world. There is a nice fenced lookout with views of the surrounding ranges.
From another side, we could see the Matterhorn. That is the pointed triangle to the right of the closest mountain.
We could also see mountaineers and hikers on the trails below. These are not ants but people.
We spent a little time in the museum learning about the different extreme sports that occur here, like BASE jumping (Building, Antenna, Span and Earth (like cliffs).)
We also walked through an ice cave
and heard a discussion on the effect on rocks of the declining ice cap - that they are being exposed by the melting ice with no “glue” to hold them together.
We then took the cable cars down and had the afternoon free. Sydney and I had a Croque Monsieur, a ham and cheese sandwich with the cheese toasted on top, at a little cafe.
Afterwards, I followed Sydney and 4 others up on a cable car on the opposite side of the valley where they did paragliding. This was definitely not my thing but I enjoyed going with them and watching them take off. They launched from Plan Praz at 6,740 ft. and landed down below in a field near Chamonix center.
Here are some photos of Sydney soaring.
Meanwhile, I took another cable car to another summit Le Brévent, at 8,500 ft.
The views of Mont Blanc were still very clear. I feel like everywhere I look today I see Mont Blanc and previously it had been eluding us. (It is the high hump and the Bosson Glacier is to the left going down.)
I watched some more hang gliders who came close to the mountains.
Then I headed down the mountain and took a final walk around the village.
Tonight we had our farewell dinner at the hotel. It was a lovely occasion with toasts all around.
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