More on Skiing L'Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix

Today is a transition day for us.

When we had our bags packed, we loaded up our car but then walked back into town one last time to grab a bite of lunch. Along the way, we passed by the train station where the train to the Mer de Glace departs. We hope to be able to return to Chamonix to do that sometime before the glacier disappears.

We really enjoyed the pedestrian area in Chamonix, with its quality shops and restaurants and beautiful night-time lights.

With much sadness, we left Chamonix after lunch and drove less than an hour to a hotel on the outskirts of Geneva, which will hopefully make for an easy drive to the airport tomorrow morning. We will be turning in our rental car, "Slippy", who has served us well, and flying from Geneva, Switzerland to Barcelona, Spain. When we arrive in Barcelona, we will pick up another rental car and then drive to Soldeu, Andorra. So tomorrow will be a busy travel day!

In my last post I spoke about meeting Hannah, the American owner of the Big Horn Bistro. We had a chance to ask her more about skiing from the top of the Aiguille du Midi. This is probably the most extreme, most dangerous skiing in the world. It must be done with a guide, due to many risks, including avalanche. You cannot show up and do it alone. (While we were waiting to board our tram, Brock struck up a conversation with two naive female skiers from Scotland. They were about to go up to the Aiguille du Midi for their first ski day in years. He convinced them they should start at an easier part of the mountain, possibly saving their lives!)

Hannah said that she does this excursion about once a year, that it is 18K of skiing, and the length of time it takes varies between 3 and 6 hours. We asked why people use the mountain climbing gear. She said it is because you are skiing on a glacier. It is extremely dangerous, there are crevasses everywhere, and the glacier changes daily. If you fall into a crevasse but you have mountaineering gear on, at least you have a chance to be rescued. Due to the changing nature of the glacier, there are probably 1,000 different ways to ski down.

Hannah said that in the past people used to be able to ski from the top of the Aiguille du Midi right back into town. Now, the glacier has receded so much that at the end you have to hike out. The mountain climbing gear is also used for that if needed.

Crampons are needed in the beginning to help with your footing when you are making your way down the mountain to the point where you begin to ski. You will also be roped in with the other people in your group. Crampons are not required but they look like a good idea to me.

There is no way you will ever find me doing this. Just watching the skiers descend to their starting points was scary enough for me!

I found this video which tells more about it. Enjoy!

This video shows what it's like to ski on the glacier, with crevasses right and left. This group took an "easier" way down via the Vallee Blanche.