The
Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m) 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. Thus it remains 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 9/5/2012 to 30/11/2012) is €52.20 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 claimed by the
Compagnie du Mont-Blanc to be so called because of its position due south of the church in Chamonix
[2]. (Midi also means "Noon")