Chamonix sits below the tallest of the Alps, Mont Blanc. Chamonix (3,396 ft, 2018 pop. 8,648) was the site of the First Winter Olympic Games in 1924. The Chamonix Valley is famous for its challenging skiing and range of off-piste routes. Mont-Blanc (15,773.7 ft, 4807.81m)
The Aiguille du Midi cable car departs from the center of Chamonix town up to the Aiguille du Midi. a 12,605 ft (3.842m) peak in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps. This is the closest you can get to the summit of Mont-Blanc without hiking or climbing. It is the highest mountain peak served by an aerial lift system. The name translates literally to “Needle of the Mid-day”. The mountain lies to the south-east of Chamonix and when viewed from in front of the church it indicates that it is noon when the sun passes over its summit.
The Aiguille du Midi is an extremely popular attraction with nearly half a million visitors per year. More than 20,000 people try to summit Mont Blanc each year. The intermediate point, Plan de l’Aiguille (2,317m), is the mid station of the Aiguille du Midi cable car and is an access point for off-piste skiing and ski touring in the winter season, hiking, rock climbing and paragliding in the spring, summer and autumn seasons.
