Day 10 Off Day
Chamonix
0 Miles, Aiguille du Midi Cable Car

I’ve traded in my pair of sweaty shins for a pair of sweaty palms. I’m pretty sure my fellow trekking buddy Steve has too, sharing my extreme dislike of these ridiculous cable cars that ascend to places not meant for human exploration. We are on our way to the top of the Aiguille du Midi and I know for a fact that if this car stops moving, so will my heart. I would mention this to Steve but he is staring in such deep concentration at his shoes rather than the world dropping out from under us that I opt not to bother him.

Having successfully completed our trip around the Mont Blanc massif yesterday, our tour guides Jen and Erica have one last opportunity to do us in and have deftly selected this dental-floss ascent to the top of the Europe as their weapon of choice. According to Wikipedia, which means what I’m about to type must be true, the cable car to the top of this summit “holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world.” These young gals have some odd fixation with making us continuously ascend higher.

But once safely back on Terra Firma, even if in this instance I mean the top of a pointy rock at 12,600 feet, I can begin to appreciate why they brought us up here. I know I keep repeating myself and that could potentially be due to oxygen deprivation combined with extreme fatigue, but the views are absolutely stunning. The best news is that the line for the Step into the Void attraction, where one steps out into a glass box suspended 3000 feet above nothing, is too long to accommodate the window of time we have available, so I am at least spared this one small displeasure today.

And really, in spite of my sweaty palms and wish to stay below the clouds, it’s one last great day shared with Team Tour du Mont Blanc before our final dinner and parting farewells this evening. I cannot say enough great things about the wonderful experience we have just shared together. Final thoughts to come …