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Aiguille du Midi (el. 3842 m./12,605 ft.) is a rocky outcrop in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps.
The cable car to the summit, 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. In a spectacular ascent it travels from Chamonix to the top of the Aiguille du Midi - an altitude gain of over 2800 m in just 20 minutes.
The Aiguille summit now contains a panoramic viewing platform, a cafe and a gift shop. The popular 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 crosses the Glacier de Geant to Point Helbronner (3452m) at the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Massif. Point Helbronner is served with a cable car from Entrevés, a village near Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley (Italy).
Elevation 3842 m./12,605 ft. Location France Range Mont Blanc Coordinates 45°52′44″N, 6°53′18″E Type Granite First ascent August 4, 1818 by A. Malczewski, J.M. Balmat and 5 guides Translation Needle of the South (French)
Iink - http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/
Odd stuff from Wikapedia
The valley is mentioned in Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, as the scene of an encounter between the doctor and his monster.
James Salter's novel "Solo Faces", based on the life of climber Gary Hemming is set in Chamonix.
The valley is the set of the Alias episode "After Six". Sydney and Vaughan need to break into a chalet in Chamonix by getting through a lethal response system built by Toni Cummings, played by Vivica A. Fox.
Chamonix is also a snow track on Sony's Gran Turismo 4.
Chamonix is a Chilean ice-cream brand, owned by Nestlé
Twin towns with Davos, Switzerland, also Aspen, Colorado
Chamonix shares Mont Blanc with the Italian comune of Courmayeur.
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