Mont Blanc

We certainly didn’t climb Mont Blanc... Like all ordinary people, we went up in a cable car to an altitude of 3,842 meters, to the summit called Aiguille du Midi. From here, climbers begin their ascent of Mont Blanc.

The Aiguille du Midi lift is located in the center of the town of Chamonix; prices and schedule are here

Writing about our impressions seems pointless. It was simply unforgettable... Only a little disappointing that we couldn’t climb Mont Blanc. But everything is still ahead. Probably.

We weren’t lucky with the weather that day. We were driving to Chamonix in disappointment. The whole sky was covered with gray rain clouds. By the time we got to Chamonix, it had started drizzling. We wandered around Chamonix a bit looking for the cable car. There were no signs at all, and it wasn’t clear where to go. We walked at random, and it turned out we just had to go to the city center, and then things became clear.

We bought tickets. In the cable car, somewhere after 3,000 meters, it felt a little strange. The altitude was making itself known. But we rose above the clouds! It was sunny and wonderful here....

We walked back and forth for a long time. From one observation deck to another.

We met an amazing man. He was taking his two children — two girls — up Mont Blanc. One was about 10 years old, the other around 7. I was deeply impressed by this... Probably this is the highest expression of parental love — not to be afraid and to lead your children into the mountains. The children were fully equipped, including goggles and crampons. They put the crampons on their boots as if they had done it a hundred times already. When they disappeared into the snowy haze, it became sad.

We didn’t want to go back down to gray, gloomy Chamonix. But when we drank the tea made here (on a gas burner, in a mug we had brought with us) and there was no more way to warm up, we headed down...