Day 4 Courmayeur

YOur hotel. 

After much discussion Leah and I decided to spend the day in Courmayeur. We wanted to ride the sky way up into the mountains. Our plans were almost unhinged when we didn't ask how to get there. Upon realizing that it would be a five mile highway walk, Leah decided to spring for a taxi. It was 20 Euro for a five minute drive. Once there I made sure to determine how to get a taxi home. 

We knew that the Sky Way was a recommended activity but neither of us were prepared for how phenomenal it really was. 

We took the skyway to Pavillion du Mint Frety and got one the next section to Punta Hellabronner at 11371ft. As the car ascended the car rotated to give us 360 degree views. We were both a bit out of breath climbing the stairs there to get to the  view area due to the thin air. 

If you look closely you can see people walking on the glacier in the track. When we came down we saw tents set up in this area. I am sure it was some type of mountaineering training camp. 

We then crossed into France and bought tickets for our next segment. Yes the first part was Italian and the second French. In fact you can take it up and over to Chamonix. We boarded a smaller four person cable car for the remainder of the journey. 

This was truly spectacular. The cable car was suspended above the glaciers. It rose over and dropped down large rock monoliths above the glaciers. It would also hang suspended as passengers loaded and unloaded. The trip up to Aguille du Midi took about 30 minutes. During this time I took so many photos. 

Above is only one of the amazing  sights that we saw. Below are cable cars coming down  past us. 

As we approached the top we could see two camps of small tents and small groups of mountaineers ascending towards the summit.   See if you can find one of these small camps in the next photo. There were about five tents but it looks like a speck. 

The top was even more exciting with people climbing the towering rocks that surround the cable car station and mountaineers leaving out a tunnel in their full gear and spectacular views of various summits, including Mont Blanc, glaciers and views of Chamonix. 

Above is a successful climber who later climbed up a ladder to one of the observation stations after he finishes his climb. 

Above are views of mountaineers exiting the cable car station on their way to tackle the mountain- snow ice and crevasses. 

Above is MONT BLANC. We saw tiny little ant like humans moving slowly towards the summit. 

Now what kind of day would it be without a few oddities.  First the restroom - it was one big room for both males and females      with a divider in between.  Second I yelled at a young child who probably didn't even understand English. He was breaking up ice and kicking it. Not so much of a problem except it was landing on people coming up the stairs. Third, we didn't eat much today and tried to grab an early dinner only to be thwarted by the fact that most restaurants don't open until 6:30 or 7. Found a pizza place that serves pizza which was delicious.  

Tomorrow we head off on another challenging day with 5000 ft elevation gain.  We will be staying at Refugio Bonatti.  I am not sure about Internet there but we should have Internet the next day.