Aiguille du Midi
Probably THE most dramatic lift served flight in the French Alps and often cited by enthusiastic solo pilots as one of the most dramatic flights in the world! A miniature expedition using crampons & with a mountain guide to access the launch area followed by a smooth aerial journey amidst the snow & ice adorned high alpine peaks and glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif. Not for the faint hearted !
What can you see ?
The experience offers stunning views encompassing the Aiguille du Midi, Mt Blanc, Italy, Switzerland , the valley Blanche. Depending upon the wind direction, we fly over the Valley Blanche & Mer de Glace glaciers or the Glacier des Bossons prior to eventually flying high over the town of Chamonix where we eventually land.
When & how long ?
We fly whenever the Aiguille du Midi lift is operating except July & August when the airspace in this area is reserved solely for the mountain rescue helicopters.
Flight time around 30-40 mins . Whole event time around 2.5 hours. Meeting time 8h30 (this may change slightly subject to mountain guide availability).
Scary ?
The Aiguille du Midi flight is very impressive and whilst we regularly have people fly fly form here without having paraglided or climbed before, it is a lot more comfortable if you have either already paraglided or have some experience with climbing or using crampons. Due to the demands of high altitude, you must have a reasonable degree of fitness.
The access is quite intimidating, as you will be walking down a narrow slope with steep drops on either side: This video shows it quite clearly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKo1uqqyZxA) , during the winter months the descent feels less exposed as the ridge is usually equipped with fixed ropes & semi prepared trails. It’s the role of the mountain guide who is roped up with you to keep you safe but it is a team effort. If the guide does his work of taking us to the take off and the conditions prevent us flying then you would have to pay the guide for his services (50 Euros / person), this is quite rare as we can usually decide upon the suitability of the conditions from the top of the cable car before descending the ridge. NB: The fee of the guide is included in the cost of the flight if we fly.
If we could not fly from the summit because of potentially stronger winds at altitude, then it is often possible to fly from lower down at the Plan de l’Aiguille 2300m. Cost: 130 Euros, 20 – 25 mins flight.
Equipment
Please note that you will need to have suitable warm clothing, rigid soled mountaineering boots and crampons. Regular hiking boots are not suitable.
You can rent mountain clothing, boots & crampons from sports shops in Chamonix. We can sometimes help with some items like gloves etc.
We will supply climbing harness and helmet.
Booking
Due to its high altitude we do need some good fortune with the weather so as to have suitable conditions. It’s usually best to have several days available so that we may postpone if necessary but we can get lucky & have good conditions on a given day.
Due to the high altitude & technical aspects of this flight we can only accept athletic passengers and for safety reasons we apply weight limits of 90kg male or 75kg female. These limits may vary a little depending upon age & how the weight is distributed !
Cost: 340€ (lift ticket not included: 50€)
