We visited Aiguille du Midi, admittedly not even in the top 20 peaks on the Mont Blanc Massif, in December 2013. For non-mountaineers such as ourselves (read also, non-lunatics, in relation to Mont Blanc at any rate), this is the closest one is going to get to Mont Blanc, in the winter anyway. It is accessed by a 20 minute cable car from Chamonix, at one point supposedly the world’s highest cable car. The list description mentions the glaciers and peaks of the Alps but suggests what sets it apart is its place in the origin of mountaineering.

It was a bright and clear winters day and there were excellent views both of Mont Blanc and across that part of the Alps, from an altitude of 3,800m. A couple of attractions add some value to the experience. The little museum about mountaineering was enlightening and frightening in equal measure as it was my first introduction to the lengths and risks that some mountaineers go to, in terms of free climbing and wingsuit flights! I also very briefly stepped onto the glass skywalk suspended from the visitor centre despite my fear of heights. Since our trip, there is also now “Le Tube” which is an outdoor suspended tunnel walkway.

Having self-driven in the early morning from Geneva across well-kept winter roads, there were not too many people about. Other memories include watching a lone climber slowly making his way up the snowy ridge, a helicopter hovering directly beside us …