Excursions > Local excursion Aiguille du Midi

Brévent-Montenvers/Mer de Glace

27 June + 29 June

The cable car to the Aiguille du Midi has been closed until the 7th July for exceptional maintenance. Therefore, we had to modify the program of this field trip...

You will take the one-century old cogwheel train to access the Montenvers (1913 m a.s.l.) and admire the Mer de Glace – the largest French glacier – towered by the iconic Drus: there you will get information about the rock instabilities in their West face since several decades. After a short trip with a small cable car, you will be able – if you wish – to go down to the glacier to visit its carved ice cave.Then, to go up the staircase with its 450 steps will give you the opportunity to realize how awesome the shrinkage of the glacier has been since 1990!

From the Brévent at 2525 m a.s.l., you will enjoy the panorama on the entire Mont Blanc massif. You will be informed about the studies and monitoring carried on at the Aiguille du Midi peaking at 3842 m a.s.l. above Chamonix, one of the few high-elevated sites worldwide where rock wall permafrost is studied. Rockfall frequency related to permafrost degradation and cold-based glacier monitoring will be at the “menu” too.

For more information, please have a look at the detailed program, and/or contact the responsible of the excursion (Ludovic Ravanel, ludovic.ravanel@univ-smb.fr).