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| Our cable car ride up to the (foggy) top of the Aiguille du Midi. At over 12,600 feet, it still stands 3,000 feet below its neighbor Mont Blanc. |
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| A display board showing us the peaks we would have been able to see (including Monte Cervino/Matterhorn) were they not socked in by fog. |
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| Cable cars passing us as we crossed from Aiguille du Midi in France to Pointe Helbronner in Italy (11,350 feet). |
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| Enjoying the ride in our cable car. |
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| Clearing skies as we approach Italy. |
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| Hiking out onto the glacier below Pointe Helbronner on the Italian/French border. Amy was not a fan of my going out there without any ropes, poles, or crampons so she took this picture to emphasize the warning sign. I am happy to report that I returned unscathed. |
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| Looking from the clear skies on the Italian side to the cloudy skies on the French side. |
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| The clouds clearing from the peaks of Mont Blanc du Tacul. |
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| The ride back to France, now under sunny skies. |
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| Mont Blanc, stubbornly holding on to its clouds. |
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| Hikers leaving Aiguille du Midi to begin the ascent of Mont Blanc. |
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| Chamonix in the valley far below(7,600 feet) as we being our hike on the Gran Balcon Nord from Plan de l'Aiguille |
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| The Gran Balcon Nord trail. |
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| Stopping for a snack break along our trail. |
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| Looking back towards the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. |
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| Stopping to take in an incredible view of the Mer de Glace ("Sea of Ice") glacier as it snakes its way down between the mountains. |
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| The entrance to the Mer de Glace cave. Of the five tunnels visible, this year's tunnel (the one we were able to go in to) is second from the right. The other tunnels are from previous years. The glacier, which is 4.3 miles long and 600 feet deep, moves an average of 90 meters per year. |
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| Like the glaciers we saw last year in Glacier National Park, the Mer de Glace is shrinking. It is still the largest glacier in Europe, but it has shrunk significantly in recent years. the glacier has receeded 2.5 meters in the past 30 years and has lost 120 meters of thickness in the past century. This picture shows where the glacier came to in 1990 - a good 100 feet above where the glacier reaches now. |
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| The entrance to the glacier "cave". |
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| Inside the glacier. |
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| The glacier "entrances". |
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| Hiking back down towards Chamonix. |
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| "Happy Hour" at the Chalet Buvette de Caillet, about halfway down the mountain. Stopped for some really tasty homemade apple-blackberry juice and incredible views. |
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