Day Off 4: Step into the Void...

In my last blog Day Off 3: The 7 Wonders of Paradiski! I wrote that this day off might just top it.

Well... it did.

A location that kept popping up on various travel and photography websites whilst I prepared for these days off was L'Aiguille du Midi.

L'Aiguille du Midi

For those of you who haven't heard of it, L'Aiguille du Midi is a mountain in Chamonix, France with a summit of 3,842m - accessible by the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi cable car. The summit has several terraces that offer a 360° view of all the French, Swiss and Italian Alps but most notably, the highest mountain in the Alps and the European Union, Mont Blanc (4,810m).

With all of that in mind, I was keen to visit L'Aiguille du Midi on a clear day and, after chatting with my friend and colleague Michelle, eager to visit a new attraction that has only recently been unveiled. An attraction called 'Step into the Void'. 

At 3,842m, the 'Step into the Void' is a glass box built on the side of one of L'Aiguille du Midi's viewing platforms. The box, comprised of three glass walls, floor and ceiling panels, allows visitors to stand above the 1035m drop to the peak beneath their feet in total safety and admire the views from a dramatic perspective.

Standing above the 1035m drop

Each one of the glass panels is custom built to the highest standards for safety and clarity. The five glass panels (12mm thick) consist of three layers of glass binded together allowing the structure to withstand winds of more than 220km/h and a maximum temperature of 60°. You also get given a pair of weird shoe/socks to wear over your boots so the glass doesn't get messed up!

Once we'd entered the box a couple more times and took more photos we made our way back down to Chamonix to board the snow train to the Mer de Glace - another point of interest I've been meaning to visit.

Upon arriving at the mountain station, we made our way to the cable which took us down to the stairs leading to the glacier and the stunning view below.

Mer de Glace in the background

The Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) glacier is located on the northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif. At 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long and 200m (660 ft) deep, it is the longest glacier in France.

Stairway down to the glacier

From the cable car it took about 10 minutes to walk down to the glacier. At various points down the stairs are signs of where the glacier used to be but is gradually retreating year on year. 

Once at the bottom of the stairs we entered the glacier through an ice cave that has been carved through it. The inside was decorated with old photos and mannequins depicting the early days of mountaineering. Lights had been installed in and around the ice but for the most part is was a natural blue.

Entrance to the ice caves

Although the entrance to the ice cave was pretty immense, the sculptures in the caves were pretty crap compared to others I've been too. The highlight of the Mer de Glace, as you've seen, are the views of the landscape. Once we'd had a short look around the caves we made our way back up the stairs, onto the cable car and boarded the train back to Chamonix. 

I took too many photos in Chamonix to put in the blog but I've put together a gallery of over 100 photos which can be seen here which is well worth a look!

To Day Off 4 up, it has been without doubt the best day off so far and will be a difficult one to top (but I'm still going to try)!

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