Turin & the Alps - Italy - page 442

Mont Blanc Hours & Prices
Hours for the Monte Bianco/Mont Blanc cable cars vary wildly, and service can be
affected by weather conditions (winds often close the gondola between
Helbronner and Aiguille du Midi). For a report of weather at the top and on the
other side, dial % 0165-89-961 or go to www.fondazionemontagnasicura.org or
www.ohm-chamonix.com.
In theory, the cable cars run roughly every 20 minutes from 7:20am (8:20am in
fall and spring) to 12:30pm and again 2 to 5:30pm (July 22-Aug 27; closed Nov
2-Dec 10). The last downward run is 5:30pm in summer and 4:30pm in winter. The
Hellbronner-Aiguille du Midi gondola is only open May through September.
The ride to Punta Helbronner costs € 32 round-trip, or € 88 for the family pass
(two adults and two kids). From Helbronner to Aiguille du Midi, you must buy tick-
ets at Helbronner for an additional € 17. To continue all the way from Helbronner
to Chamonix in France costs € 41 each way —which is why it makes more sense to
buy the € 82 “Trans Mont Blanc” tickets at La Palud, which includes all five cable-
car rides, from La Palud up over the top and back down to Chamonix, and then a
bus ride through the Mont Blanc tunnel back to Italy.
From approximately June 25 to September 4, a few pricing rules change. The
family ticket rises to € 98, and the system of discounts gets confusing. In summer,
children 5 to 11 get 50% off, children 12 to 15 get 25% off, and adults over 60 get
a 10% discount. In winter, kids 5 to 11 still get 50% off, but older kids pay full
price, and the age for seniors rises to 65 (but the discount also rises, to 20% off).
on hourly buses), across Mont Blanc to several ski stations in Italy and France, and
finally down into Chamonix, France.
You make the trip in stages—first past two intermediate stops to the last aerie
on Italian soil, Punta Helbronner (20 min. each way). At 3,300m (11,000 ft.),
this ice-clad lookout provides stunning views of the Mont Blanc glaciers, the
Matterhorn, and other peaks looming in the distance. (In summer, you may want
to hop off at Pavillion Frety, before you get to Punta Helbronner, and tour a pleas-
ant botanic garden, Giardino Alpino Saussurea; daily June 24-Sept 30.)
For sheer drama, continue from Punta Helbronner to Aiguille du Midi in
France dangling in a tiny gondola more than 2,300m (7,544 ft.) above the Géant
Glacier and the Vallée Blanche (30 min.). From Aiguille du Midi you can descend
over more glaciers and dramatic valleys on the French flank of Mont Blanc to the
resort town of Chamonix (50 min.).