Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cost and Hours:
Round-trip-€28, one-way-€23, family rates available, prices in-
clude gondola and ice caves entry, daily 8:30-17:00, July-Aug 8:00-18:00, 2-3/hour, 20
minutes, confirm times with TI or call 04 50 53 12 54.
Visiting the Glacier:
Find the
view deck
across from the train station. France's
largest glacier, at eight miles long, is impressive from above and below. The swirling gla-
cier extends under the dirt about a half-mile downhill to the left. Imagine that it recently
reached as high as the vegetation below (see the dirt cliffs—called moraines—left behind
in its retreat). In 1860, this glacier stretched all the way down to the valley floor. They say
thisfast-movingglacierisjustdoingitscyclicalthing,growingandshrinking—athousand
years ago, cows grazed on grassy fields here. Al Gore thinks people are speeding up the
process.
Use an
orientation table
as you look up to the peaks.
Monsieur Dru
's powerful
spire, at about 11,700 feet, makes an irresistible target for climbers. It was first scaled
in 1860 (long before the train you took here was built) and was recently free-climbed
(no ropes, belays, etc.); see the colored lines indicating different routes taken—one by an
