Description: This is a superb trip. If the weather justifies the expense you cannot expect it to be anything other than crowded, and it is not cheap. Even so you can only get a small number into the Telecabine, which forms the middle part of the trip, although there will be a big queue to get on. As for the expense, it is well worth it for an experience quite different from anything else.
It can be done in either direction, but we started at Chamonix and caught a bus through the Mont Blanc tunnel to the base of the cable-car from Courmayeure to point Helbronner. Obviously most of the bustrip gives very limited scenery indeed, but this is just to get in position for the marvels. The ascent to Pointe Helbronner would be a thing to remember in its own right if it was not immediately overshadowed by the telecabine section.
There are trips up to the Pointe every 20 minutes, and the top is 3,462 metres high. You get off into a world of snow and giant peaks, many above 4,000 metres. We were in clouds initially, and after a short time the sun broke through. The magic of the moment could well have been shattered as a 14 year old voice came out with "Ah, le soleil" in what was clearly a school send-up of the French. Far from engendering any irritation, however, it spurred on most of the queue to make competitive noises of the same ilk. Moreover the queue instantly diminished as the appeal of staying around magnified many times.
From here the most wonderful part of the trip starts, a fairly slow swing across from Pointe Helbronner to Aiguille de Midi. The fact that it is an international trip is not very significant. This high icefield, with its crevasses virtually a world apart, was phenomenal. It's about five kilometres and it took a good half-hour to do the trip.
The last section of the trip was a bit more rushed than we should have wished because it was getting near to closing time, a result of insufficient planning on our part. As a consequence my ears were popping more than they should have, but nothing could spoil the magnificence of the descent. It is always good to get down and look back up to what you have done, but our main feeling was one of regret that it was over.
Except for the brief period of freezing before the sun broke through, every moment was a delight!
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