If you are looking for a unique perspective, the Mont Blanc Skyway is certainly the right choice. Suspended, inside modern cabins, and with your head in the clouds to enjoy one of the wonders of nature. The mountain accompanies you on this short journey, reserving the surprise of an exceptional panorama at the end.
Skyway, the path
It starts from Pontal d'Entreves, near Courmayeur, where a modern structure awaits visitors. The area has about 300 parking spaces, as well as bars, toilets and everything that characterizes an equipped system. From here begins the journey lasting a total of 15 minutes. Ready to board a futuristic cabin that hardly resembles traditional cable cars. Round and rotating, with heated floor and anti-fog glass. Features that contribute to a particular and suggestive experience, of which the surrounding landscape is undisputed accomplice. The first ascent leads to the Pavillon du Mont Fréty, an intermediate station where the splendid Alpine botanical garden is located. But also a high altitude cellar where Blanc de Morgex sparkling wine is produced.
Already here the view is considerable but it is by continuing towards the third stage that one reaches the maximum from this experience. At the end of the path arrives at Punta Helbronner. Entering the futuristic station, it is possible to visit the permanent display of crystals. There is also a medical investigation device here. Wanted by the University of Milan, it allows you to collect data on the effects of high altitude on the human body. But undoubtedly the highlight of the whole Skyway is offered by the panoramic terrace. Equipped with an anorak even in the height of summer, you can access the circular structure, a 360-degree view, at 3466 meters high, in the embrace of the mountain.
Engineering and nature
The peculiarity of the path is the result of the fusion between human prodigies and natural outcomes. The rotating movement of the cabins accompanies the gaze on a singular view. During the ascent, famous peaks stand out in the distance: the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, the Gran Paradiso. And then again the Mont Blanc, the Tooth of the Giant, the Auguilles of Chamonix. In summer it is also possible to continue beyond Punta Helbronner, towards France. A cable car crosses the border, flying over the Gigante glacier, allowing you to continue on to Chamonix. The possibility of admiring such beauty of nature is due to the engineering skill of man.
Anyone can not help but grasp this aspect. Particularly when you are about to land at the final stage of the Skyway. Approaching you are incredibly amazed by the Punta Helbronner station which appears as a “slide” on the summit. An aspect that can be appreciated again from the Torino Refuge. Located just below the panoramic terrace, it can now be reached via an elevator dug into the mountain. From here, looking back, you can see the cantilevered structure of the Skyway, as if it were perched on the top. Inaugurated in 2015, the modern cable car covers an altitude difference of more than 2000 meters, reaching the final summit in a rather short time. An enchanting path where the gaze and the mind are lost between the grandeur of the mountain and the desire of man to cross new goals.
