Before I get to the photos, here’s some information to help avoid confusion over similar place names in Chamonix. Les Aiguilles de Chamonix are a range of jaggedy mountains that combine with the Mt. Blanc Massif to form the border between France and Italy. A cable car (known as the Téléphérique) takes you up one of these mountains, Aiguille du Midi (3,802 meters; 12,473 feet), where you can capture images like this one. And hey, there’s Mont Blanc (4,803 meters; 15,780 feet), the tallest mountain in Western Europe, with the cloud sitting on top.

At Plan de l'Aiguille (see next photo), you exit the cable car from Chamonix and transfer to the car that takes you up to Aiguille du Midi. The ride from Plan de l'Aiguille to Aiguille du Midi takes five minutes. In that time, you gain about 4,500 feet, the last few hundred almost straight up against the sheer rock face of the mountain itself. My souvenir book says the ride between these two points is the longest single cable car span in the world. I can see how it might be scary for those afraid of heights, but it also is thrilling.