The new lift and Glaciorium are all part of major works underway at the Montenvers site to ensure access to the Mer de Glace and high mountains in France. Living in Chamonix, it's not easy to escape the fact that, over the last 10 years, the famous Mer de Glace has looked less like a sea of ice and more like a sea of rubble. According to the latest data, France's largest glacier and the second-longest in the Alps is a testament to climate change, losing 6 metres of thickness per year.
It once reached from the slopes of Mont Blanc to the valley floor in Chamonix. Despite this, the glacier, also known as Montenvers, attracts thousands of visitors every year, with some 450,000 people coming in 2023. And since last winter, they could see it up close, at an altitude of 1,913 metres via the new cable car.
In just two minutes, visitors are transported between the viewing platform and the ice below. On board, they can admire the area's beauty, with its famous peaks, like the Grandes Jorasses and the Drus, that have enticed mountaineers for the past four centuries. Last year, visitors had to climb a long, steep staircase to reach the site because the glacier had drawn back so much.
With the continuing glacier melt, the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc had to adapt to make it easier for people to get around and reach popular attractions, such as the glacier cave, which is carved out anew every year so people can see the glacier from the inside. "It takes 10 minutes to get down to the cave, wher.