Aiguille du Midi Rock Climbing

Though mainly thought of as a quick high access point for climbers and skiers, and as an amazing view spot with exhibits for tourists, it also has great climbing of its own, both granite rock and ice+snow+mixed.

Some of its great routes (especially ice+snow) are approached from the Plan de l'Aiguille lift, like most routes in the Aiguilles de Chamonix, so sometimes the Midi is thought of as part of that area.

Most rock routes (and ski descents) are approached from the top from the Aiguille du Midi top station, and the others are at least descended from Midi top station.

Popular climbing routes include:

• Arete des Cosmiques - [see this Route page]
• South Face (Voie Rébuffat-Baquet) - [see this Route page]
• Frendo Spur - [see this Route page]
• Midi-Plan Traverse.

Furthermore, the construction of the Refuge des Cosmiques has allowed people to stay for multiple days at high altitude without having to carry extensive gear.

The accessibility of this region has made it much more popular than similarly high altitude regions in the alps. For some this is a boon as the routes are likely to be better equipped than other routes high in the alps. Also, there are likely to be many parties attempting the same routes and sometimes it is necessary to start unreasonably early if you want to be the first one on a climb.

The last two paragraphs are from a duplicate page from Seleucus