Section 04 · Guides / Lifts / Rescue
The Mountain
The Compagnie des Guides, the PGHM, and the concession renewals that decide which lifts keep running.
5 pieces in this section
The Mountain · Lead
An Institution Older Than the Resorts Around It
The Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix was founded in 1821, predating the resort economy that grew around it; it remains a professional body with its own regulations, certification requirements and…
Exhibit B
The PGHM: State Rescue at Altitude
The Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne is France's specialist mountain rescue unit, operating out of Chamonix and other Alpine stations as a branch of the national gendarmerie.
Who Decides Whether the Lift Keeps Running
Ski-lift operations in France run on concessions granted by municipal authorities, and the renewal cycle is the legal moment at which a commune must decide whether the economics still hold.
The Aiguille du Midi and the Route Below It
The Aiguille du Midi cable car, which rises from Chamonix to 3,842 metres, gives access to the Vallée Blanche — a high-altitude glacier route requiring a guide and sitting outside the patrolled ski…
The Mer de Glace, by the Numbers
The Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in the French Alps, has a documented retreat record measured in length, depth and surface area over more than a century of glaciological observation.