In Chamonix one can board a cable car to the Aiguille du Midi, below the summit of Mt. Blanc (the highest mountain in Europe).
Buried deep in the mountain is a passageway to another cable car system, which can take you across the back of the alps to high in the mountains above Italy. From there you can purchase a ticket for more cable cars down to the Italian town of Courmayeur.
The year after we crossed the alps, many people became stranded because of high winds and had to spend the night suspended over the glaciers.
A bus allows for a pleasant ride back through a long tunnel connecting Italy and France.