Miage Glacier
Upper area of the glacier, in the foreground of the Lac du Miage
The Ghiacciaio del Miage (often double Glacier du Miage Miage or German ) is a valley glacier in the Mont Blanc massif. It is located in Courmayeur in the Italian autonomous region of Aosta Valley south of Mont Blanc, near the French border. With tens of kilometers, it is the longest glacier in Italy. It covers an area of about 1100 hectares, making it the third largest glacier in Italy.
Its origin takes the glacier in the southern flank of the Aiguille de Bionnassay, where he is still called Ghiacciaio di Bionnassay (French Glacier de Bionnassay ). It runs from the Col de Bionnassay ( 3892 m ) west of the Aiguilles Grises and east of the southern ridge of the Aiguille de Bionnassay about two kilometers to the south. The glacier is relatively steep in this area, about two kilometers, it overcomes a difference in altitude of over 1000 meters.
Below the Col de Miage makes the glacier at 2,800 m has a kink at about 45 ° to the southeast. From here it's called Ghiacciaio del Miage. He now runs much flatter and relatively straight about seven kilometers south-east, with an average width of 500 meters.
In the upper part it is fed from the north by two other glaciers. At about 2500 m of down -withdrawing from the Dôme du Goûter Ghiacciaio del Dôme (French Glacier du Dôme) flows into the Miage, to around 2400 m, it is achieved by Ghiacciaio del Monte Bianco (French Glacier du Mont Blanc), who from the southwest slopes Mont Blanc is fed.
Below 2400 m the Ghiacciaio del Miage flows in a constricted valley of cliffs, west bounded by the east wall of the Petit Mont Blanc, to the east by the steep west face of Mont Brouillard.
At an altitude of about 2000 m, it leaves the narrow rock cut and makes a bend to the east. Here is south directly on the glacier of the small Lac du Miage.
To the east of the glacier about two kilometers flows now still in the Val Veny, a side valley of the Valle d'Aosta where it splits into two glacier tongues. The glacier extends today to around 1700 m. The melt water feeds the river Dora Baltea which opens at Crescentino in the butt.
The Ghiacciaio del Miage is mostly completely covered with debris, which provides habitat for more than 80 vascular plants. The lower part of the glacier is therefore ( German about: Miagegarten ) Giardino del Miage called.
The glacier is hardly shrunk over the last 150 years.
About the Ghiacciaio del Miage today lead the hut ascent to 3071 m lying on Rifugio Francesco Gonella (sometimes Refuge du Dôme), which serves as a base for the Italian normal route on Mont Blanc. Furthermore, the approach routes lead to Durier Refuge ( 3349 m ) and to the non- waiting Biwakschachtel Refuge Bivouac Quintino Sella ( 3396 m) over the glacier.