33
By Will
Counter clockwise Tour Du Mont Blanc
Hike
Note: Best viewed in landscape orientation (hold phone sideways) so can see route details on left and map on right. No need to hold computer sideways as landscape orientation is the default.
When we learned our friends and fellow hiking enthusiast we’re planning to hike around the base of Mont Blanc, we invited ourselves along for the journey.
We tackled the almost hundred mile route in a counterclockwise direction divided into nine stages, skipping only a small portion due to timing constraints.
Our friend did all the planning and did an amazing job with it, with the help of the TMB Facebook group. Kudos to the TMB community for sharing their insight and knowledge to enable the journey for others.
The journey is special for countless reasons - the views, the experience, the work and the rewards, and the locals in the restaurants and shops. It’s also special because of the people and families you run into along the trail and again in the Refugios and hotels and restaurants. You share stories, tips, and next stops with these momentary friends as you make your way along the path in this shared experience.
June 24, 2024 - Geneva to Chamonix
- Arrive in Geneva
- Breakfast at Montreaux Jazz Cafe while waiting for bus
- Alpy bus to Chamomix
- Paragliding with Les Ailes Du Mont Blanc
- Lunch at Chalet 4810
- Sleep!
- Walk through town
- Dinner by at Brassiere Boccalatte
- Gelato from Chez Richard
1
Hike
June 25, 2024
June 25, 2024 - Les Houches to Contamines
Bus to Tram, Tram to top, then the hike starts!
- Buffet breakfast at Hotel Le Folie Douce
- Public transportation (bus) from Chamonix to Les Houches
- Picture under starting arch then walk to cable car station
- Bellevue cable car up to start of hike
- Swinging suspension bridge over glacial runoff
- Small snow crossing
- Highest point - Col de Tricot
- Lunch at Refuge de Miage
- End in Les Contamines
- Dinner and overnight at Chalet hotel Gai Soleil
2
Hike
Activity on June 26, 2024
June 26, 2024 - Contamines to Chapieux
3
Hike
June 27, 2024
June 27, 2024 - Chapieux to Les Elisabetta
from France into Italy!
4
Hike
June 28, 2024
June 28, 2024 - Les Elisabetta to Courmayeur
- Slice of bread, some jam, and apparently instant coffee for breakfast
- Two roads diverged and we took the road up!
- Beautiful panoramas, some river crossings, and a sketchy snow bridge crossing or two
- The snow bridges sometimes take you away from the trail - after all, with all the snow it’s hard to know where the trail is/was. The flat traverses are generally manageable. The inclined traverses were generally not bad going up. Going down could be tricky. And some of the flat traverses were on slopes where you’d slide quite a ways if you misstepped. So sometimes you had to leverage tunnel vision and just keep going. We did use our microspikes a few times. It has been warm. With the heat, those snow bridges will likely reveal the intended tmb and make the trail easier to navigate.
- Lunch at Mason Vielle - pasta, real coffee, desert and relaxing in the lounge chairs
- Walk down the ski slope under the double chair lift and through the forest under the gondola line into town
June 29, 2024 - Rest Day in Courmayeur
The breakfast at the Hotel Buton d’Or was delicious! Hot coffee, delicious pastries, eggs, etc. that really hit the spot!
Cable Car to the top
Celebration dinner in town
5
Hike
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2024 - Courmayer to Refuge Bonatti
6
Hike
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2024 - Refuge Bonatti to Champex
From a Italy into Switzerland
- At Refugio Bonati, over breakfast of cocoa crispies and cake, download Swiss transportation app and buy bus tickets for later in day
- Hike down to Valley floor in Val Ferret. Grab a sandwich and soda from the Refugio there.
- Start the ascent up to Grand Col Ferret. It starts easy enough then behind to get steep adding in some snow bridges for good measure.
- Stop for cuppicino at Refugio Helene.
- Resume ascent at times 60+ % grade. No trees here - just shrubs and rock and glacial runoff that at times runs down the trail. There’s plenty of mud at times though the footing is generally sure. Mud on the snow bridges takes most of the slop out of those steps.
- Windy up on Grand Col Ferret so snap a few pictures and continue onward into Switzerland.
- Up by the border, Switzerland is another world.
7
Hike
July 2, 2024
July 2, 2024 - Champex to Trient
8
Hike
July 3, 2024
July 3, 2024 - Trient to Tre-Le Champ
9
Hike
July 4, 2024
July 4, 2024 - Tre-Le Champ to Les Praz/Chamonix
Hike (including ladders!) to cable car to Chamonix
So ... we missed the ladders. We took the higher road instead.