Tour du Mont Blanc
Introduction
170kms, 10,000m ascent
The Tour du Mont Blanc is a 170km route around Mont Blanc. It traditionally starts near Chamonix, France passing through Italy then Switzerland before heading back into France to finish in Chamonix. The route involves 10,000m of ascent and 10,000m of descent through stunning scenery.
Having set a goal to do the Tour Du Mont Blanc in 2020, the first lockdown gave me plenty of time to prepare and plan every detail of my route. Throughout I worked to a departure date of 1 July and was delighted that it was able to happened. My friend Lou & I took a flight to Geneva, a bus to Chamonix and headed for the mountains. The route I have outlined below is pretty much the route we took - just slightly improved in places - I can highly recommend it. The Tour du Mont Blanc was a fabulous introduction to hiking in the Alps. What an adventure! Can't wait to go back.
Day 1 Chamonix to Les Contamines-Montjoie
13.5km, 834m ascent, 1400m descent, 5.5hrs
Take the free bus from Chamonix to the start point, Les Houches and from there the Bellevue lift will greatly help your ascent on the first day and give you a gentler introduction to the TMB. Whilst the views on this first day are meant to be stunning I was in a cloud for much of day 1 but the path was easy enough to navigate and the visibility started to improve on the descent from Col de Tricot. Head down into Les Contamines-Montjoie for dinner and to Camping Le Pontet for the night.
Day 2 Les Contamines-Montjoie to Les Chapieux
16kms, 1400m ascent, 1000 descent, 7hrs
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Day 3 Les Chapieux to Val Veny
18kms, 1150 ascent, 1600m descent
I recommend taking a bus from Les Chapieux to Refuge des Mottets as this part of the route follows the road and you will not miss anything. Refuge des Mottets makes a great place to stop for brunch and to stock up on snacks/dinner as there will be no other opportunities for refreshment today. At the start of the path leading up to Col de La Seigne you are surrounded by beautiful alpine meadows and the scenery is stunning. At Col de La Seigne you leave France, cross over into Italy and start a gentle descent . The scenery is breathtaking.
Day 4 Val Veny to Rifugio Bonatti/Val Ferret
14.5kms, 1565m ascent, 700m descent, 6hrs
Take a bus from Val Veny to rejoin the route in Courmayeur where you will have your last chance to stock up until La Fouly. There is a long old climb out of Courmayeur up through the woods - you get most of your ascent first thing today. The views when you emerge are spectacular and the hike along to Rifugio Bonatti is stunning. Amazing photo opportunities. You cannot camp at Rifugio Bonatti and there are no campsites until La Fouly in Switzerland but in Italy you are permitted to bivouac - put your tent up late and leave early - above 2000m. So have a rest at Rifugio Bonatti and hike past Rifugio Bonatti and the closer you can get to Val Ferret the easier your day 6 will be.
Day 5 Val Ferret to La Fouly
17kms, 990m ascent, 1450m descent, 6hrs
The day begins with a descent to Val Ferret but is quickly followed by an ascent up past Rifugio Elena to Grand Col Ferret where you cross into Switzerland. The mountains change immediately and you descend through beautiful green valleys winding your way down to Auberge de La Peule, a diary farm, where I had the best lunch on TMB. The path to La Fouly is an easy stretch and the campsite is very well equipped. I highly recommend buying and cooking your own food in La Fouly as I paid £50 for an omelette, side salad and a glass of wine!
Day 6 La Fouly to Champex
15kms, 686m ascent, 800m descent
Today's path is mainly through forests but you do cross through the town of ...gnomes. Take the opportunity to swim in Champex Lac as you pass and buy everything you need as you pass through the town of Champex as the campsite is 700m out of town and you will not feel like walking back.
Day 7 Champex to La Peuty
15.5kms, 1500m ascent, 1700m descent
For this day you have the choice of the lower route or the climb for the fabulous view from the Fenetre d'Arpette. We planned for the Fenetre d'Arpette variant but with strong recommendations to avoid the variant when bad weather is forecast we had to change to the lower route on the day. There are also 2 possibilities to camp/stay - Col de Forclaz or Le Peuty. If you do the variant via Fenetre d'Arpette staying in Le Peuty makes sense. However the lower route reaches the Col Forclaz first and as the weather had changed and thunderstorms and hail arrived we decided to camp next to Hotel de Forclaz and enjoy lunch and dinner there.
Day 8 La Peuty to Tre Le Champ
12kms, 1170m ascent, 1100m descent, 5hrs
This day's route takes you up through Col de Balme and Col des Posettes. Make sure you take snacks as there are no refreshments available on the way. There is a lovely small campsite at a refuge in Tre Le Champ. The food is lovely eat the refuge but the only shops are in Argentiere 30 mins away
Day 9 Tre Le Champ to Chamonix
14kms, 1800m ascent, 1150m descent, 6hrs
Your final day! Here too there are variants but you will not want to miss Lac Blanc so climb the ladders up to join the Lac Blanc variant. It can get busy so I recommend starting super early. In fact the next time I am there I plan to wild camp up by Lac Blanc to catch sunrise up there. I didn't start late but the weather was gorgeous and everyone in the area had headed up there from Chamonix. Lac Blanc was so crowded I didn't stop. You can hike all the way down to Chamonix, take the lift down from La Flegere but I recommend taking the taking the Telecabine du Planpraz as it will drop you much closer to the centre of Chamonix. There is only one campsite in Chamonix - reserve if you want to be sure of a place in high summer.