[silly_traveler]

Tour of Mont Blanc - Hiking in the Alps - Part 1 of 2 Last October-ish we got thinking about going on another big trip, since it has been a year since our last big trip to Peru in 2007. We thought about going down to South America again, since it was so much fun last time. But since Scot's taking some classes, he is only available during the summer months. Hmmm.... something in the northern hemisphere, where to go Tour of Mont Blanc's on my list of things to do, places to go, but the price of a guided tour in that part of the world Well, after some research, we decided to go with a self-guided tour by Alpine Exploratory It isn't cheap, but it isn't too expensive either, just somewhere in the middle, something we could live with So basically they booked all our lodging for us, and gave us maps and instructions and answered all the questions we had so self-guided, but organized. I highly recommend them if you are thinking about doing a trek in the UK or the alps, their service is most excellent! I must of wrote them 100+ e-mails and always got responses and answers the next day or two. Anyway, on with the trip report and pictures So basically the complete loop is ~ 110 miles. We started in Les Houches in France, which is down the valley from Chamonix, and went counterclockwise. It took us 11 days plus 2 rest days to complete the circuit ~ nice leisurely pace, we're on vacation right? The thing with the tour is that it is not so much the distance.... but the elevation gain and loss.... yikes, my legs got pretty sore after a few days! We flew with Air France, direct flight from Seattle to Paris, and then from Paris to Geneva. I arranged for a mini-van pick-up with Mountain Drop Offs. It's a shared mini-van service, and we waited 20 minutes or so for other parties to arrive and off we go to Chamonix. Dude dropped us off in front of our hotel

Hotel Richemond

and we spent the rest of the day wandering around Chamonix.

Chamonix

Chamonix

Next morning we had a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel and then got a ride on the bus from Chamonix to Les Houches, about 10-15 minutes down the valley.

breakfast view

Day 1 on the TMB Les Houches to Les Contamines - 11.8 miles, 2920 ft ascent and 2591 ft descent Today we went from town to town and it was a good warm-up day, not too strenuous

1st day

It took ~ 5.5 hrs including some small breaks. We found the hotel in Les Contamines, cute place

hotel - Les Contamines

church - Les Contamines

Les Contamines

Day 2 on the TMB Les Contamines to Les Chapieux - 13 miles, 4691 ft ascent and 3215 ft descent Hmmm.... lets just say it was a challenging day for me, lots of up and more up! The scenery was awesome though

2nd day

Col du Bonhomme - Tour of Mont Blanc - France

We stopped for lunch at Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme, after all the uphill was done

Refuge de la Croix du Bohomme

After lunch it was down and more down to Les Chapieux I hate downhill

looking down at Les Chapieux

We spent ~ 8.5 hrs on the trail, including breaks and a nice long lunch. Les Chapieux is a small town, so the auberge cooked dinner for us!

auberge on 2nd night

room for boots

Day 3 on the TMB Les Chapieux to Rifugio Elisabetta - 10 miles, 3428 ft ascent and 1443 ft descent An incredibly scenic day! It started with a gentle road walk from Les Chapieux to the town up the valley - La Ville des Glaciers.

3rd day

hiker at La Ville des Glaciers

After that it was up, and more up to Col de la Seigne. We stayed awhile to enjoy views of the next valley complex and some lunch Then crossed the invisible border to Italia! bonjour to bongiorno

Douglas at Col de la Seigne

The rest of the hike was all downhill to Rifugio Elisabetta ~ a lovely hut in a spectacular setting and the staff were really nice. We stayed in room #4 with a fantastic view out and down the valley. I really enjoyed the evening meal they prepared for us, salad, veggie soup, mashed potatoes, pork chops, and peaches.

"hut" on 3rd night

view of tomorrow's route from Elisabetta

We spent ~ 6.5 hrs on the trail, including breaks and lunch. Day 4 on the TMB Rifugio Elisabetta to Courmayeur - 10.5 miles, 1476 ft ascent and 4757 ft descent Another incredibly scenic day and not so much uphill but LOTS of downhill First part was going downhill to Lac Combal, a relaxing walk. We took it slow and stopped many times for picutres.

outside Rifugio Elisabetta

Elisabetta

TMB trail marker

Elisabetta

hiker on trail 8/24/09

After the lake the trail goes up to the high point of the day - N ridge of Mont Favre.

Scot on trail

Italian cows

Tour of Mont Blanc - Italy

N ridge of Mont Favre

Then down, and more down....

trail

We stopped at this place for lunch, spaghetti and cokes, before the really steep crap down to Courmayeur. I thought about taking the cable car but didn't.

lunch at Maison Vieille

TMB trail marker

Soon enough we got to our hotel in Courmayeur, and this place is nice - unlimited amount of hot water and a balcony with a decent view and the owners are so friendly. They also have an excellent buffet breakfast!

hotel on 4th night

view from hotel room

breakfast at Hotel Bouton'dor

Courmayeur

Time on trail ~ 8 hrs After 4 days of hiking we had a rest day in Courmayeur and spent it at this Italian spa 5 km outside of Courmayeur http://www.termedipre.it/ Day 5 on the TMB Courmayeur to Rifugio Bonatti - 7.5 miles, 3000 ft ascent and not sure about the descent.... We got a late start today and didn't get out of the hotel till 10am. The trail starts behind the church in Courmayeur, a gentle road walk, and then all the elevation gain is going up to Rifugio Bertone. We stopped there awhile and got some cokes. Then we picked the Armina route to Rifugio Bonatti, which is a balcony path that skirts on hillsides and is fairly scenic. The recommended path is one that gains 5640 ft.... ouch! It goes higher up on the ridge and has better views.

beginning of 5th day

TMB trail marker

It took us 5.5 hrs to get to Bonatti, including lunch and breaks. This was one of the easier days and I really enjoyed it. R. Bonatti is really nice, looks out to this huge glacier and is fairly new, looks more like a hotel than hut! They served dinner at 7:15pm and we sat with two English women - Carole and Christine, an older French guy - Jacques, a Swiss couple, and 3 guys from the states (one of them from Seattle)! We had veggie soup, potatoes, this chicken/veggie pot pie thing, and pudding for dessert ~ all really delicious!

Rifugio Bonatti

It rained hard overnight and a bit of thunder too! Tomorrow we will cross into Switzerland Day 6 on the TMB Rifugio Bonatti to La Fouly - 11.8 miles, 3182 ft ascent and 4593 ft descent Got up at 6:30am and went to breakfast at 7am ~ typical hut breakfast consists of cereals, yogurts, milk, fruits, bread, jams, coffee and tea. We got on the trail at 8am and it was really cloudy, but no rain. We took our time and lolly-gagged around the rolling hillsides. It rained a bit before we reached Rifugio Elena, but not too bad. We bought two ham and cheese sandwiches to take up to the Grand Col Ferret to enjoy. Big hill to walk up before the pass.... and no views today. We ate the sandwiches quickly and put on layers and crossed the invisible border into Switzerland! The weather improved a bit on the Swiss side. Jacques the French guy caught up to us and he hiked with Scot down to the cafe at La Peule. We sat awhile and he bought us drinks, nice guy. Then the German guy on a week long biking holiday that we met at R. Bonatti last night showed up and sat with us awhile too. Time on trail ~ 8 hrs, including breaks, once for coffee, then lunch, then another liquid break at the cafe.

6th day

Cafe at La Peule

We got a room with a balcony that looks out to some glacier at the hotel in La Fouly, it was awesome!

hotel on 6th night

Tour of Mont Blanc - Switzerland

Dinner at 7pm and we sat with the English women from the previous night, Carole and Christine. They are hilarious, especially Carole, she's kind of crazy but in a good way. We had a simple salad with smoked salmon, some kind of rice cream soup, and curry chicken with rice, and tiramisu for dessert. Yum, yum, yum! Jacques joined us for drinks after dinner, it was a fun evening and we talked about hikes and travels. It gave me more ideas on hikes to do.... places to go.... the list just keeps getting longer! Day 7 on the TMB La Fouly to Lac Champex - 9.6 miles, 1476 ft ascent and 1870 ft descent It was an easy day, a bit of downhill from La Fouly to Issert and from there a bit of uphill to Lac Champex. Time on trail ~ 5 hrs

TMB trail marker

7th day

Lac Champex

hotel on 7th night

view from a cafe in Champex

Day 8 on the TMB Lac Champex to Trient - 11.5 miles, 1443 ft ascent and 2887 ft descent Good breakfast this morning, variety of cheeses and meats. We're once again the last group out ~ on the trail at 9am. It was a bit of country road walk, then uphill to this place called the Alp Bovine where we stopped for lunch (cheese omelette and cokes). There were lots of blueberries on the way to Bovine and I was falling behind picking and eating berries. They weren't ready yet, not the sweetest, but still nice. After blueberry heaven it was all downhill to Trient. Time on trail ~ 6 hrs

8th day

hotel on 8th night

view from hotel in Trient

We had dinner with Carole and Christine again, Jacques was also at our table and a British couple, Bryan and Ann. We had a really good dinner, salad and soup, rice with veggies and pork and tomato fondue

dinner in Trient

Day 9 on the TMB Trient to Argentiere - 9.3 miles, 3608 ft ascent and 3805 ft descent We said goodbyes Carole and Christine are heading to Lac Blanc today and Jacques is trying for that destination also. And we are heading to Argentiere for a rest day Up and more up from Trient to Col de Balme! We got on the wrong trail today but ended up at the right place They taped the trail with red ribbon things for the Mont Blanc ultra trail marathon this weekend.... and we just followed the ribbons and didn't read the routecard very carefully anyway, ended up at Col de Balme eventually and got some lunch at the cafe - Refuge du Col de Balme, which is a really pretty spot.

TMB trail marker

Scot on trail

9th day

After lunch we had another hill to walk up.... to Aiguillette des Posettes nice views from up there, worth the huffin' and puffin' I suppose.

Douglas at Aiguillette des Posettes

TMB trail marker

Then down, and more down to Argentiere, which is a mile or so off the main TMB route. We stayed at the Hotel les Grands Montets, a really nice place with a hot tub and view of Mont Blanc

hotel in Argentiere

Day 10 on the TMB Argentiere to La Flegere - 6.2 miles, 3740 ft ascent and 1673 ft descent OK, so all the elevation gain is in the first 3 miles big hill up to Lac Blanc and some ladders too

10th day

ladders

ultra trail runners

TMB trail marker

Scot on trail

The lake is well worth it though....

lake below Lac Blanc

Lac Blanc

Lac Blanc

We stayed for 3 hours and I took a nap love naps

Lac Blanc - Tour of Mont Blanc - France

Then a couple of miles down to Refuge de la Flegere We stayed at Lac Blanc till 6pm or so and then ran down the trail to catch the dinner bell at 7pm made it in time We sat with a couple of German guys for dinner.

on the way to Refuge de la Flegere

outside Refuge de la Flegere

TMB trail marker

"hut" on 10th night

Day 11 on the TMB La Flegere to Les Houches - 9.6 miles, 2362 ft ascent and 5150 ft descent Our last day on the TMB Awesome views of Mont Blanc today, almost the whole way from La Flegere to the high point of day at Le Brevent. It took 3 hrs to get up there and I got pretty tired after all that uphill. There is a cable car at Brevent and I thought about taking that all the way down to Chamonix but decided to try to complete the loop instead.

11th day

There's a panoramic restaurant at Brevent and we stopped there for some lunch.

lunch at Brevent

Then the unbelievable 5000+ ft downhill to Les Houches We met up with the German guys from dinner last night and hiked the rest of the way with them.

Scot and the German guys

Hours later we finally arrived in front of the Tourist Information Center in Les Houches, back to where we started

back to the starting point in Les Houches

Awesome experience, incredible scenery, and really friendly people! There are many variations of this trip, shorter, longer, and/or higher. It's fun to wander around the alps and to experience three different countries in one trip. I didn't expect it to be so beau-ti-ful

[Ingunn]

This looks even better than I thought it would, you always go to the best places! Looking forward to parts 2 and 3.

[TrailPair]

Stunning scenery! The villages look like Leavenworth

[marta]

Great pictures - you had some nice weather also. Doesn't look too crowded. August is the busy time in the Alps. I'm looking forward to reading the next parts.

[the Zachster]

I have been SOOOO looking forward to your report and I'm so glad you had such a great time! The hiking there is so civilized and spectacular at the same time. And I'm seeing mostly blue skies in those pics...lucky you! Can't wait for part 2!

[ASBrauer]

[twodogdad]

The Richemond, hey? You should change your name to Stylish Traveller ASB: the beauty of the TNB is that you don't have to carry anything, practically, even you if choose to sleep at huts and hostels only: linen is included in the hut charge and they provide decent food. You're not allowed camp out in the "wilderness" anyway, except near a hut. (A sleeping sack is all I'd carry, and one can save $$$ by buying food at the grocery stores in the villages along the way.) tdd

[Tazz]

world traveler you are!!! I LOVE it!!! keep em coming!!

[silly_traveler]

I was going write three parts to this TMB thing but decided to put it all in one hope to finish it tonight Part 2 will be day hikes around the Matterhorn Well, my pack turned out to be ~ 20 pounds.... too heavy in my opinion, after a couple of days I was throwing out lotion and things

[Scrooge]

Oh my.

Chamonix

hiker on trail 8/24/09

. . Is it an altitude thing? The Alps have grass on slopes where we have slide alder?

[BadDog]

Do you have any close-ups of the cows? With bells on? I bet the food was fabulous. What a wonderful trip. And please, more pictures of the cows!

[silly_traveler]

OK, all done! Hope you guys enjoy the pictures. I took a video camera also, but need to figure out how to download this thing.... all new to me

[Ingunn]

Oh, that lake is amazing. Thanks for the beautiful photos, s_t! So, what's your next big trip?

[GeoTom]

I hate you silly_t. Ok, not really. Thanks for sharing your trip. Douglas appeared to be enjoying himself, but what happened to Jake?

[BadDog]

This such an awesome trip report!! Do you have a list of the places you stayed at and their contact info-I'd love to get that info. Is it too late to pop over there in late September or do you think the huts are all closed down by then.