Hike | Switzerland, Italy, and France
Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc
Text | Anninka Kraus
Photography | Tobias Kraus
Tour du Mont Blanc
The Tour du Mont Blanc is one of the world’s most spectacular long-distance alpine hikes. The 170 km trail circumnavigates Europe’s highest peak, the 4’808 m Mont Blanc, traverses three countries – France, Italy, and Switzerland – and packs 10’000 m of cumulative elevation gain into a 7-10-day hike.
The TMB doesn’t require technical skill, but its elevation profile resembles a relentless up and down hill roller coaster ride – which doesn’t stop some from running the entire circuit in less than 21 hours in the UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) race. You can take as much time on the trail as you like though, also add some rest days in Chamonix and Courmayeur for instance, because unlike many other popular trails, a permit is not required.
jump ahead.
Hike the Tour du Mont Blanc in 8 days.
6. Courmayeur – Refuge de Mottets
Tour du Mont Blanc map
what to expect.
One of the world’s most spectacular long-distance alpine hikes
Breathtaking mountain panorama of Europe’s highest peak, the 4’808 m Mont Blanc • The legendary 170 km trail traverses 3 countries: France, Italy and Switzerland
Excellent hiking infrastructure and snug huts all along the way, but at times, this comfort comes at the cost of tranquility
A hike with a total height gain of 10’000 m that does not require technical skill
location & trail information.
Accommodation on the TMB: On this hike, you can stay in private accommodation, huts or camp/bivouac.
One advantage of the TMB, I believe, is the combination of a multiday hike at higher altitudes with the comfort of hot showers and comfortable beds every night. Thus, whenever possible, we stayed in hotels, guesthouses and refuges with private accommodation and I cannot speak to the dorm rooms because we only stayed in one, nor to camping /bivouacking on the TMB.
When to hike the TMB: Most huts open mid-June to mid-September, when the risk of snowfall and ice at higher altitudes is low. We didn’t know at first and were surprised that when we researched accommodation for the 3rd week of September some refuges (mountain huts) were already closed or closing for the season the following week.
We also thought they’d adjust to present weather conditions – sunshine and temperatures in the mid-twenties were forecast for a fortnight when we started our hike – and extend the season, but they didn’t.
With the season being short, this hike requires careful planning well ahead of time if you want to avoid the crowds in the European summer holiday period and instead go mid-June to mid-July, or as we did, in late September. You also want to avoid the time of the popular trail races, the Marathon and Ultramarathon (UTMB) du Mont Blanc.
Autour du Mont-Blanc website was very useful to us when planning our tour and we booked most of our accommodation on this website. The official TMB track is 170km long but has many variants. Most hikers follow an 8-10-day itinerary but you can spend considerably less or more time on the trail, taking shortcuts or side trips, or adding rest days. In our case, we only had one week off work but 7.5 days suited us just well.
Food on the trail: Huts typically provide half-board with basic breakfast (bread, butter, jam and cereal) and a 2 or 3-course dinner. Vegetarians were well catered for where we stayed, but I’m not sure if that also applies to food allergies.
You’ll pass by many villages with restaurants and shops, and huts along the way, so there’s no need to carry food with you except for a 2-3 days’ supply of snacks on which you can easily restock along the way. If you’re a rather picky eater, know that in more remote areas, eating in the hut may be your only option. It’s usually also the cheapest if you’re on a budget.
Those camping and preparing meals themselves, who need some help with planning, this post may be useful.
Hiking clockwise or anticlockwise: As the Tour du Mont-Blanc is a loop circuit, you’ll hike either anticlockwise (the traditional route) or clockwise (less common). We decided to walk clockwise simply because with only a few huts still open, this was the only way we could complete the circuit. However, walking against the flow actually granted us hours of quiet before and after passing the rush of anticlockwise hikers around noon each day. The choice is yours: If you like more company when walking and want to meet up with more or less the same people every night, go anticlockwise, if not, go clockwise.
We prefer self-guided hikes and as the TMB is a well-marked and an oftentimes busy trail, it’s well suited to explore without a guide. Taking a guide book or detailed map and downloading gpx files of the route (learn how to use GPS for hiking) will be very useful nonetheless.
Many Americans we came across were on guided daytrips with luggage transfers between accommodations, which allowed them to walk with daypacks only and enjoy the comforts of a hotel every night. The TMB is predestined to pick out the crème de la crème stages for day walks as the track frequently passes through towns and villages or intersects with cable cars running to said towns and villages. So, if you’re short on time, don’t want to carry much luggage, or prefer more comfortable accommodation, day walks are what I’d recommend.
day 1
Les Houches - Le Brévent
Chamonix is one of the most renowned skiing destinations in the French Alps, holding a famed place in sport history by hosting the first ever Winter Olympic Games in 1924. Its old town exudes a Belle Époque elegance to match its prestige and despite being located just across the border from Switzerland, Chamonix is still quintessentially French, at least judging by the well-assorted specialty cheese shops and the croissants that are buttery chewiness enveloped in crispy flakes. It is also one of the starting points to the famous long-distance Tour du Mont-Blanc trail.
Being a loop trail, the TMB has several starting points and Chamonix or rather Les Houches, a community ten minutes south-west of Chamonix, was the most convenient for us. There’s a large parking lot, free of charge, where you can leave your car, or you can use public transport, also at no charge when you stay at a hotel in Chamonix, entitling you to a Carte d’ Hôte, a Guest Card.
We set off on a gorgeous late summer’s day, breathing warm air imbued with the scent of pine needles baking in the sun. The previous week had brought heavy rain leaving the ground soaked and mushrooms, almost as bright as the kites of the paragliders soaring above the treetops, broke through the forest floor in all shapes and colours.
Though my enthusiasm never waned on this first day, the unrelenting 3-hour climb up 1500 m through the woods to Tête de Bellachat at 2276 m, with hardly a few meters on the flat to break the ascent, was a tough leg to adjust to the hiking and we were glad only to be wearing day packs. At the Refugio de Bellachat at 2151 m, the sound of the motorway bouncing off the sides of the valley, a constant reminder of the nearby civilization, suddenly abated. What’s more, once out of the woods, we were no longer sneaking peeks of the surrounding mountainscape through gaps in the foliage. Suddenly, we were at the center of a spectacular 360° panorama culminating in a viewpoint at Le Brévent with the Mont-Blanc mountain range vis-à-vis and in its midst the famous ‘White Mountain’.
From Le Brévent, one would usually continue to La Flegère hut to spend the first night, but as the hut was being renovated at the time, we made use of the cable car that runs from Le Brévent upper cable car station at 2525 m down to Plan Praz at 2000 m, then changed to a gondola lift to Chamonix. The only potential downside of staying two nights in Chamonix, is the short return journey you need to make to Le Brévent the next morning. But to enjoy the outdoorsy feel of the village for the rest of the afternoon, we thought it was definitely worth it.
Start: Les Houches parking lot, where you can leave your car free of charge
End: Le Brévent upper cable car station; return to Chamonix via gondola
Route: Les Houches – Le Coupeau – Parc animalier de Merlet – Refuge de Bellachat – Le Brévent
Distance: 11.3km
Time: 4:15 hours
Elevation gain: 1540m / loss: 70m (lowest point: 987m / highest point: 2488m)
Alternative: Hike to La Flegère hut
Difficulty: low
Info: The ticket for a round-trip on the cable car and gondola Chamonix-Le Brévent was 33.50€ at the time. Please note that the cable car and gondola are not open all year around and in 2019 closed for the summer season on 15th September.
Hotel & Restaurants: Helopic Hotel, Pizzaria Des Moulins, Pastry House Richard, Le Fournil Chamoniard
gpx file of the Tour du Mont Blanc
day 2
Le Brévent - Argentière
The next morning, we were squeezed tightly between four locals and their enormous paraglider packs in one of the first gondola cabins ascending to Plan Praz. While they headed off to a nearby launch site, we changed to the aerial car to Le Brévent and from there set out in the direction of Col du Brévent. TMB signage is frequently missing in the French part of the tour, so taking a map and downloading gpx tracks can save you from needless detours.
We were playing peekaboo with marmots, large ground squirrels that are very shy but still curious, and promptly went off-trail, following the GR5 trail instead of the TMB towards Plan Praz.
Back on track a half-hour later, we steadily descended to 2100 m and the start of the TMB’s masterpiece section ‘Grand Balcon Sud’. It’s just a 1.5-hour stretch really, downhill and on the flat, to Refuge La Flégere at 1877 m, but it’s the most magnificent 1.5 hours on the entire trek. This section indeed resembles a balcony running the length of the valley at just such an altitude as to best showcase the world-famous mountain panorama vis-à-vis.
Past La Flègere, the trail climbed slowly towards Chalet des Cheserys and La Tête aux Vents, crossing the only stream where we could fill up our water bottles on the entire leg. It being a hot day, we sorely missed the taps and fountains you’ll find along even the most remote of mountain paths in Switzerland and hikers coming our way complained about water at Lac Blanc costing 6 €/litre. The lake is a side trip forking off west at La Tête aux Vents trail junction, where a cairn marked the 2150 m summit and the polyglot, vociferous babel buzzing back and forth on the trail also hit a crescendo as several hiking parties had chosen this spot for a break. The TMB’s unique geographic location, spanning three countries and language areas, is reflected in the mix of languages spoken on the trek and its popularity in the many US hikers that rivalled the French in numbers.
We skipped the detour to Lac Blanc and embarked on what Tobi announced a “gentle descent” towards Argentière, but was actually a 45 min scramble on metal footholds and handrails affixed to the vertical mountain face. I make it sound worse than it is, but I’m not a great fan of vertical ladders and anyone with a serious fear of heights might want to consider the path descending from Chalet des Cheserys towards Argentière.
After the climb and a fair bit of whining, I was back on flat ground and felt exhilarated at having overcome this ‘obstacle’ – for all of two minutes, when I spotted two climbers sitting on Aiguilette d’Argentière (Needle of Argentière). From the top of this needle-thin stone pillar, they watched (and laughed at, I’m sure) chicken-hearted hikers, like me, crawl down perfectly safe ladders. Once we’d passed this slightly technical section, it was indeed a gentle downhill walk to Argentière.
Start: Le Brévent upper cable car station
End: Argentière (Boerne)
Route: Le Brévent – Grand Balcon Sud – La Flégère – Aiguilette d’Argentière – Boerne near Argentière
Distance: 15km
Time: 5:40 hours
Elevation gain: 580m / loss: 1630m (lowest point: 1463m / highest point: 2519m)
Side Trip: Lac Blanc
Difficulty: medium
Stay in/near Argentières: We stayed at Auberge la Boerne, in their only private room, but cannot recommend the accommodation as it was very crammed and dark. The center of Argentière isn’t far (approx. 20 min on foot, buses are also running) if you consider getting accommodation there.
day 3
Argentière to Champex-Lac
On day 3, the most challenging on the TMB for us, you’ll cover over 30 kilometres in the 9.5-hour leg from Argentière to Champex-Lac. Two long, steep ascents, each followed by an equally long and steep descent add up to a total difference in altitude of 2000 m. As there are people who run the entire TMB route in less than 24 hours, you may also think this day is a breeze, but not me.
Early in the morning, I was still blissfully ignorant of the drudgery to come and eagerly striding uphill through the woods. The sodden forest floor was strewn with fallen leaves, rotting wood and moss cushions, glistening wet with tiny droplets of dew, and oozed a damp, earthy smell that slowly muddied my vivid recollections of the claustrophobic, stuffy rooms of Auberge la Boerne.
The scent and slight chill lingering in the air dissipated along with these memories when we reached a high plateau bathed in sunshine and overgrown with short leafy shrubs that on closer inspection revealed a sea of wild blueberries. The small berries were an intense, matt shade of dark blue and coated with a shiny film of morning dew that gradually evaporated into a fine mist. The path traversing the plateau had not yet fully absorbed the heavy rains from the previous week and the moisture and sunshine were bringing forth an astonishing plentitude of wild raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries.
After three hours, somewhere in the high alpine meadows, we crossed the border to Switzerland. Although hikers we met the previous night had encountered a border patrol unit, we simply noticed that signposts were suddenly in German. Once there, you’ll have tackled the first up-and-downhill part for the day.
Unfortunately for us, the peace and quiet we’d enjoyed also came to a temporary end for on the 2-hour descent from the border to Trient, we faced a caravan of large hiking groups charging towards us. Today’s leg was further confirmation that almost no one was walking clockwise like us and that the busiest time you’ll face when walking in that direction is midday with its surge of anti-clockwise hikers.
Once they’ve passed, solitude returns even in the villages. As it was the end of the hiking season, Trient was completely deserted, the wooden window shutters closed on many houses and nobody walking the streets. We’d been craving a piece of cake for the better part of the day, but finally in Trient couldn’t find a single open shop or restaurant, much less a bakery. Being hungry, I had a hard time trying to conceal my frustration and tackling a 200m steep incline towards Col de la Forclaz, but then, at long last, we were seated outside Hotel de la Forclaz, half an hour out of Trient, indulging in delicious fruit tart.
Our stomachs full of cake, we followed the trail winding uphill through woodland and reached the second summit of the day, Collet Portalo at 2040 m. There’s a working dairy farm, Alp Bovine, just past the summit that was closed, but from its backyard offered great views of the Rhône Valley to the north-east. In the remaining 2.5 hours, the TMB led through beautiful high alpine pastures, but the closer we came to Champex, the less I noticed anything but my badly hurting feet.
Dubbed “Switzerland’s little Canada”, the little village of Champex is set on the shores of crystal-clear Lac de Champex at the foot of Le Catogne and La Breya mountains, two peaks well over 2000 m high. It exudes a nice, laid-back mountain resort charm, which again I didn’t really appreciate until much later when we sat at the lake front after a short rest, wearing flip flops not boots.
Start: Argentière
End: Champex-Lac
Route: Argentière – Aiguilette des Posettes – Chalet du Col de Balme – Trient – Col de Forclaz – Alp Bovine – Champex d’en bas – Champex d’en haut – Champex-Lac
Distance: 29.4km
Time: 9:20 hours
Elevation gain: 1960m / loss: 1900m (lowest point: 1341m / highest point: 2238m)
Alternative between Trient and Champex: you can also follow a different, more difficult route via Fenettre D’Arpette
Side Trip: Lac Blanc
Difficulty: medium
Stay & Eat in Champex-Lac: Hôtel Mont-Lac & Mimi’s Lounge
day 4
Champex-Lac to La Fouly
The elevation profile on day 4 is a breeze and the scenery of lush pastures, traditional mountain villages and grazing cows equally gentle. The first hour to Issert is downhill, then in the remaining four hours the trail gradually winds uphill through the Swiss Val Ferret. The uphill part involves an elevation gain of 1125 m, which may sound like much, but spread across 16km is very feasible.
It was almost 10 am when we set off on the Sentier des champignons (mushroom trail), descending into the valley. As we’d seen mushrooms aplenty in the past days, we expected a true mushroom eldorado on this trail, but oddly enough, the only mushrooms we saw were ones carved from wood. It reminded me of wildlife in the US and South America where bears and guanaco seemed to much rather roam outside national park boundaries, not inside where you’re led to expect them.
We arrived on the valley floor and one of the lowest points of elevation on the TMB trail at Issert at 1070m, the first of a string of hamlets set along the La Dranse de Ferret river. In the valley, we found a nice mix of closely guarded tradition and untouched nature as we followed the turns of the wide natural river bed with white boulders and pebbles. Traditional wooden chalets, set at the back of lovingly tended vegetable and flower gardens, were watched over by colonies of garden gnomes.
It was all very peaceful and serene yet somehow still fitted well with the snowcapped rock faces rising to the left and right, all untamed and rugged, and encroaching on the narrowing valley as we approached La Fouly at 1600 m at the foot of Dolent Mountain. We passed the last couple of houses at Ferret, then climbed switchbacks through alpine meadows dotted with grazing cows for 90 minutes to our destination for that night, Gîte Alpage de La Peule at 2065 m. It was our only night in a mixed dorm room, hence the comparison to other accommodation on the track falls short, but the musty smell of the matrasses and lack of friendliness from the tenant family running the farm over the summer months, really did not speak for La Peule.
Start: Champex-Lac
End: Alpage de la Peule near La Fouly
Route: Champex-Lac – Issert – Arlaches – Praz de Fort – La Fouly – Le Clou – Les Granges – Ferret – Alpage de la Peule
Distance: 20.9km
Time: 5:30 hours
Elevation gain: 1125m / loss: 540m (lowest point: 1069m / highest point: 2065m)
Champex-Lac: Stock up on snacks and bread at the local store and bakery
Difficulty: easy
Stay near La Fouly: Alpage de la Peule
day 5
La Fouly to Courmayeur
We readily escaped the smelly bunkroom and ferocious snorers before dawn broke and had just gained some elevation towards Col-Ferret when the fleecy clouds scattered across the night-blue sky coloured pinkish-purple then bright orange. As darkness gradually disappeared, the black mountain silhouette gained contours, depth, and detail and a baby blue sky spread across the valley. The sun spotlighted one mountaintop in magnificent golden alpenglow while cows, drowsy with sleep still by the looks of their unsteady steps, staggered along a trampled dirt path in single file to some chosen meadow.
The varied height profile of the TMB brings about a continuous change in vegetation and with the 500 m elevation gain in a little over an hour’s hiking to Grand Col Ferret at 2537 m, green pastures were once again replaced with alpine tundra. At the top, a sharp breeze whipped across the exposed mountain plateau, surging against a stone cairn marking the summit and border to Italy. Rarely do you get to look down into two parts of a valley that belong to two different countries and transfixed we braved the cold to admire the impressive views of the Val de Ferret – the Swiss side of the valley to the northeast, the Italian side to the southwest. I had buried my hands deep in the pockets of my down jacket, but when we set out on the steep twisting descent to Refugio Elena, my fingers had still gone numb.
Gusts of wind continued to howl through the valley as we hurried along the path and while I donned a windbreaker to stop trembling with cold, we spotted two hikers walking towards us in T-Shirts and shorts. To brave the freezing temperatures in that attire they had to be either Australian, Kiwi or British, I thought, and indeed they introduced themselves as an Australian father and son with unmistakable Aussie intonation. They really were oblivious to the cold, for they stopped to chat and told us that Refugio Elena, where we’d hoped to get some hot chocolate, was already closed for the season but that Chalet Val Ferret hotel, further down the valley, may still be open, ‘mate’.
By the time we passed the hotel, however, the sun had quenched our hot chocolate craving and we continued towards Refugio Gorgio Bertone. The elevation profile suggested a leisurely walk through the valley but the almost straight topographic line, in reality, consisted of countless small but adamant ups and downs. When finally, we sat on the refugio’s terrace, on a ledge just above Courmayeur, we both agreed that this is one of the nicest spots to rest on the TMB and it was easy to put off the steep 700 m descent into town for another ten minutes, and another. Eventually, we were on our way and a beautiful walk it was, descending into the valley through pine forest, but also steep and my knees were wobbly when we arrived at Maison Le Saxe, a family-run boutique hotel in the Le Saxe neighbourhood.
To Le Saxe, don’t follow the gpx track into the centre of Courmayeur but turn right at a sign pointing towards that neighbourhood once you’ve passed the first couple of houses. The old town, a cobblestoned alpine resort village, is a further 15-20 min leisurely walk. Courmayeur becomes very busy with foreign tourists in winter, we were told, but in September, we had no trouble getting a table in a restaurant. On our TMB itinerary, this was the only night we spent in Italy and that had to be duly celebrated with a dinner of pizza and pistachio gelato.
Start: Alpage de La Peule near La Fouly
End: Courmayeur
Route: Alpage de La Peule – Grand Col Ferret – Refugio Elena – Chalet Val Ferret hotel – Refugio Gorgio Bertone – Courmayeur
Distance: 25 km
Time: 7:20 hours
Elevation gain: 1110m / loss: 1910m (lowest point: 1262m / highest point: 2512m)
Note: Courmayeur is bilingual and French and Italian official languages.
Champex-Lac: Stock up on snacks and bread at the local store and bakery
Difficulty: medium
Stay in Courmayeur: Maison La Saxe
day 6
Courmayeur to Refuge de Mottets
The leg from Courmayeur to Refuge de Mottets has a similar elevation profile as that of day 3 with two relentless ascents. From Courmayeur at 1224 m, you climb to 2400 m, then descend again to Lago Combal at 1940 m. The second climb follows to Col de la Seigne at 2516m, marking the Italian-French border, with a final drop to Refuge de Mottets at 1864 m. It’s a long day, but one I enjoyed most on the TMB because the scenery is remarkable, albeit saddening at times.
We set out early, working our way uphill through open meadows and forest to the right of a skiing area that lay abandoned in summer. Except for some maintenance workers at the ski lifts it was eerily quiet. Even when we passed Maison Vieille hut at 1956 m there was still no one about, only a pony grazing out front that occasionally pokes its head through the door at dinnertime we had been told.
By mid-morning, walking above the tree line, we paused often with our eyes peeled on the rutted Mont Blanc massif across the valley. Deep fissures have once been carved into the granite by the adamant erosive might of glacier tongues. Nowadays, what remains of this force are small heaps of ice hiding at the back of huge scree fields, the terminal moraine, that trickle away into a creek running like a thin line in the path of the shrinking glacier.
On the TMB the reality of glaciers in retreat is painfully tangible and the tree line, where dark green pine fends off the grey rubble, is very distinctive.
After we passed today’s highest point, it was a gentle downhill walk to Lago Combal, a turquoise lake in Val Veny. Once you reach the lake, the trail continues on a dirt road running alongside the lake shore, then cuts through wetlands dotted with small tarns. There was no wind and Aiguille de Tré la Tête and Aiguille des Glaciers mountains reflected mirror-like water surface. At the end of that road and a little zigzag uphill lies Refugio Elisabetta at 2195 m. Even if you don’t need a rest, go there for the outstanding views: their verandah is like that bench in museums just in front of a famous masterpiece – in this case Val Vény.
On the way to conquer the second peak of today, Col de la Seigne, we passed the Pyramides Calcaires, limestone rock formations that doubled as adventure playground for an extended family of marmots. You’d think the novelty of seeing these shy squirrels wears off, but no – I was still looking out for them when we reached the pass. Not so much afterwards though, when there was only an hour left on the twisting trail dropping into the valley and my legs were starting to feel very heavy. The switchbacks dragged on, turn after turn, when eventually after one more twist of the trail, Refuge de Mottets at 1864 m in the Valley of Glaciers came into view. It stood sheltered on green pastures half-way down into the valley to the backdrop of Aiguille de Glaciers, Mont Tondu and Têtes de Bellaval mountains.
I stayed back and watched as the late afternoon sun, almost scraping the mountaintops, draped the hikers milling about in the courtyard outside the hut in a paling golden glow. It was a welcome sight at the end of a long day and the double ensuite we’d booked didn’t disappoint either – 210€/night for a room with half-board apparently warranted a nice room even in a refuge. The building was new, the room small but clean, the sheets washed and the ensuite shower bliss.
related.
Start: Courmayeur
End: Refuge de Mottets
Route: Courmayeur – Maison Vieille – Lago Combal in Val Veny – Refugio Elisabetta – Pyramides Calcaires – Col de la Seigne – Refuge de Mottets
Distance: 23.8km
Time: 7:10 hours
Elevation gain: 1830m / loss: 1220m (lowest point: 1185m / highest point: 2486m)
Difficulty: medium
Stay: Refuge de Mottets / You have the choice between more affordable but crowded dorm rooms and private rooms without/with ensuite shower and toilet for 158€/214€ per night and room. Half-board is always included.
day 7
Refuge de Mottets to Les Contamines-Montjoie
While dinner in the refugios was mostly good, breakfast was always disappointing, even when taking the remote location into consideration. This morning there was one kind of cereal and slices of very stale bread, leftovers from the night before, with butter and jam. We said goodbye to the donkey that appeared unperturbed by the marmots racing back and forth across its paddock and was watching us set off on a gentle downhill walk into the valley towards Les Chapieux at 1550 m.
The hamlet didn’t offer much besides a couple of auberges and a sweet last repose before we followed long switchbacks up a fairly steep slope to Refuge de La Croix du Bonhomme at 2443 m. As the refuge had already closed for the season, it was quiet and we had the sweeping panorama of the Vanoise and Beaufortain to ourselves. Minutes after the refuge, you’ll reach Col du Bonhomme at 2329 m, at the junction of the GR5 and TMB long-distance hiking trails, again with beautiful views of the Contamines-Montjoie Nature Reserve to the north and the Beaufortain to the west.
The 3-hours descent into Les Contamines-Montjoie, our destination for the night, dragged on a little and I was glad to learn we were only 45min out of Contamines when we passed Baroque style Notre Dame de la Gorge church set beautifully right on the forest edge. Contamines itself has some carefully restored wooden chalets and extruded a mountain village charm, but was deserted.
The feeling of happening upon a ghost town was substantially intensified when we found the supermarket shelves almost empty. A 30% discount was given on veggies and fruit but there was none left. A notice fixed to the entrance door announcing that the supermarket would be closing – for the season we assumed – somewhat explained the food shortage.
Start: Refuge de Mottets
End: Les Contamines-Montjoie
Route: Refuge de Mottets – Les Chapieux – Refuge de La Croix du Bonhomme – Col du Bonhomme – Les Contamines-Montjoie
Distance: 24.6km
Time: 7 hours
Elevation gain: 1040m / loss: 1760m (lowest point: 1164m / highest point: 2469m)
Difficulty: easy
Stay in Les Contamines-Montjoie: Hotel Gai Soleil / basic 3-star chalet-hotel with good breakfast.
Restaurant/Bakery in Les Contamines-Montjoie Aux Delices de Montjoie bakery, L’O à la Bouche restaurant
day 8
Les Contamines-Montjoie to Les Houches
On our TMB itinerary, there were only two hours left on the trek this morning and in no hurry, we wandered through wildflower meadows draped still under a fine layer of morning mist lingering in the shadow of the Mont Blanc massif rising to our right. As we walked, the sun conquered one mountain peak after the other, flooding more of the valley in light and warmth and dissolving the moisture in the air.
At La Vilette the track disappeared into the woods, climbing steadily towards Col de Voza, a skiing resort situated on a small plateau at 1657 m. Though popular for winter sports, the mountain pass covered with grass and bathed in bright sunshine was a lovely spot also in summer and I struggled to picture the lush green meadows buried deep under the snow. We then came to the last stretch, an hours’ downhill walking mostly on a dirt road, dropping 600 m in elevation to the parking lot we’d started from, which was rather unspectacular and I was glad this hadn’t been our opening stretch.
An hour later, reflecting on the past week over patisseries at Richard’s, we agreed that the TMB is what they claim: a great long-distance alpine hike with outstanding mountain panoramas. We’d been very lucky to catch a week of bright sunshine, clear skies and 20+ degrees at the end of the hiking season when it wasn’t very crowded, especially when walking clockwise. This initial limitation, of having to walk clockwise to complete the circuit with many huts already closed for the season, had actually granted us much solitude before and after passing the rush of anticlockwise hikers every day.
Based on our experience, we can thoroughly recommend the TMB to those valuing the mix of a challenging multi-day hike at mid-altitude with comfortable accommodation every night; perhaps less to those seeking a remote wilderness adventure.
Start: Les Contamines-Montjoie
End: Les Houches
Route: Les Contamines-Montjoie – La Vilette – Col de Voza – Les Houches
Distance: 16.8km
Time: 4:15 hours
Elevation gain: 865m / loss: 990m (lowest point: 1033m / highest point: 1686m)
Difficulty: easy
Hotel & Restaurants: Helopic Hotel, Pizzaria Des Moulins, Pastry House Richard, Le Fournil Chamoniard
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