You can see more about this trip here.
Day 1:
Les Houches - Auberge du Truc
Today is an easy first day to ease into the trek. Ascend on foot up to the Col du Voza and then follow path along parallel to the train tracks to the Bellevue train station where the variant Col du Tricot trail leads down to the right.
Taking the Bellevue cable car you’ll reach the Bellevue Plateau in minutes. It’s then just a 5 minute walk (very well signposted) to pick up the variant trail. Cross the railway tracks and follow the path for Col du Tricot. After traversing the alpine meadows with views of the spectacular Bionnassay glacier you’ll cross the iconic Himalayan suspension bridge. After a short climb you’ll come to a clearing with several large boulders – the view of the glacier is a good one from here and it’s great spot to have lunch. If you look carefully here you’ll find wild bilberry bushes everywhere.
You can now see the top of the Col du Tricot before you. It’s a steady climb up to the grassy saddle. Spend some time here to admire the views over the Miage Valley and over to the Col du Bonhomme. You can spot Refuge Miage far down in the valley. If you look carefully to your left, you’ll see a stone archway on the ‘smugglers route’ to Refuge Plan Glacier.
The descent down is STEEP and takes around an hour. Take it easy and use your poles. Reaching the valley floor follow the signs to reach Refuge Miage in just 5 minutes. Departing from Refuge Miage you’ll have an initial short climb from the Miage Valley up and over to Auberge du Truc.
Approximate time and distances:
14.7km / 1455m up / 740m down / 5-6 hours trekking
9.1m / 4773ft up / 2427ft down / 5-6 hours trekking
Day 2:
Auberge du Truc - Refuge Bonhomme
From Auberge du Truc it’s a long steady descent through the forest into Les Contamines. Have a leisurely coffee in this small French town before walking along the river to Notre Dame de la Gorge where the trail heads out into the wild once more. If you’re trekking in July or August you can pick up the free shuttle bus (navette) outside the Les Contamines Tourist Office to Notre Dame de la Gorge.
Take a moment to visit the beautiful Notre Dame de la Gorge chapel next to the gushing water before setting out on the well marked path. Warning – the trail is VERY steep here along an ancient slabbed Roman road to Refuge Nant Borrant but pleasantly flanks the bubbling racing gorge for much of the ascent. Be sure to look out for the pont naturel sign leading to a natural arch on the river, just a few minutes from the trail (navigate down a steep, mud track – I normally leave my backpack at the top!). Cross the roman bridge, take in the rushing gorge below. Expect to hike for around an hour from Notre Dame de la Gorge to Refuge Nant Borrant which makes an excellent lunch stop.
This afternoon you’ll make the climb over two mountain passes Col du Bonhomme (2329m) and Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (2483m). You’ll stay in the cavernous Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme, a high mountain refuge with epic views. This is one of the most remote high mountain huts on the trail so bring your adventure spirit with you. Bunks and storage are excellent & dinner is unforgettable served by candle light to save solar power.
Approximate time and distances:
16.9km / 1361m up / 635m down / 5-6 hours trekking
10.5m / 4465ft up / 2083m down / 5-6 hours trekking
Day 3:
Refuge Bonhomme - Val Veny
If the weather is fine take the alternative route just before Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme via the Col des Fours. This spectacular variant leads you over a lunar like landscape before dropping into the Vallée des Glaciers picking up the trail at Ville des Glacier. Tip: take the 10 minute detour at the top of Col des Fours to the view point Tête des Fours – it is nothing short of spectacular and is the only point on the trek where you can see where you’ve come from and where you’re going to from a birds eye view – oh and the view of the Mont Blanc Massif is nothing short of spectacular as well! I advise stashing your rucksack behind one of the many boulders to simply float up to the view point! Note this route cuts out the hamlet of Les Chapieux. Never attempt this variant route if the weather is nothing short of perfect.
If you’re continuing along the normal TMB route the well marked trail will descend all the way to the valley of to Les Chapieux, where you can stop for a welcome refreshment at the friendly Auberge de la Nova. Our itinerary has included transportation from Les Chapieux via the navette (shuttle bus) from the information hut. The navette costs €4 and will ferry you in 20 minutes to Ville des Glaciers from where you can pick up the trail again up to the Col de la Seigne. This high mountain frontière, the French/Italian border, will give you a jaw dropping panoramic of Mont Blanc and the entire Val Veni with it’s dramatic skyline.
Descending into the Val Veni you’ll walk along this huge U shape valley passing Refugio Elisabetta perched on it’s commanding position in front of Glacier d’Estelette and Glacier de la Lée Blanche before continuing along the linear roman road to Cabane Combal. The only hut not at lofty altitude, this hut is nestled in the moraine flank of the Miage glacier
Approximate time and distances:
18.7km / 1032m up / 1288m down / 5-6 hours trekking
11.6m / 3385ft up / 4226ft down / 5-6 hours trekking
Day 4:
Val Veny - Rifugio Bertone
Today’s hike takes you up out of the Val Veni floor climbing steadily up to the highest point, a spur from Mont Favre. Looking back you can see the monstrous moraine of Glacier Miage dwarfing Cabane Combal and on a clear day all the way back to Col de la Seigne. From here you’ll trace the contours of the south flank of the Val Veni, following the rise and fall of the mountain side with jaw dropping views of sawtooth peaks and Monte Bianco opposite.
From Refugio Maison Vielle during peak season (Aug & Sept) you can opt to take the chair lift and connecting cable car down to Dolonne which is a 10 minute saunter into Courmayeur. We’ve included this chairlift/gondola in the planning of this itinerary (11.8km 5-7hrs) – the descent from Maison Vielle to to the Courmayeur is brutal plus you’ve got another 776m of elevation to climb after lunch to get to your bed for the night at Refuge Bertone (2000m). We highly recommend lunch at Pizzeria Ristorante du Tunnel who serve the largest pizza we’ve ever seen!
After a leisurely lunch it’s 4km uphill to your bed for the night at Refugio Bertone.
Approximate time and distances:
20.6km / 1350m up / 1552m down / 5-6 hours trekking
12.8m / 4429ft up / 5091ft down / 6-7 hours trekking
Day 5:
Rifugio Bertone - Gite Alpage de la Peule
You’ll be hiking the gentle southern ridge of the Val Ferret valley today before the climb over the Grand Col Ferret (2537m), the border between Italy and Switzerland. Home will be at a working dairy farm, the Gite Alpage de la Peule nestled into the mountain side on the other side of the Col.
This itinerary follows the easier route along the contour balcony trail from Refugio Bertone as you’ll be tackling the Grand Col Ferret today as well. For those really wanting to push themselves there is an option to take the Mont de la Saxe high ridge route to Tête de la Tronche which offers insane views of the southern buttress of the Mont Blanc Massif. However, again this route should not be taken in bad weather.
Approximate time and distances:
20.9km / 1193m up / 1095m down / 6-7 hours trekking
12.9m / 3914ft up / 3592ft down / 6-7 hours trekking
Day 6:
Gite Alpage de la Peule - Relais d'Arpette
You may be up early this morning. The Alpage de la Peule is an authentic working dairy farm and the cow bells clang at dawn. It’s mostly downhill today. The Swiss section of the TMB is altogether a more mellow landscape with rolling green pastures, pretty meadows and lush forest. You’ll descend into Ferret and then La Fouly.
La Fouly sits at the foot of two mighty mountains, Tour Noir (3, 836m) and Mont Dolent (3,823m) which incredibly is the tri-point where all three of the Tour du Mont Blanc countries, France, Switzerland and Italy’s borders meet!
The main villages and hamlets of this valley are Ferret, La Fouly, Prayon, Praz de Fort, Les Arlaches, Issert and Som la Proz. All of which you will pass through apart from the last when you will turn uphill for the last 90 minutes to Champex-Lac (pronounced Champay-Lac).
The route hugs the left side of the valley, following the west bank of the river La Drance de Ferret and parallel to the main valley road which can easily be heard as your hiking. In wilderness you are not!
The best part of today is that you’ll wander through a couple of charming Swiss hamlets. The tiny Les Arlaches with it’s interlaced wooden roofs are a real gem. Before long you’ll start the climb up to Champex-Lac – the only climb of the day. At the top you’ll be rewarded with the beauty of Champex-Lac. Nicknamed ‘Little Canada’ it’s not hard to imagine why – this beautiful lakeside town is surrounded by hills of pine and is genuinely a beautiful spot. You’ll press on though out of town for a further 5km up taking the beginning of the variant route up to the Relais d’Arpette where you can relax and bed down ready to tackle, weather permitting one of the most exciting sections of the TMB trail – the Col du Fenêtre.
Approximate time and distances:
22.7km / 743m up / 1187m down / 5-6 hours trekking
14m / 2437ft up / 3894ft down / 5-6 hours trekking
Day 7:
Relais d'Arpette - Le Tour
Today is a long day combining two variant stages into one. We must again make you aware that you cannot hike the Col du Fenêtre is the weather is less than perfect. You will need to take the traditional bovine route to Col de la Forclaz and then up the Col de Balme if the weather is stormy which makes for a longer day.
This day has the most technical terrain on the entire TMB and unlike the rest of the trek, the trail is not marked well and can be lost. The boulder field just before the Col requires a lot of attention and trekkers need to be mindful of loose scree and rocks that dislodge easily and can be fatal to trekkers below. Set off super early though and you’ll be in for a treat. When you finally summit the Col you will feel a real sense of achievement – it’s the only place on the trek you can experienced other trekkers congratulating each other a real sense of camaraderie.
The descent from the Col du Fenêtre is nothing short of astounding. Hairpin bends wind down the rocky descent with the incredible Trient Glacier trailing down beside the trail. This huge hunk of ice will mesmerise you during your descent and will surely be one of your unforgettable memories of this incredible trek.
Once you reach the buvette Chalet des Glaciers you’ll cross the wooden bridge and start the uphill slog to Refuge Les Grands. The Tibetan style path carved out of the rock will leave you in awe. Stop at the refuge for a cold drink and press on high along hugging the mountain flank until eventually you’ll spot Trient far below and the Trient glacier disappears behind you. You’ll soon see Refuge Col du Balme with it’s iconic red shutters – a tiny dot on the Col du Balme saddle – another frontière marking the boundary between Switzerland and France.
Approximate time and distances:
22.1kms / 1624m up / 1359 m down / 8 hours trekking
13.7m / 5327ft up / 4458ft down / 8 hours trekking
Day 8:
Le Tour - Lac Blanc
Trekking the north flank of the Chamonix Valley, this itinerary divides stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc with a detour up to the infamous Lac Blanc. Hiking through the Aiguille Rouge National Park, you’ll have a good chance of seeing marmots, chamois or bouquetin.
It’s a 2 hours climb up to Lac Blanc for trekkers of your speed. The route climbs steadily until you reach the infamous TMB ladders – a series of 13 ladders and metal ware built into the rock. It’s the most exciting physical aspect of the entire Tour du Mont Blanc. See notes at the top of this page for how to avoid these ladders if you suffer from vertigo. At the Tête aux Vents, a large cairn (2132m) which borders the national park to Lac Blanc. Lac Blanc (2,352m) has an almost mythical stature – The magic here happens when the day trippers leave late afternoon.
Approximate time and distances:
11.9kms / 1225m up / 782 m down / 5 hours trekking
7.4m / 4018ft up / 2565ft down / 5 hours trekking
Day 9:
Lac Blanc - Brevent - Les Houches
Today you have a number of exits available to you on the trail. If you need to cut your trip short and leave for home today you can either take the gondola down from La Flégère to the village of Les Praz (10 minute bus ride to central Chamonix) or continue along the balcony route until Plan Praz (8km 3-4 hours) and take the Plan Praz gondola down to central Chamonix. Longer options are taking the Le Brévent cable car up from Plan Praz (17.3km 6-7hrs) and then hiking down to Les Houches, or the longest option (which we would advise against if you want to get into Les Houches during daylight hours is to trek the entire trail to Les Houches (19.8km 8-10 hours or perhaps even longer!)
From Refuge Lac Blanc follow the balcony trail past La Flégère and continue to Plan Praz. The entire route along this balcon walk has incredible views of Mont Blanc weather permitting. It truly is astounding. Often it seems like a painted landscape it truly is surreal. Descend via the Plan Praz cable car to Chamonix centre or if you’ve still got energy – you’ve set off early and want to complete the entire circuit from start to finish you’ll need to continue onwards. The best way to do this is to take the cable car UP from Plan Praz to Le Brévent which gives again, insane views of Mont Blanc. The long descent from Le Brévent is hard on the knees but is beautiful with wild red and pink azaleas popping with colour. This area again is known for common sightings of chamois. Expect to fall into Les Houches – this is a huge day but also completing the whole TMB in just 9 days is no easy feat. Well done!
Approximate time and distances:
19.8km / 839m up / 2183m down / 5-6 hours trekking
12.3m / 2752ft up / 6460ft down / 5-6 hours trekking
