The Tour Of Mont Blanc: Complete Two-way Trekking Guide Book Pdf
Fidelia Boldul
Ever since my dad and I did the lesser-known Tour de Vanoise back in 2012 (located in Savoie, the eastern Rhne-Alpes region of France), I had dreamed of doing the popular TMB. My father too had wanted to complete some of the TMB after scaling Mount Blanc in 1998. Thankfully, the opportunity finally arrived this summer and better yet, it would be not with two generations of trekkers but three.
On July 4th, my father, 14-year-old son and I left for a ten-day intergenerational hiking trip to Mont Blanc, devising our own Tour de Mont Blanc to fit our needs. Armed with maps, internet resources, and guide books, we set off and had a magnificent time. I learned a lot along the way about what works and what can be improved with planning your own Tour de Mont Blanc. Here is what I discovered and my thoughts on planning your own Taste of Mont Blanc.
The Tour of Mont Blanc: Complete two-way trekking guide book pdf
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At 15,771 feet (4807 m), the mighty snow-capped Mount Blanc soars 12,000 feet (3700 m) over Chamonix, dominating the region and controlling the weather in all the surrounding valleys. As the masterpiece of the Mont Blanc massif, an area measuring 29 miles (46 km) long graced with numerous peaks and aiguilles, jaw-dropping sheer rock walls, ridges and tumbling glaciers, the TMB is known as one of the most stunning multi-day treks in the world.
There are pros and cons to both options. Some of the pros of staying up in the mountain refuges is that you are away from it all and are truly in the mountains the entire 10-11 days of the hike. I did this during the Tour de Vanoise and to be that free and far away from modern-day life was half the beauty of the hike itself. You also can also avoid spending time and save your knees on going up and down to the start of the hike each day which is normally quite steep.
To help plan your trip, check out Reserve Your Tour de Mont Blanc, a website in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish that helps you plan your entire tour and reserve available hotels, inns, B&Bs and mountain refuges along the way. It is amazing!
Since we were traveling with three generations of varying hiking abilities and fitness level, we chose to do hikes between 4-5 hours maximum each day. We ended up doing 7 different hikes throughout our trip and only took one day to rest. All of our hikes were on the TMB route except one which was in Aosta Valley (this hike ended up being pretty special!).
We saw a variety of ages completing the TMB ranging from young adults fresh out of school to highly in shape hikers well into their sixties and seventies. It was pretty inspiring especially since I plan on hiking as long as my legs will bring me.
I plan on writing a separate post on each hike over the next couple of months, filled with gorgeous photos, information and details on why the hike was special. Stay tuned! In the meantime, you can check out this photo gallery of some of my favorite shots taken during each hike.
Tucked within two valleys, the Val Ferret and Val Veny on the southeastern side of Mont Blanc lies the lovely alpine town of Courmayeur. With a central pedestrian walking area and just enough lovely restaurants, hotels and bars to meet your needs, we loved Courmayeur. We spent two full days hiking in Courmayeur and also rode the cable car to the top of Mont Blanc to get a panoramic view of where we had been hiking. I am very glad we did this as it also gave us a wonderful perspective of the differences between the Italian and French side of Mont Blanc (we also rode the cable car to the top of Mont Blanc in Chamonix. I would highly recommend doing both if you can swing it).
The lovely town of Aosta is not technically on the tour and is just a half an hour east of Courmayeur but has a wealth of amazing hiking opportunities if you want to beat the TMB crowds. We stayed in the lovely small community of Pollein, just outside of Aosta and found tons of amazing hiking opportunities nearby and enjoyed embracing the local culture.
The best place to stay along the TMB is by far Lac Champex with its lovely lake setting against the backdrop of the Alps. We stayed outside in the busier town of Martigny however we wished we had stayed in Champex. The TMB literally crosses right through town and there are plenty of lovely places to stay, eat and relax for a few days if you need a break.
The highlight of any TMB trip is the spending some time in the spectacular town of Chamonix which in my humble opinion, is one of the most beautiful settings for a town on earth. With Mont Blanc and multiple glaciers literally right outside your hotel window, there could not be any place with such incredible, jaw-dropping beauty. Furthermore, Chamonix has fantastic dining options, shopping and everything you could possibly want on a hiking trip through the Alps. I fell in love with Chamonix and you will too!
We went last summer in August. We started in Les Houches and ended in Chamonix. Counter clockwise. We used Macs adventures to book hotels,etc. but it was self guided. One of our favorite trips!!!! It was unbelievably stunning.
Yes, it was so fun. When I was there I realized that there are a lot of different multi-day treks all around the Alps. It makes me want to spend some time in that part of the world someday just trekking! Yes, we do all look alike! It is fun.
What a fantastic experience to share with your Dad and now your son, Nicole. Love that happy photo of you three. And all your landscape photos are fabulous. Your posts are full of well-researched information. ?
Could Tour Du Mont Blanc (also known as TMB) be one of the most beautiful trails in the world? 11 days. 3 countries. 300,000 steps. 170km distance. 10km of ascents/descents. Best time ever!
In order to stay healthy, I try to focus on good sleep, stress management and staying active, preferably outdoors. One of my favourite outdoor activities is hiking and I especially enjoy long-distance, multi-day hikes that involve changing scenery and exposure to local cultures and people.
The Tour Du Mont Blanc (also known as TMB) is one of the most popular long-distance trails in Europe. The traditional 11-day hiking trip circles the Mont Blanc massif (Mont Blanc is the tallest mountain in Western Europe at 4,807 m (15,771 ft) and goes through France, Italy and Switzerland.
The best time for this trail is July and August, although June and September are also optional with less stable weather and less people. I think July is perfect because August can get very busy with the Europeans enjoying their month off. The trail is busy but you usually pass people at the start or at the end of the day, and we went through long stretches of time of not bumping into anyone.
The traditional route circles the Mont Blanc in an anti-clockwise direction starting in Les Houches, France (20 mins bus from Chamonix) and finishing back in Les Houches or in Chamonix. It goes through France (about 3-4 nights), Italy (3 nights) and Switzerland (3 nights), then back in France for a couple of nights at the end.
You can also do the whole route in the opposite direction and we certainly met a lot of hikers and groups doing so. Having seen and done the trail, I would suggest going the traditional way (anti-clockwise) simply because of the way the scenery unfolds and what you get rewarded with towards the end. I think some of the high passes on the variant routes we did were a little easier going the anti-clockwise way.
You can walk the trail as part of an organised tour group or you can do it alone or with friends. My personal view is that in true TMB spirit, the trail should not be done as part of a tour group; but, it is an individual preference.
You can stay in refuges (remote mountain huts/hostels with communal dining and dormitory-style rooms and shared showers), B&Bs and small hotels while passing through small towns and villages; or, you can also camp along the way (the downside is having to carry the camping gear with you).
I ended up eating way too much bread and cheese for my liking (I went with option 1) but at least the bread was almost always freshly baked at the refuge, and the cheese was from the local pasture-fed cows. The amount of energy you burn each day (up to 2000-3000 calories) will require more food and those extra carbohydrates do get used up pretty quickly.
Yes, I often felt a bit bloated and lethargic after those meals, but I also enjoyed fresh alpine air and clean mountain water and I walked on average 30,000 steps per day. I got fitter, I used little technology, I did crosswords and Sudoku daily, I raised and went to sleep with the sun, I swam in alpine lakes, I picked and savoured wild raspberries and blueberries, and I lived with minimal stuff and no to-do lists. My point is that there is no need to obsess about your diet (unless you do have a condition) when you get so many other benefits from a trip like that.
We flew into Geneva, Switzerland and took a bus to Les Houches (about 1-1.5 hours). We stayed at Hotel Slalom with a great owner Tracy (she is British), very comfy room and excellent breakfast. Get enough money at the local ATM to last for a week. Most refuges take cash only, although B&Bs and hotels will take cards. Euros can be used in the Swiss parts of the trek.
There were a couple of surprisingly steep and hard ascents for day one but the route eventually goes through the forest and by the river. A lot of people took a variant route via a high pass but we thought that might be a bit much for day 1 so we stuck with the regular TMB route. Take some lunch as you might get caught out with nowhere to eat on this leg, unless you want a very early lunch.
This was a long, interesting and varied day of multiple ascents and descents, crossing the pass at Col Du Bunhomme and rocky alpine landscape. Regular route continues to Les Chapieux in the valley below, but a lot of people, us including, stay at the top at Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme, which is one of the most remote on the trek.
This was followed by a VERY long descent down a rocky, gravely mountain but with some amazing waterfalls cascading all around us. We eventually reached the valley and had a decent break and some food before undertaking the second ascent of the day to Col de Seigne (2510m), which is where we crossed into Italy.
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