Hello, World!
I can’t remember how we had heard of the 10 day trek: Tour du Mt Blanc (TMB), but I do remember the first time I visited the French Alps in the summer, thinking to myself I need to come back. In the French summer, the Alps come alive with flowers, the glaciers melt into delicious and cold water streams, the weather is warm in the day, cold at night and at times extremely unpredictable. In the distance, the sound of cow bells, marmots, ibex and birds fill the freshest air you ever breathed. This place is magic.
The TMB traverses around the base of Mt Blanc, winding through France, Italy and Switzerland and each day is filled with a variety of elevation (approx. 1000m) and decline (approx. 1000m) through mountain tops, pine forests, open prairies and moss forests. Approximately every 3 days, along the 10-day walk, you arrive at a big town; France: Chamonix, Italy: Courmayeur (known for hot springs) and Switzerland: Champex. These make great breaks or a spot to top of supplies. The hike can be made easier by staying cabins (refuges) along the way and for 50 euro a night you can share a dorm style room, in a bed, with 3 course dinner and standard breakfast (bread and coffee) and even a hot shower. This can ultimately turn into a food and wine tour as you trek through France, Italy and Switzerland. We opted to carry a tent, save some money and avoid the snorers. That said, we ended up in 2 refuges, and the food was amazing. The fact that the TMB is a 5-10-day circuit is great for transport options as you can find a number of spots to leave your car to come back to. We left ours at Les Houches near the Bellevue Telipherique.
We set out to do the hike in 9 days, by skipping one day in Switzerland by bus, which worked out well as this section was not as interesting and the town was quite expensive to camp at. Our first 5 days were perfect in terms of weather and surroundings. High climbs, epic peaks, a couple of side trips to summits and great campsites (a mixture of paid campsites, wild camping and one night in both Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme and Refuge de Bonatti). Whilst wild camping is not permitted at high altitudes, there are places along the track, some paid sites near refuges, holidays parks in towns, public camping parks, though some refuges will deny you dinner and breakfast if you are not staying in their cabins.
The walk itself is amazing. Fairly easy to follow tracks, plenty of painted and metal signs along the way. We carried a bit of food but every few days could stock up on delicious cheese, fresh bread, fruit, sweets, and occasionally, wine. Some days were long and hard, with big elevation and decline, but all worth it for the views of mountain tops and the valleys in which we found shelter each night. We were smashed by a couple of storms over the last two nights, while some of the more serious hikers were catching buses off the mountain from Tre-le-Champ out to Chamonix. We, however, persisted but got hit by the scariest storm we have been in, which along with a slightly leaky tent we survived (others in fancy lightweight tents spent the night under water). We kept walking and upon to decent into Chamonix decided to get the bus and skip the next day’s walk. Just as we hopped onto the bus, a massive storm hit and instead of another rough night, we scored cheap accommodation in town, spa, sauna and indoor pool, and ate a nice, hearty, French mountain meal.
There are multiple side trips, a few lakes for a cold swim, a few glacier crossings and plenty of steep climbs. To finish the hike there is a cable car you can pay for that takes you over Mt Blanc and its glaciers. TMB is a great all-round hike, with some incredible spots that make you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere, however you are often only a day or two hike from a restaurant with accommodation.
By Morgan Teillet-Meunier
