In August 2012 we decided to head back to see family in the UK for 3 weeks. As part of this trip we would leave the kids with family and walk the Tour Mont Blanc, a 100ish mile hike around the Mont Blanc Massive, passing through France, Italy and Switzerland. It wasn't completely obvious as to whether this walk was possible in the 7 day kid-free time we had available to us, but after a bit of googling I discovered this nicely detailed trip report. As luck would have it, it turned out the author lived in the same city as me (Sydney) so we arranged to meet him and chat about his experiences with the walk. What a small world! He also was kind enough to lend us his maps and a great little book describing the route (Andrew Harper, Cicerone Press). Finally the 3 of us (an old mate from home had attached himself onto our party)booked our flights to Geneva and we were ready..
Day 1
8.20 Les Houches 10.20 Col de Voza 4.30 Contamines 6.50 Nant Borrant
We took a bus from Chamonix to Les Houches to the beginning of the trek, intrepid explorers ready for a full day's walking. Here we lost the plot a little, walking up and down the main street looking for the start point. Eventually an old lady gesticulated at us through her window pointing up a nearby field. We were off! We hit the Col de Voza, after a hard climb at 10.20 and stopped for a cuppa in the shack there. Start of the trek and all that, we were chatting a little too much, not enough concentration on the actual route and managed to accidentally descend into the valley via Bionnassay, reaching Le Chapel (12.10). Oops!
To correct this mistake it was necessary to take a super hard climb up to Le Truc at 1750m. We are made of STEEL. After that it was 2 hours of downhill to reach the outskirts of Les Contamines at around 4.30pm. We were a little gutted that we had missed the supposedly good high altitude bit via the col de Tricot due to our silly schoolboy/girl error, and vowed to try to concentrate on the route a little more from now on (famous last words!).
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Day 2
8am start 8.50 La Balme col du Bonhomme 12.51 Refuge de la Croix 6pm Col de la Seigne 7.10pm Refuge Elisabetta
After a continental breakfast we were out and walking by 8am. After yesterdays cockups we decided that today we would be navigation gods (if there is such a thing). First priority for Mr Incredible and I was to scale and be photographed on a giant boulder we came across halfway up the first hill. It was pretty high. Once we hit the hill in front of us, the rock seemed a little bit of a waisted effort... Up into the snow patches, we arrived at the Refuge de la Croix, via the col du Bonhomme just before 1. Today we decided to take the high road, skipping a visit to Les Chapieux at the end of the valley. We stopped on the exposed ridge, just by the refuge for a well deserved lunch. The walking here is very reminiscent of the lake district back in the UK. We saw a Marmot on the way up, and stalked it for a bit, till we got bored.
At the Tete Nord des Fours, we decided to take the detour to the table d'orientation, the 'done thing' according to Harper. From this table, on a clear day you can apparently see the Matterhorn, which is around 50 miles away. We weren't that lucky, but the view was pretty good, the Mt Blanc massif dominating the view from the table. We also saw a bunch of deer-type-things here. I remember glancing back up to the ridge about 30 mins into our descent and the whole family had gathered to watch us depart.
Looking at our map we figured it would be a nice easy walk down to the valley floor and then along the valley to our destination, Refugio Elisabetta, crossing the border into Italy. Just before we were about to set off, we met 2 Canadian brothers who corrected us on our terrible map reading... oh dear how embarrassing. Turns out after reaching the valley floor it would be necessary to climb up to the next col and into Italy. Our gentle walk along the valley became a 1000m+ climb over the next ridge. Bugger. I still maintain that I told everybody at the start of the bastard walk that contour lines never were my strong point!
The Canadians were going the same way as us and from then on for the rest of the day we became Olympic hill walkers. Our mission was to BEAT THEM. The spirit of London 2012 seemed to enter us, or perhaps it was Incredible Pig and his competitive nature, but from that point on it became team UK against the Canadians. In an incredible show of stamina, or more likely stupidity, Incredible Pig stormed up the switchbacks on the other side of the valley with the Tubbys on his heels. We arrived at Elisabetta at 7.10pm, totally spent. BRING IT!!!!! Canadian brother #1 arrived, drenched in sweat about 10 minutes later and by 9pm the weather had taken a turn for the worst, heavy rain and frequent thunder and lightning. Canadian brother #2 still hadn't arrived at the refuge. It turned out that #1 had sped away from him just after we met them at the col (most likely he was also filled with Olympic joy and fancied himself as an international hill walker). By 8pm #1 was understandably worried and decided to run all the way back up to the col from the refuge TWICE to try and find his brother. It was all a bit worrying really. At about 9.30pm, after dinner, #2 arrived, to huge cheers from the assembled masses on the balcony of the refuge. We all drank expensive beer. It later turned out that #2 had stopped (to shelter from the lightning) in the emergency hut right after the col. #1 had not in fact run all the way to the col, but to just BELOW the emergency hut (where his brother was)... TWICE. I asked him why he hadn't gone right to the col.. seemed like 2 wasted trips to me.. he claimed it was just too exposed. Man that's unlucky.
Refugio Elisabetta is fantastically positioned right next to the glacier de la Lex Blanche and, i'm told is usually very busy, no exceptions when we arrived. We slept in a dorm with about 30 others, in beds that just fitted normal sized people. Incredible Pig didn't get much sleep.
Day 3
7.45am left 1.45 Courmayeur 3.15 Refuge Bertone 5.40 Col Sapin 8pm La Vachey
After a few beers last night I discovered I had lost my new polarised prescription sunnies which was a bit of a shit. The refuge owner guy made a few calls and told me the glasses were likely to make their way to some address in the next town. Apparently a warden had found them and had taken then down to the next town, Courmayeur. He must have passed right by our refuge! So anyway, my mission today (as well as LOTS of walking) was to go and see if we could find them. The morning turned out to be a hell of a ride. We hiked down the valley into said town and then took a local bus to La Palud, as directed by the refuge owner guy. After much running to and fro, I finally found the place - the Fondazione Montagna Sieura. It was Sunday and the place was closed but I eventually managed to raise someone and explain the situation. No Sunnies :( Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. I left my nice new glasses case and a forwarding address. Come back to Sydney. Come back to Sydney. So far they haven't arrived home :( I discovered that the staff here are the ones responsible for the marketing and management of (at least) the Italian part of the TBM route.
After a quick pizza and beer stop in Courmayeur (well, it IS Italy) it was quickly back into the hiking mode. We were at 1220m in Courmayeur and at the edge of the town we started up what was probably the steepest path we had yet encountered. We had been a little worried about this day when planning this walk, as today we are combining 2 or Harper's suggested itinerary days into one - i.e. nutter territory. At this point we were beginning to question our sanity a little...
We made it to the top of the switch backs (battling with descending OAP's), Mr Incredible in his element again, to hit Refuge Bertone at the top. Looking down we could see the miniaturized buildings of Courmayeur (aaah).
More steep climbing brought us to the ridge Mont de la Saxe. Great views here of the peaks of the Mt Blanc massif and co, as well as a good view back up the valley to the Col de la Seigne. As good old Andrew Harper puts it 'the eye is tormented, not knowing where to look, as it is all too magnificent for words'. He goes on to say that 'only an insensitive person would be unaffected by the loveliness of the view' - Nice one Harper!
We met some sheep and a nice goat whilst walking along this grassy ridge, with views of the La Vachey village, our destination in the Armina valley below. We climbed gradually up and to the right, and then down to the Col Sapin, nestled high between 2 hills. By this time in was almost 4pm and it was clear we had a long way to go.
The route was a little unclear. We could either head down the valley or up over the next ridge. Not being pussys we picked the harder of the two (who am I kidding.. the valley route just looked dangerous), and finally reached Refugio Bonatti just after dark. We were all exhausted. We hadn't booked but they had space so we were finally able to get our boots off and relax. Whiskey, coke and dinner. Lovely.
Day 4
7.30 left 10.30 Elena 11.25 Col du Grand Ferret 1pm gift from god cafe 6pm Champex
We were expecting a 12 hour day of walking today, so we were up at 6am. We left at 7.30 after a good breakfast, and reached the valley floor at 9.10am. We then started to climb (again) steeply to reach refugio Elena at 10.30am. More magnificent views of the the Miage and Pre de Bar glaciers until we reached the Col du Grand Ferret and the Swiss border just before 11.30. Here we met a lone English mountain biker who was descending. Hardcore route. The first part of today became a minor race between us and a party of English walkers, guided by a tiny man who was christened by Mr Incredible as 'Mini Mountain Man'. I quote, 'You could put him in your pocket'. The competitive nature of said super hero was plain to see as we raced up from Elena to the col du Grand Ferret, surrounded by spectacular glaciers.
It was then down the other side - very tiring and hard on the knees and toes, until we reached an unexpected cafe close to the valley floor. Not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth we each had lunch - an omelette each and a coke (we skipped the whiskey), for which we were charged 50 Euros. 50 EUROS! For some reason there was a couple of yurts in the yard here. Perhaps they were to store all the money the staff managed to extract from the walkers. I managed to get a splinter on one of the benches. Mr Incredible removed it.
Once refreshed, we then had a long slog ahead of us down down to the floor of the Val Ferret valley, and along the valley to the Swiss lakeside town of Champex. One of the fences on the way was held up with old ski poles, so we got Mr Incredible to pull the top off pf one and fit it onto the walking pole I had been using since the start (Easy Jet managed to rip the handle off the pole - a loan from my mum!) Nice one Mr Incredible! Yes I had been using a walking pole with a sharp metal serrated top for the previous 4 days. Not ideal!
In Champex we were accosted by a very, very drunk girl in the Rendez-vous bar ('come and play with me' sticks in my head). She seemed to prefer Kerry to me. The bar staff were highly embarrassed and upgraded the 2 rooms we were in the process of negotiating a price for to a small apartment. Result! It was nice to be able to spread our stuff out, have showers and make a mess again.
My communication with the locals has become an eclectic mix of French, English and Spanish. I plan to put some effort into learning at least one of them! We have again removed the 'no' from the end of our 'Bonjour's, being in a French speaking place again.
Day 5
7.15 left 11.30 Fenetre d'Arpette 2ish Col de Balme
We knew there was a choice of routes today, but after we heard the names the choice was easy. The 'bovine' route vs the Fenetre d'Arpette. Come on. Which one would you choose? The Fenetre d'Arpette is the highest point on the whole trek at 2665m.
The morning was spent jumping between granite boulders, getting steeper and steeper until it became a bit of a climb to reach the col. Very reminiscent of my favorite route up ScarFell in the lake district back home. A 'demanding and rugged trek' according to Harper. Aaah.
We spent the climb discussing Alluvial Fans and such with a fell-running geography teacher from Leeds. Luckily we couldn't go wrong with the route finding here or we might have been in trouble. We had lunch on a massive rock about half way down; swiss cheese, toblorone and fresh bread (bought this morning) overlooking the huge Glacier du Trident. At 2.30pm, close to the bottom of the descent we had a quick coke at the Chlt. du Glacier.
Most people here were pretty much done for the day and about to head to the pub from here, but not us, oh no! We crossed the river and started up the mountain next door (nutters, crazy English etc). Finally we reached Les Grandes, a large hut at 2133m with great views of the glacier on the opposite mountainside. We had a quick cuppa and aired out the feet a little, then started on the final 2 hour stretch to our stop for the night - the Col de Balme on the French border. I'd read a bit about this place in Harper's book. I knew it was run by a woman who had been there forever, and who runs her place with an iron fist. Sounded interesting and as there was no alternative that was our destination. She didn't disappoint but it was the place itself that was great. Super old, very faded stuff from the 60's on the walls and very, very small.
Mistress cooked us steak and chips for dinner. It was surprisingly good. Snickers and warm beer for pudding. Dinnertime was a bit like being back at school. Us 3 and 2 Irish tree surgeons were seated around a small dining table with Mistress occasionally coming out and smashing plates of food onto the table. Not a smile. One of the Irish made the mistake of asking for water with his dinner, and was changed 6 Euro for a bottle of Evian. The Mistresses husband took all the money from us in the morning. He didn't smile much either. I seriously think if someone could recruit these 2 as actors and make a low budget horror film at the Col du Balme it would be a winner. Look out for the film.
Day 6
8.10 left 10am Tre-le-Champ 2.30 Refuge Lac Blanc
The bunk beds last night here were incredibly creaky - looked like they were designed for kids.. and there were padlocks on the doors of the other bedrooms. The ceiling of our bedroom was very low, about 2 foot from my head. I dreamed of gas chambers. Breakfast (once the door into the dining room has been unlocked) was stale baguette and nescafe. I couldn't wait to get out.
We headed down into the top end of the Chamonix valley to Tre-le-Champ. This is one of the main ski areas in this area and I really wished for snow right then. Must come back to ski here. At Tre-le-Champ we found a nice eating place, but failed to get a cooked breakfast out of the chef (who was cooking up divinely smelling bacon and eggs to make quiches). I quote (with a silly Freeeeench John Cleese accent); 'Go to Macdonalds if you want cooked food for breakfast. This is France'. We ate the dried meat and last chocolate we found in our bags, right outside his silly cafe. After lunch we started up the other side of the valley, scaling a few ladders and eating tasty billberries (Myrtille) and raspberries on the way. At about midday we came across what we initially thought was Lac Blanc, where we took a well deserved dip.
An hour or so later we were at the Lac Blanc refuge, which is positioned next to the real Lac Blanc at 2352 metres. This place has one of the best vistas on the trek, and due to it's easily accessible position from Chamonix, it was very busy. We splashed out on some great food here, and were so taken with the place that we decided to stay the night. We even had some bilberry pie, one of the things this place is famous for.
We had a relaxing afternoon, chatting to the English Geography teachers and Kim, an American lady from Colorado. One guy had been wanting to do this walk for the last 25 years and had finally found the time! They told us they had skipped the dreaded Col du Balme due to the rudeness of it's owners, something we could now appreciate.
Day 7
8.15am left 11ish La Flegere pm ChamonixWe were planning to walk back to Les Houches today, via Plan Praz and the col du Brevent, but by the time we were up and out the weather had taken a turn for the worse; low cloud, rain and thunder, so we headed from Lac Blanc to Index where the chair lift would take us down to the Chamonix valley. Our rain gear was finally unpacked and donned. In about an hour we arrived at the chairlifts at La Flegere, but due to the storm lifts were not running. Our only option was to walk. Just as we reached the bottom of the upper chairlifts, the mechanism started (I'm sure the operator was messing with us silly English people). At the bottom of the lifts we took the cable car down to the valley floor and then a bus back to Chamonix.
Pizza and beer for lunch in Chamonix, soon after which we suffered the 2nd loss of the trip - Mr's Incredible's wallet! The next few hours were spent at the Gendarmerie, sorting insurance claims out..
Due to the impending TMB ultra marathon, Chamonix was packed. We were very lucky to get beds at the backpackers place we stayed on our first night here (the owner kindly allowed us to lay temporary beds out in the reception room for 2 nights).
That evening we watched the marathon runners set off on their 30+ hours around the circuit. Our position was a toss-up between the front of the cow-bell shop (ample supply of bells to ring), the 'pub' (ample supply of beer) or the street. We plumped for the street, as close as we could get to the start line. The atmosphere was fantastic.
Notes
Most of the high altitude refuges on the trek are located close to glaciers. We didn't book any huts (except the first night) - it was fine. We contemplated taking tents and sleeping bags. So glad we didn't. Doing this trek in 7 days is hard. Keep pack size and weight to a minimum. We took sleeping bag liners and a few clothes. Not much else and made use of the refuges. We spent between about 130 and 180 Euros/day for beds/dinner/breakfast and showers for 3 people. Drinking alcohol at the refuges increases that amount significantly.
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