Tour de Mt. Blanc - 9 day trek
- Jocelyn Timmermans
- Oct 7, 2023
- 13 min read
Aug. 28-Sept. 6, 2023
Mt. Blanc (4807m) is the highest mountain in the Alps, located on the French-Italian border.
Fourteen Chilliwack Outdoor Club members + three Dutchies did the loop counter-clockwise round the Alps, weaving through three different countries; France, Italy & Switzerland.
I began this trek with the mind-set of not being too ridgid about doing the whole route, focusing instead on getting the views. Therefore bad weather with no views meant taking the shorter routes. Of the 155 km in the itinerary for this route, Judith and I did 110km. Of the 9260m gain we did 8010m gain.
Let me tell you the story of our 10-day adventure:
Day 1, Aug. 25: We flew to Geneva, Switzerland and stayed two nights in the Hotel Cornavin, close to the bus and train stations.
Strolling the kinks out of our bodies after 11.5 hours of flying, Case & I set out to explore the city. Because of the less-than-1-hour layover in Montreal, we were running to catch our next flight. This resulted in Delta Airlines running into issues with the luggage transfer between the flights. Four of us from the COC group arrived in Geneva without our luggage.
William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza & John Knox.
This wall, built in 1909 honors many of the main individuals, events + documents of the protestant reformation.
The Lord's prayer.
The sense of community is strong in Europe.
Cisterns were located throughout the city, ages old and still providing us with drinkable water.
St. Peter's Cathedral, built between 1150-1230
Day 2, Aug. 26: Case's two dutch sisters, Janet & Judith + Thea (our son-in-law's mother and Janet's neighbour) arrived in the morning.
4-pic slider of Basilica Notre-Dame was right beside our hotel.
The evening before, as we were walking along the harbour, lo and behold, we ran into Simon & Irene! It was a happy reunion and solidified the fact that this long-planned-for trip was becoming a reality. Irene was the one who organized this trip with some in-put from others via Messenger, group chat.
We took the free city bus to Parc Mon Repos.
1) Hibiscus 2) East Indian Lotus
1) Coral Hibiscus 2) Lobster Claw
1) Water-lily 2) Canna Lily
Judith, Thea, Janet & Case. These first days in Geneva & Les Houches, we didn't see much of the COC group. Judith did most of the organizing for us. Her ability to speak French came in handy.
Aug. 27th we took the train to Chamonix and from there we took the bus to Les Houches to the Rocky Pop Hotel where we stayed for one night.
Trek day 1 - Les Houches to Auberge du Truc - France - south
Stats: 6.5 km / 580m gain / 650m loss
The excitement for the big beginning was somewhat dampened by the pouring rain. This popular route provided numerous gondolas and bus options. So we opted for the variant route which was shorter but higher. We started out by taking the Bellevue gondola up to 1800m.
The rest of our group was in Chamonix which was a 20-minute bus ride from where we were.
2-pic slider: A small fenced in section held in several big steers. We had to walk there??? As one approached us with his big horns, we nervously darted out of the way. Thankfully he was more interested in eating the grass.
The good thing about the heavy downpour, was the rushing falls. Also it brought with it a drastic drop in temperatures, changing from the upper 30s to the mid 20s. Much more hike-able.
The not so nice thing about the rain was the partial views of the mountains. But the weather got better with each day on the trail.
Approaching the Col de Tricot pass (2120m).
Heather.
As is typical of passes (or cols), the clouds get stuck on one side and it clears on the other side. With this pass it looked like there was a glass wall holding them back, the way they so precisely stayed on the one side of the ridge.
Several of the passes had crosses which you could see from a distance.
1) Stemless Thistle 2) Grass of Parnassus
The inclement weather stubbornly stuck around all day.
This cute little hamlet in which Refuge de Miage (1520m) is located, looked warm and inviting.
Shortly after the hamlet we left the road and climbed 170m up on a steep narrow trail to the Auberge du Truc hut.
We were united with the other 12 members of our COC group there. This hut was small but warm and cozy. We all agreed that the lady running it, was very helpful and friendly. Her blueberry tarts were delicious! Almost all the huts supplied plastic clogs that we could switch with your boots for indoor use.
Trek day 2: Auberge du Truc to Refuge de La Croix du Bonhomme - south
Stats: 16.8 km / 1350m gain / 640m loss
The farmer led the cows out to pasture in the morning mist. Brigitte always wakes up early. Being a dairy farmer herself, she was very interested in watching him milk the cows. She even got to help.
2-pic slider
This day started with a bit of downhill to the village of les Contamines-Montjoe.
This road followed the Baroque route.
Case, Janet & Thea took the bus for the first stretch while Judith and I did some shopping for future lunches in Contamines. Janet started this trip with foot problems, taking regular painkillers throughout the trek. Nadine had also fallen and hurt her back, just days before. She completed the whole trek but Janet had to pull the plug by day eight.
This Holy Chapel, Notre Dame de la Gorge, was built in the middle ages. Legend has it that a hermit settled here in the 10th century and offered shelter to travellers. And a spring with miraculous powers once sprang from it's wall.
Judith lit a candle and we prayed for Janet, that she'd be able to do the whole trek. Little did we know that those prayers would be quite necessary for that very same day.
Notre Dame de la Gorge.
Refuge de Nant Borrant
1) Astrantia
We caught up to the other three at Refuge de la Balme. We all had lunch in the warm hut. Simon and Irene showed up as we were leaving. Thea was not happy with her phone that wasn't working. Its a good thing it did later, when her google maps became crucial for them to stay en-route..
A group of sheep.
A sign showed us the view we couldn't see.
A bunch of us ended up taking a wrong turn before the col. The trail was very deceiving. Ours was short-lived but Case, Janet & Thea's was not. It turned out that two womens' lives were saved because of this mistake.
It's customary to add a rock to the pile as you pass it.
At the very windy and cold Col du Bohomme there was a small rickety hut. But solid enough to keep the wind out. A brief stop there to add layers and off we went -- into a blizzard!
Our agency said we wouldn't need micro-spikes but we certainly couldn've used them here. What normally is supposed to take 20 minutes to walk, now took us a very long hour. My feet and hands were numb and visibility was getting worse by the minute. We were being pelted with tiny ice-balls.
This creek crossing was close to the hut. It was tricky, as everything was wet and slippery. To avoid getting wet feet, we had to do a small jump to the other side. This is where the guys found Thea, Janet and a girl later.
Judith and I arrived at the hut at 5:00pm. We were very worried about Case, Thea & Janet. Would they have turned around and gone back? Would they be stuck in the dark and frozen? I knew Case had his Gaia but without spikes, and being with flat-landers from Holland, how would they cope in these hazardous conditions? As the others from our group were bombarding us with questions, three young guys were listening. They offered to go out and look for them. Then Irene & Simon showed up. They said they had not seen them, while two others guys who came in after us said they had. That didn't make sense.
About an hour later we suddenly saw the face of Janet in the window! What a relief!!! Apparently they had run into two girls when they went off course. These girls were in panic-mode. One was crying and said she didn't want to carry on. So Thea and Janet and one girl kept on hiking while Case stayed with the other girl who he had to actually physically push to keep her going. Thea's phone died just as the one guy found her at the creek. The second guy had to hike farther to find Case & the girl, who were slowly making their way in the near dark, to our hut.
A blizzard and the stress of missing members at the end of a long hiking day made for an exhausted bunch of hikers.
Thankfully, this was the only day we encountered snow. So happy to be safe and sound once again.
Dinner was good but breakfast was disappointing, just bread and jam. They didn't even give us plates or cutlery. I guess it didn't help that we were late. Yes, 8:00am is late in these mountain huts.
Trek day 3: Refuge de La Croix du Bonhomme to Rifugio Elisabetta - south to southeast and then northeast
Stats: 15 km / 780m gain / 1230m loss
The calm after the storm. I was so excited to see the sun shining and the exposed peaks when we woke.
This hut was at 2433m.
It was 5 km downhill from the hut to the valley.
Looking back.
2) Common Bistort
1) Viper's Buglass 2) Shaggy Scalycap
At the bottom of the slope was the small village of les Chapieux. We had a delicious omlette there while we waited for Case & Janet. But when it seemed to be taking too long, Judith went looking for them and found them a bit down the road in a bar. It was a wild scramble to catch the bus on time. The bus ride felt more like a roller-coaster ride. Thea was getting real car-sick as we sped 4 km up the narrow curving road with no shoulders.
We had to backtrack a wee bit from where the bus dropped us off at la Ville des Glaciers, to get onto the trail.
The clouds were stuck behind the pass again.
Looking back.
Looking at the Robert Blanc route.
At the col de la Seigne (2516m).
Yay! We could see the peaks! We were now entering Italy. Pyramides Calcaires to the left.
1) Leopard's Bane 2) Scheuchzer's Bellflower
La Casermeta used to be a border control station, but has been renovated and is now an interpretive centre. The woman managing it was eager to talk and showed us exactly where we were on the 3-D scale model of the Mt. Blanc massif.
From the pass it was an easy 4 km to the hut.
1) Musk Milfoil 2) Arctic alpine fleabane
What a beautiful view awaited us at our next hut (2035m).
This was the only hut with the slab beds. We all had ear plugs.
Before dinner Judith and I did a half-hour jaunt to get closer to the glaciers.
Glacier d' Estelette to the left.
And Glacier de la Lee Blanche to the right.
Heading back down to the hut.
As we were waiting for dinner, Janet (who'd been checking her phone) suddenly jumped up and proclaimed, "I have a new granddaughter!!!" So we all had a toast. The baby was born 3 weeks early but all was well.
Trek day 4: Rifugio Elisabetta to Rifugio Maison Vieille - northeast
Stats: 9.5 km / 360m gain / 570m loss
View of the valley we would be walking through, from our hut.
Leaving our lofty perch.
1) Bearberry 2) Baby Blue-eyes
After 3km on the road, we turned right and started to climb on a trail.
The southern face of Mt. Blanc.
The Peuterey peaks -- west.
Looking back.
We were now entering an area of gondolas and ski slopes. Via Lattea is the largest ski resort in Italy, it's longest slope length being 400m.
Left: Glacier de Brouillard / Right: Glacier de Freiney
1) I'd never seen so many larch trees before.
Rifugio Maison Vielle (1900m) was pure pleasure after a relaxing hike. They had reclining lawn chairs there and you could take as long of a shower as you wanted without waiting in line. What more could you ask for?
Courmayeur.
We arrived here at noon. Plenty of time for a nap and happy hour.
This was the first hut where we got real meat for dinner. Mostly the huts served eggs or beans and always bread.
Trek day 5: Rifugio Maison Vieille to Hotel Triolet
A day of rest. We were now on the opposite side of the loop from our starting point.
Sunrise.
Since the gondolas didn't open till 9:30am, we hiked down to the second one.
In Cormayeur preperations were underway for the Ultra-Tour-Mt.-Blanc.
How nice. Our very own room and a chance to charge my camera batteries, take a shower and clean our clothes. We left our backpacks there and went to catch the 11:00am gondola that took us up to the Skywalk Mt. Blanc for $59.00 euros.
The Monte Bianco cable car took us from Cormmayeur to Punta Helbronner at 3462m. Yes, we did do the gondola on the other side, but we didn't want to take the chance of getting bad weather later and not getting close to the summit at all.
4-pic slider: These are views from the Skywalk, the highest point in Italy.The first photo shows our refuge for the previous night to the left. The last photo shows the three cable cars you can take to Aig du Midi. We did the latter the day after we completed the trek, from the opposite side.
On the way down at 3:30pm, we got out at the halfway point, at the Pavilon.
The highest botanical gardens in Italy.
Yellow Chasteweed
1) Alpine Fleabane Alpine Mannstreu
1) Shrubby Cinquefoil
I'd been waiting and hoping for over an hour at the top for a clear view of the Mt. Blanc summit. It wasn't till we got to this mid-point that we finally got our view.
The gelato icecream here was sooo good. Lisa & Pat were the only others from our group that stayed in the hotel. The others hiked to the next hut, Refugio Bonatti.
Trek Day 6: Hotel Triolet (Courmayeur) to Gite alpage de La Peule - northeast
Stats: 6 km / 767m gain
After a 12-km bus ride, we were dropped off at the end of the road by Chalet al Ferret (1770m).
We shared the trail with runners on the Ultimate TMB race.
1) Alpine Pasqueflower 2) Field Gentian
Looking back at Rifugio Elena and the valley where we'd started hiking from.
Glacier de Prede Bar
At the Col Ferret (2537m). We were now entering Switzerland.
It was so peaceful up there in the rolling hills with only the sounds of crickets and occasional running water (and approaching runners).
1) Stemless Carline thistle 2) European Monkshood
Blueberries
Arrived at 1:00pm. The last hour of the hike I started to feel a cold/flu coming on. Charlotte had it the last three days but was starting to feel better. Since Case & Janet were planning to mostly take the bus the following day because of Janet's foot, they took my overnight gear & batteries along. This brought my pack from about 20 lbs down to about 10 and helped me to keep on hiking. Thank you dear!
What a treat! Fresh salad and goey cheese with egg (and bread of course).
Trek Day 7: Gite Alpage de La Peule to Relais D'Arpette - north
Stats: 22.5 km / 680m gain / 1050m loss
This was a long day, being on the trail from 8:00am - 4:45pm.
4-pic slider: Mt. Dolent is where the borders of all three countries meet.
1) Globeflower
La Fouly.
2) Autumn Crocus
Praz de Fort (1151m). This quaint hamlet had ancient hay barns with balconies made up of make-shift sagging planks.
Always the vibrant flowers in pots, often on bridge railings.
Once through the village, we crossed the road and then began to climb on a forest path decorated here and there with wood carvings of animals on stumps.
Arriving in Champex.
Champex Lake. It felt so good to soak our tired feet in the cold water.
Back on the path to the hut.
After dinner I went to bed, my whole body hot from fever. In the middle of the night I woke up and felt the fever had broken. My bedding was soaking wet. But I was determined to do the "most difficult" day to the highest point on the trail in the morning.
Trek Day 8: Relais D'/arpette to Auberge Mont Blanc - west
Stats: 12.5 km / 980m gain / 1340m loss
Looking back at our hut. Our group had the smaller building to the right. Judith and I set out at a relaxed but steady pace, me still feeling somewhat sick.
Looking back at the valley we were leaving behind.
This is what we were warned about but for most of us it was nothing new.
Approaching the pass.
Made it; Fenetre d'Arpette col at 2700m which was the highest point on the whole route.
The Trient glacier and Aguille du Tour.
Heading down after lunch.
It was a steep long drop into the valley.
Gile de la Lechere at the bottom of the slope was a very welcome sight. It was getting hot and the cold drinks were sooo good. In the following days we made it a goal to try get off of the trail by mid afternoon because of the heat.
Arrived at the largest hut, Auberge Mont Blanc. After having tried to hike again, Janet decided this was where she called it quits. Dinner was good but because three people were serving 100, the whole meal took 1.5 hours to get.
What a beautiful view of Trient from our bedroom window.
Trek Day 9: Auberge Mont Blanc to Gite Le Moulin - southwest
Stats: 11.6 km / 1090m gain / 7:30am - 12:30pm.
Group shot: back row left to right: me, Judith D, Case T, Lisa S & Pat, Janet B, Nadine B, Simon H, Allana W
From row left to right: Anne O'L, Cindy W, Thea R, Charlotte H, Brigitte G, Denise D, Irene H, Christine C
The col de la Balme (2200m) offered the most impressive view of Mt. Blanc.
Tourists can also take the gondola up from the opposite side, therefore avoiding most of the climb. This is what Case & Janet did the following day. We were now passing from Switzerland back into France. As Christine arrived she said , "We're the www group which stands for: walking, weary & wounded.
Grand Jorasses (4110m). We hiked down 300m to a second gondola. It was getting hot again.
Mt. Blanc.
Our last hut was smaller but the food was amazing!
Happy hour.
Trek Day 10: Gite Le Moulin to Chamonix - southwest
Stats: 7 km / 1280m gain
A fellow that shared our table in the hut, pointed us in the wrong direction after passing through the village of Trient. This cost us about 40 minutes.
But it was an interesting rocky trail.
Back on track. This trail follows the Grand Balcon Sud that runs along the slopes on the north side of the Vallee de l'Arve.
Several steel ladders and cables helped us ascend this very steep section.
Quite the feat for the flat-landers from Holland.
The last ladder was the longest.
Phew. Made it. Met fellow hikers at the junction. We turned right to Lac Blanc.
Mt. Blanc reflected in Lac Blanc.
Tired, sweaty and hot. The Lac Blanc bar/restaurant was more than welcome. But I didn't stay put for long. I just had to explore the area.
There were lots of people there, the majority having come up by gondola.
3-pic slider: From the hut you could not see the second part of the lake. There weren't near as many people there.
Less people meant more chance of running into this marmot.
Leaving the lake, we descended for about hour to La Flegere where we took the gondola into Chamonix.
Back at the Rocky Pop Hotel for two more nights. We asked the same girl to take the same photo of us that she took when we started the hike on that very rainy day. So glad the weather ended up clearing so we could see those magnificent peaks.
Sept. 7 - A day of gondolas + a cog-train ride.
Chamonix
The Brevent gondola went up to 2525m.
Mt. Blanc
Chamonix
2-pic slider
Balmet points de Saussure towards Mt. Blanc.
Aiguille du Midi was breath-taking. It gets you the closest to Mt. Blanc without actually climbing it.
It's mind boggling how they built this structure onto and into the rock pinnacles.
Mt. Blanc summit to the right.
A see-through floor. At the base of the gondola theres a short 4-D film that we thuroughly enjoyed, called L'ouseau de Cimes. The platform you stand on actually moves with the birds.
Then we took the Monteray historic cog-train to views the ice-caves. But we arrived 15 minutes too late.
We did dinner in Chamonix before heading back to the Rocky Pop Hotel.
Sept. 8
At the airport in Geneva, Janet and Case were being silly. All five of us flew to Holland together. We spent the weekend there and attended a wedding before Case & I flew to Milan to meet up with six others from our hiking club for ten days of sightseeing in Italy. That portion of the trip will be in my next blog....
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