Trekking the Tour du Mont Blanc.

The Tour du Mont Blanc, 3 countries, 11 days walking, and some of the most spectacular views of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps imaginable.  How hard could it be?  Pretty hard as it turned out.  This is the trek my husband and I embarked on last summer.  It had been on our wish list of challenges for some time so we were pleased we had finally taken the metaphorical swiss cow by the horns and booked our place.

The Walking

The trek or the TMB as it is affectionally known starts and finishes in Chamonix, covers 170km, with 10,000m of ascent and winds its way through France, Italy and Switzerland.  It is renowned for being a significant challenge for which participants are rewarded with outstanding scenery.  We were a group of 9, 3 men and 6 women of varying ages and walking experience.  One of the joys of walking is chatting as you walk, getting to know other people as you fall in and out of line with them, over taking and being over taken.  Although we were of mixed abilities, there was never pressure to keep up and our guide regularly reminded us this was a holiday and we should enjoy it.  This really enhanced our walking experience

Within 2 days of walking we had left France and made our way into Switzerland via valleys, with sheer rock faces, rivers with rushing melt water and the tips of mountains emerging in the gloom before us.   All of this before blue skies appeared giving a perfect back drop to the snow capped Mont Blanc.  Switzerland was everything it should be with meadows swathed in grasses and wild flowers.  Not breaking into ‘The hills are alive with the sound of music’ was almost as much of a challenge as some of the difficult ascents and descents as we trekked what would become ski slopes in just a few short months

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Day 4, still in Switzerland and we awoke to see plastic furniture blowing across the road as rain hammered against the window in our cosy room.  Not walking was not an option so we were soon scrabbling up and down rock paths and risking life and limb with the steep descents which had become treacherous in the driving rain with torrents of water pouring down them.  Finally the clouds parted and we were rewarded with views of the valleys below in all their velvety green glory and it was all worthwhile.

Over the next 2 days we made our way to Italy. Descending through pretty woodland with tall ancient trees and tangled roots, before ambling though picturesque villages with perfect Swiss Chalets, tumbling geraniums and gardens packed with neat rows of vegetables.  We strolled through alpine meadows, bursting with flowers and humming with butterflies.  Switzerland was very pretty but we were excited to arrive in Italy where we had been promised challenging walking with stunning views and of course excellent Italian hospitality.  Getting to Italy involved a long steady plodding ascent which seemed to take us ever closer to the imposing dark clouds above us. Sadly visibility was quite poor as we neared the highest point of the climb, 2537meters.  The paths were rocky and steep, and our steps were cautious and considered, and the closer we got to the summit the windier it became.  Sadly the weather was so rough that we could only mange a few minutes at the top before moving on to a steep narrow, winding ledge before beginning our descent.  We were eventually rewarded with breathtaking views of icy glaciers, cathedral like spires of mountains and vast dramatic landscapes.  It was thrilling and we literally marched into Italy past wild flowers and waterfalls and to the bus which would take us to our hotel in Courmayer which would be our base of the next 3 nights.

We had a day off in the very pretty Italian town of Courmayeur before embarking on 3 big walking days which would take us back to France.  The day began with an ascent with views of deep valleys, snow caped peaks, glaciers and bounteous wild flowers and a brilliant hot chocolate stop.  As always what goes up must come down and our aching legs had to take on a long and winding decent where for much of the time we navigated rocks which had become steps.  We had been taught how to descend via a gentle jog which proved to be very helpful in preserving the knees.  The route to France took us past more open space with greener vegetation and a beautiful lake which offered a perfect reflection of the mountains into it. (see the top photograph!)  Endless photographs were taken.  The final day of the 3  was billed as the toughest so far, and it fulfilled its promise.  We had very little time to find our legs before the long and arduous ascent to Col du Bonhomme.  Determination, slow plodding and steady breathing got us through.  Our fitness levels had improved as the trip had gone on and during the afternoon we had a little divert  off to a Roman bridge where we climbed and scrabbled and slid down rocks before root marching into Les Contamines at a pace that I suspect most of us were surprised we were still capable of.

After a gratefully received rest day in St Gervais we were back on it with an incredibly tough day ahead of us. This was going to require all our remaining strength and determination and despite having achieved so much already I have to confess to a certain amount of trepidation when faced with a terrifyingly ascent which appeared so steep I could not imagine how it was possible.  500 meters straight up.  The estimated climb time was 2 hours.  As a group we started together but inevitably separated out as we found our own rhythm and stride.  When I’m faced with a significant physical challenge my strategy is to put my head down, keep my breathing regular and find my zone.  I have got through many long runs like this and it served me well today.  I reached the top in 58 minutes, elated.  A couple of the group where already there when I arrived and it was great to be cheered in by them and then cheer in the rest of the group as they gradually arrived.

Our final day would take us back to Les Houches and Chamonix where it all began. With a sense of anticipation we set off with the sun beating down so that fleeces and extra layers were tucked into our back packs from the outset.  We walked up and up through shady pine forests emerging  onto exposed tracks, and endless ascents.  The views of Mont Blanc were incredible.  We walked with rugged alpine views one one side of us, and  endless hills carpeted in heather and rich green foliage to the other.  This section reminded me of Scotland!  By now our destination was in sight.  Walking became gentler and our steps lighter with sunshine and breathtaking views all around us.  We regrouped just before the top and together made the final climb.  Lots of congratulatory hugs and ‘well dones’ and then our amazing guide took a bottle of champagne from her backpack and we all drank to our success.  As I think back to that moment I am struck again by what a happy time it was. Relief and joy and and sunshine at 2525m under the shadow of the majestic Mont Blanc.

I have written about the beauty of Chamonix here previously, and never was it more beautiful than on the day we arrived back after 11 days of hard walking.

The Weather

The season to embark on this trek is short, starting in mid June and ending in early September, mainly because of the unpredicatable weather.  We did it in the first two weeks of August and there were still occasions when we were in full waterproof gear, hats and gloves.  Mostly it wasn’t like that, but be warned, hot sunshine and clear skies are not a guarantee.  A particularly memorable day was the one on which we walked to the highest point on the trek through rain, hail and ferocious winds.  At one point I could barely see more than 5-10 meters either in front or behind me.  The weather in the mountains is very changeable too though, because a little later that day we were rewarded with some of the most breathtaking views of the whole trip

The Huts

Oh my the huts! The huts were such an important part of our whole experience.  The huts are really coffee shops or tea houses in the mountains but most importantly a refuge and source or rest and recuperation.  We stopped at so many and they were always a highlight often coming at the point when we felt we could barely walk another step.  These huts serving the most delicious coffee, hot chocolate and often home made cakes and deserts and are the perfect pick me up. On one of the wettest days of our trip we stopped at a gorgeous hut where freshly baked apricot and apple tarts were being taken out of the oven.  Irresistable.

On our penultimate day before the scariest climb yet we sat outiside the most delightful hut, where bathed in sunshine we drank milky coffee from china bowls and took endless photos of the ridiculously pretty windows and doors covered in  lovingly tended geraniums.

The Accommodation

We stayed in hotels which was a good decision.  It meant guaranteed hot showers at the end of the day, a comfortable bed and somewhere to dry wet things.  Some walkers choose the camping option and although I enjoy camping on this trip I was very pleased we were in hotels.  Mostly the hotels were good, but this is a trek through the mountains and sometimes places to stay are very limited and remote, so some of the accommodation was somewhat basic.  On the day we had been battered continuously by rain and wind we arrived soaked and weary at a hotel in Switzerland which proved to be a true oasis. It was appropriately called ‘Hotel Splendid’ A warm drying room in which to leave our wet things, a cosy  room with a hot shower and a welcoming bar.  Bliss.  Food is a little variable too but mostly it met the needs of hungry walkers and in Italy it was without exception fabulous.. The picnic lunches we shared as team in valleys, overlooking glaciers, and in the midst of the majestic Mont Blanc were amongst the best I’ve ever had

The Challenge

I have previously written about my love of a challenge and in particular holidays which involve a challenge  The Tour du Mont Blanc was certainly a challenge.  The distances we walked were not long at all, but the terrain, the ascents and descents, on occasion the weather and getting up and doing it again day after day made it into an epic challenge. The sense of achievement, the incredible views, the group camaraderie and the ability to start and finish something which had been difficult and pushed us both mentally and physically made it absolutely worth every aching limb, every drenching we had (and their were a few) and every hard step we took.

We did this trip with Exodus Travels, a company we have travelled with on many occasions and who have never been anything except brilliant.

 

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