A solo Trek on the Tour du Mont Blanc

After leading a two-and-a-half-week tour in Switzerland’s Berner Oberland, I bid my group adieu and set out to spend a week on one of the world’s most epic hiking tracks, the Tour du Mont Blanc, or TMB. I allowed myself one extra week after my group’s hiking holiday, which didn’t provide the 11 days, on average, it takes to do the entire TMB. After careful planning, I opted for an itinerary that included the northern two-thirds of the tour from Courmayeur, Italy, through Switzerland to Chamonix, France, in an anti-clockwise direction.

A series of trains took me from Zurich to Chamonix, France. From the train depot, I located the hotel I had reserved for my final night of the tour. It was a stormy and blustery day. A text message alerted me that the bus I had planned to take through Mont Blanc’s tunnel from Chamonix to Courmayeur was canceled. My plan B was to take a series of cable cars up and over Mont Blanc from France to Italy.

Unfortunately, the Aiguille du Midi lift was closed due to high winds. My only option was to hire a taxi, which, given the traffic on a Sunday in August, took two hours and set me back a whopping 300 euros. While Chamonix is a mecca for adventure tourists, bursting at the seams with visitors feasting on fondue, shopping or planning an adrenaline fix. Courmayeur is tranquil and reflects an understated class with its cobbled streets, arched entries and slate tile roofs. I overnighted in a boutique timber and stone inn built in the year 700 and lovingly restored over the years. In the morning, I followed the little trail behind the inn to where it joined the TMB.

After zig-zagging nearly 800 meters up, I reached Rifugio Bertone, with its magnificent views of the Mont Blanc massif. Pausing for a late morning cappuccino on the sun-soaked patio seemed appropriate. At least it did until I noticed the sign that said the bathrooms were out of order, and I had a two-hour hike along an exposed ridgeline to Rifugio Bonatti, where I had reserved a bed for the night in the bunkroom. Following the undulating trail, I admired the Massif du Mont Blanc laid out beside me across the valley. The Rifugio hosted 80 hikers, and a hut employee led me to a 10-person bunkroom where, mercifully, my bed was by itself and next to the window. I thanked my lucky stars for the semblance of privacy I was afforded! The hut and dining hall were abuzz with multilingual chatter as hikers shared stories about their day. That night, I slept relatively well with my earplugs to dim the cacophony of snores from the bunkroom.

The following day, after a light breakfast, I headed down to the valley floor before ascending to the Col de Ferret at the Swiss border. The wind was howling on the Col de Ferret. I stopped just long enough to capture a few photos next to the monument indicating the Italian/Swiss border before a light snow and whiteout engulfed the Col.

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That night, in La Fouly, I enjoyed a hearty meal with other trekkers and slept in a private room with a small balcony that made it possible to dry a few clothes I had laundered in the sink. Next came the easiest day on the tour: a walk through Switzerland’s idyllic Val (valley) Ferret along a river, pastures, tiny hamlets and ultimately ascending steeply over 500 meters to Champex Lac. I walked the entire length of the lake before ducking into the tourist information office to check the weather for tomorrow’s challenge, the Fenêtre d’Arpette. While most hikers take the Bovine route, I opted for the Fenêtre d’Arpette, the most challenging variant and, at 2,665 meters, the highest point on the TMB. Highly exposed, this route should 

not be taken in inclement weather. I received a thumbs up at the tourist information. Despite the call for thunderstorms the following evening, the day afternoon’s forecast looked fine, albeit humid, given the approaching storm.

I set out to conquer the Fenêtre the next morning, and my walk began along a babbling brook. I looked up and spied the small gap I would pass through at the Fenêtre, or window. The route became a boulder field, and for a few hours, I scrambled over boulders to reach the Fenêtre d’Arpette. The reward, a direct view of the Trient Glacier, was worth every bit of the effort to make it there. I kept moving down the other side on the equally rocky path toward Col de la Forclaz, where a beer, pommes frites and a bed in a crowded bunkroom with a burned-out lightbulb awaited me.

From Col de la Forclaz, the TMB descends steeply down a switchback trail to the town of Trient and then 1,000 meters straight up to Col de Baume. At the Refuge du Col de Balme, I reveled in the view of Mont Blanc’s glaciated dome and the Chamonix valley below. I made such good time up the Col that the restaurant was not open yet. Not wanting to wait for a cup of soup, I refueled with the triple threat of beer, espresso, and a bag of chips from the snack bar before continuing my walk. I wasn’t in a hurry, so I enjoyed a few huts on the way to Tré le Champ, soaking up the sun and glacier views from the huts’ reclining chairs while taking in the scene of hikers, cows, chairlifts, and mountain bikers dotting the hillside.

I came across a young man from Manchester who was in excruciating pain from blisters on his feet. I spent a while with him, doctoring his feet. He was grateful and remarked, “You’re like a trail mom!” After advising the young man to take the lift down to the valley, I took an unmapped trail to Tré le Champ, which provided blissful solitude on the Alpenrose-lined trail, the only sound being the waterfalls from melting glaciers across the valley.

In Tré le Champ, I dined on the patio with a French family and spent the night in one of the hut’s bivouacs (tents) in the field next to the hut. An estimated 45 hikers stayed at the hut with exactly one shower and two toilets, which proved manageable but not ideal.

On my last day of the tour, I opted for another variant route involving a series of metal ladders bolted to rock faces that led to Lac Blanc. Lac Blanc was busy, as it is reachable as a day hike via chair lift ride and a short hike from the Chamonix valley. The crowds did not detract from the mesmerizing view of Mont Blanc and her many glaciers.

Alas, I made my final descent to la Flégère, where I took the bittersweet ride down the gondola to Chamonix. That evening, sipping a beer blanche and devouring a pizza, I watched the tourists mill about on the crowded streets of Chamonix. I reflected on the incredible adventure I had. What a treat to spend nearly a month hiking in the Alps, the TMB being the perfect end to my holiday! It is easy to see why the TMB is one of the world’s most iconic mountain walks, with the added joy of meeting hikers from around the world along the way.

For a change of pace, I flew out of Geneva rather than Zurich, where my journey began. Strolling Lake Geneva’s shores on a sunny day proved to be the perfect post-Tour du Mont Blanc cooldown activity.

Cheers!

Denise Lundy is a local real estate broker and second-generation leader of overseas hiking trips. N

Story by Denise Lundy

Photography by Denise Lundy