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Four days around Mont Blanc
Inspired by the UTMB race, this was my first real experience of the alps and the 'hut' culture in Europe. I hiked and ran the loop in four days, staying in a different country each night. France > Italy > Switzerland > France
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Run
Chamonix to Refuge de la Croix du Bonhome
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The thought of this trip had been a coping mechanism through a rough few months and setting off for four days in the mountains felt amazing.
With 40km and +3000m to cover on day one, the flat 8km to was welcomed to kick things off.
Then the mountains and the heat started with a fairly uninspiring road up a ski field where I'm sure I must have missed a more interesting route.
From the top, things get good again. Flowing single track, a glacier, and descent down to to test the quads. I stopped for a coke but have heard they're famous for the tarts.
Over the next pass and down into , I stopped for some proper food and supplies before the climb to .
27km down, 28 degrees, and 13km and 1400m of climbing to my accommodation for the night.
Bonhomme isn't the best reviewed hut but the reviews for these alpine huts have to put in context, you're above 2,500m, food is brought in with donkeys, you've got a full bar, three course meal, and showers. It might not be hotel standard but I'd rather be here.
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Refuge de la Croix du Bonhome to Rifugio Walter Bonatti
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I started the day with an alternate route over , hoping to find some more interesting terrain and a few less kms. I got to experience some snow as I cruised down to the valley.
Note: This section can produce ice bridges so please be careful.
Realising I'd left lunch behind, I stopped in at to pick up some supplies.
The climb up to and the crossing into Italy was slow. The downhill on the other side picked up the mood as the kms came easier.
Back climbing again, the temperatures were rising, the packed lunch (heavy cheese to bread ratio) wasn't sitting well, and there was some tough stuff before Courmayeur.
Overheating and hungry, I rolled into Courmayeur with sweat, dust and questions about why I was doing this. My mood lifted after a pizza, two cokes, a gelato, lemonade and Megan arriving.
The uphill out of Courmayeur is steep and wasn't much fun in the heat, but the section from Rifugio Bertone along to Refuge Walter Bonatti was flowing and beautiful.
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Rifugio Walter Bonatti to Champex Lac
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Day three was much calmer. I said goodbye to Megan and Laura joined for the last two days. To start the day, we descended into the valley, climbed to , and crossed into Switzerland.
With an easier day, we cruised down the valley, stopped for pizza and coke in , and climbed up to for beer, cheese, and a swim.
was great for a drink in the sun. Reliable power and hot water was appreciated.
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Champex Lac to Chamonix
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We kicked off the day with a climb up to , which wasn't open yet but based on the number of people coming the other way, it must be popular.
I was feeling good and had a great time descending into where we stocked up on fruit tarts, bought more Coke and headed down to .
The climb up to Col de Balme stretched out and was mostly head-down silence as we made our way up. By this point, the trip was being broken into sections by where we could find the next cold Coke and the refuge on the Col provided.
We cruised down through the ski field and then up to where things got significantly steeper and more technical on the descent.
We had one more climb up to the ladder section and then a descent all the way to Chamonix. Fading and with 5km left we stumbled across a coke and some company got us down to Chamonix to finish the loop.
The finish brought mixed emotions, I was physically feeling good and had loved the simplicity of spending big days moving through the mountains. As a first experience of the alps this couldn't have been much better.
Chamonix Spots
If you're staying in Chamonix for a while before or after, check out these spots.
Gear List
For anyone interested, my gear list is below. It was very hot the whole trip, I didn't wear anything other than shorts and a t-shirt on the trail and had enough to keep warm in the evenings.
I'd made a conscious decision to pack light and knew that if a significant weather event happened I would need to wait it out rather than pushing through with minimal gear.
I packed everything into a 12L Salomon pack that wouldn't have weighed more than a kg or two. You can pick up anything you need from towns throughout the trip, so I was happy that I could correct any gear mistakes on route.
I carried one set of clothes for running and a second set for changing into at the hut. Each night I would wash and hang clothes ready to wear the next morning.
Packed Gear
Salomon Adv 12L Pack
3 x 500ml soft flasks - I had a water filter attachment for one bottle and used that to fill the others. You could manage without, but it gave peace of mind for a few grams
Running Poles
2 x Running Tshirt - The idea with clothing was to have one pair for running each day that would be washed at the refuge and then another pair for the evening that could be used for running if anything failed.
2 x Warm Long Sleeve Tshirt
Waterproof Jacket
2 x Running Shorts
1 x Warm tights
2 x Socks
3 x Underwear
Microspikes - This was dead weight and on reflection, I don't think there are many times that you'd need these on this trail. Crampons for any serious snow and poles for smaller tracked sections are probably a better option.
Headtorch - This wasn't required with the days being so long and the huts having power
Sleeping bag liner
Gloves
Beanie
Lightweight Small Towel
Melatonin & Panadol - Melatonin was ideal for getting to sleep in the refuges.
Toiletries - Soap, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Nail Scissors, Sunscreen, Earplugs, Deodorant
USB wall plug + iphone cord
Gear I wish I had
Washing powder/liquid - A bit of hand soap only goes so far on clothes that have done 40km a day in 30 degrees
Lightweight Puffer - I left this behind because it wouldn't fit in my bag. I didn't miss it, but it would have been nice to have it at the end of the day
Booking your own trip
Booking isn't super straight forward, you'll find a mix of online booking - email addresses to reach out in French/Italian and loose policies around deposits and cancellation. Embrace this as part of TMB.
The season mostly sells out and to get the dates and huts you want, you'll want to be booking towards the end of the year for the next season (June - Sept). The huts typically open from mid June where snow can add some complexity. You can tent and there's less requirements to book for this.
This group has every question answered if you take time to search: https://www.facebook.com/groups/13615483101