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How to do the 10 night Tour de Mont Blanc in just 6

1/25/2016

13 Comments

 
Picture
Nothing to do with cycling I'm afraid but this seems as good a parking place as any for my notes on how to do a shortened (6 night versus the standard 10 night) walking Tour de Mont Blanc.

TMB Notes – a 6 night abbreviated version.

In July 2013 my partner Julie and I did an abbreviated Tour de Mont Blanc (TMB). While the “official” plans suggests a 10 night, 11 day itinerary, we only had max 7 nights available and so had to make some decisions about what to skip, what shortcuts could help speed things along and most importantly, just how much distance we could reasonably make in a day, while also closing the loop in a logistically practical way (some short TMBs leave you in Italy for instance and you have to find your way back to Chamonix, which could be a pain.)

Julie and I are reasonably fit, healthy and active (we were 46 and 55 years of age respectively) and are keen cyclists. We also trained as best we could before departure to get used to walking with fully loaded packs. But I at least am not an experienced hiker or walker (Julie has done Kilimanjaro.)

Like several aspirants, we found 
Owen Barder's blog on his TMB experience an excellent and concise starting point. But since he is also a marathon runner and did the entire TMB in just 8 days, I doubted that we could just follow his itinerary and survive.

On two of their days, for instance, they covered
33km and 28km, so each was effectively a double day.  I knew that we couldn't do that and didn't want to be so rushed.

Here then is how Julie and I cut it down to 6 nights (we had planned on possibly 7 nights but were close enough to Chamonix on our last day that we just pressed on).

On most days we arrived at our destination by 15h30 or 16h00 with enough energy and sunlight to have done a couple of more hours. So, there is no need to panic about covering the distances. Somehow it just happens. Our latest arrival was probably Day 6 to Trient. But we took the long scenic route over Fenetre d'Arpette and hung out at the top a little longer than we normally would have.
​
Itinerary
Day 1. les Houches > Chalet la Balme (short cuts: cable car up to Bellevue, shuttle bus across les Contamines) arriving late afternoon.

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Day 2. La Balme > Mottets (so skip the overnight in Les Chapieux which might be nice but seemed too "back in civilization " for us. Short Cuts: weather permitting, take the Cols des Fours route directly to Mottets, rather than down to Les Chapieux, though there is a regular shuttle bus up from les Chapieux to Mottets)
Day 3. Mottets > Courmayer (Short Cut: take the ski lift down into Courmayer)
Day 4. Courmayer > Bonatti (Definitely take the high route from Bertone refuge. It's spectacular and less busy.)
Day 5. Bonatti > La Fouly
Day 6. La Fouly + Bus to Champex Lac > Trient (we took the Fenetre d'Arpette route which added time and effort. VERY TOUGH scrambling over boulders but a pretty spectacular view from up there. Top of the world.)

 Day 7. Trient > Argentiere (from where you can grab a bus to Chamonix or even walk to the eastern edge, as we did)

Short Cuts
Summary
In brief here are the very handy shortcuts that helped us make it work.
Day 1. Les Houches > Chalet la Balme.
1. Skip Chamonix > Les Houches which on paper seemed one of the less interest legs. Start at Les Houches. Take the bus or taxi to the base of the cable car. (we were lucky to have friends who dropped us off).
2. Take the cable car ($) up from Les Houches to Bellevue. (Saving several hours uphill walking)
3. Take the 
free shuttle bus across les Contamines to Notre Dame de la Gorge. Saves walking several kms along a flat paved road

Day 2.
4. Take the Col de Fours route if weather permits. That drops you directly into Refuge Les Mottets and skips a leg that the Reynolds guide seems to include in his itinerary, an overnight in Les Chapieux. We wanted to stay off the beaten path and les Chapieux sounded too much like going back to civilization. (If you do wind up in Les Chapieux and still want to get up to les Mottets that day, there is a shuttle bus up that valley too, so it can be done.)

Day 3.
5. Take the ski lift down into Courmayer (saving several hours of tough downhill walking at the end of an already long day). While it is "back to civilization" Courmayer is a pretty nifty little town and a nice break from the refuges. We stayed at the Buton D'Or. Affordable, nice room and a GREAT breakfast. There are also lots of good little restaurants in town.

Day 6.
6. Start the day by taking the bus from La Fouly to Champex Lac saving entire leg. We axed this leg because it was flat and the Reynolds guide was just so-so on it. (Ask your hotel for the bus schedule. But don't miss it, there are likely only 2 per day. I think the first left at about 830am.)

7. Once you get back to Argentiere in France you are home free and if you are running late, you can grab a quick bus back to Chamonix.

I'll post another link with more notes on our routes, accommodations and meals later.

13 Comments
Shane
2/17/2016 04:14:16 pm

I'm really Glad that I found this very useful post by you!

I'm looking at the shortcuts as well as I have 9 people with me and I only have 8 days max.

One question though ... I'm going in first week of June , and way I can check whether the lifts/bus/transfer will be operating by then ?

Reply
Peter
2/18/2016 05:40:15 am

Shane, I am 99.5% confident that all systems -- lifts, buses, shuttles, etc. -- will be running by the first week of June. This is important tourist business all year long. I will email you an old schedule PDF for the first bus service. It should show the dates of operation for the different seasons. But it is a local service so it'll be running.
But if you want to double check, email the Chamonix Tourist office, or even the dinky little tourist office of that first town... what's it called...Les Contamines
[email protected] - www.lescontamines.com

your BIG concern at that time of year should be the weather and snow conditions. There will likely be long stretches still blocked by deep snow and the risk of avalanche is still high. Even in July when we did it, it was touch and go whether all routes would be open. You can confirm snow conditions Alpine office in Chamonix. If certain sections are still closed, you will have to take alternate, lower (and less interesting) routes.

Good luck

Peter

Reply
shane
2/18/2016 06:23:38 am

Thanks Peter! Will check with the tourist office then.

Yea weather is always a key variable - I'll just have to pray hard then. 3 years ago when I did Annapurna in Nepal it rained on me for 6 days straight and I couldn't say the routes shrouded in mist and heavy rain was interesting...

cheers !

best essay link
10/3/2017 06:27:24 am

I haven't tried cycling that far yet, but it looks like it will be a great experience. I usually ride only for a day with my friends. I think we are just too old to ride that far since I am already 60 years old and my bones are kind of stiff. If I were a bit younger I bet that I would able to ride much further than that. Cycling is the only exercise that I do to remain healthy and fit at my old age. It such a great exercise because it will not only make you sweat, but you will also be able to see different sights along the way.

Reply
Tricia
2/14/2017 04:28:28 am

I'm having a hard time confirming a bus schedule because they do not post very far in advance and what I see scheduled through March is very limited. I will be traveling in early September. I see the 8:30 a.m. bus from La Fouly to Orsières but the bus from Orsières to Trient doesn't leave until around noon and takes almost two hours. That puts us starting our day in Trient at 2 p.m. That can't be right?? I'm hoping that the winter schedule is more limited and that it will be better in September but I need to figure this out so I can start booking hotels and making sure that these legs will work for me.. I'm using this website http://fahrplan.sbb.ch

Reply
Tricia
2/16/2017 06:52:20 am

Wanted to post an update. I called the bus company in Switzerland +41 51 225 78 00. In order to skip stages 7 and 8 I will be taking an evening bus from La Fouly to Martingy. The next morning I will take the morning bus to Trient and start the hike. This works out perfectly. I had been quoted $200 for a taxi so I am thrilled that I was able to work this out. If your cell phone has a package like mine I pay $5 a month and get super cheap rates to call Europe. Most speak English so it's easy to communicate. Once I am done with my planning I will cancel the $5 a month charge.

Reply
Peter Stock
2/16/2017 07:19:59 am

you're sure you want to miss the Fenetre d'Arpette? it's pretty spectacular.

Reply
tricia
2/17/2017 06:45:43 am

Would love to see it Peter but our dog will be with us and dogs aren't allowed in this part. Want to respect their rules.

Laryn Lee
8/21/2019 04:39:40 pm

Agree. The views going over the Fenetre d'Arpette are breathtaking. It was very rigorous for us because we carried too much stuff, but what a great set of memories!

Eric
12/18/2017 06:59:10 am

This is great! So how many KMs did you end up travelling with these short-cuts? Itinerary looks great and thinking of doing it with 3 kids.

Reply
TA
7/15/2018 01:49:24 pm

Hi. Dad and grad (high school) about to try and conquer the TMB. Anyone here have time to engage on a few questions? Here's one. Refugios. From Refugio La Balme, stopping for the night, then on to Courmayeur. I am having trouble figuring the distance from La Balme to the very popular R.Elisabetta and less-known R.Robert Blanc. Does RB add more distance? Other pro / cons? Thank you. [[BTW I have not found a very active TMB forum. Is there one?]]

Reply
Margie Cohen
7/23/2018 12:48:57 pm

Thank you so much for your article. We used this as the basis for planning our trip and it was extremely helpful.

But for others visiting this site, I wanted to provide additional insight and information that may have been missing and that will be helpful:
1. GET YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY. If you are planning this trip yourself, you will need to begin planning at least 6 months in advance to get reservations at many refuges. I began booking reservations at the beginning of April for a early July trip and there were several refuges that were already full and hence, I had to alter our plans and get creative. We did not get into Mottets and had to stay in La Chapieux. We did not get into Trient or Col de Forclaz but found an Airbnb down the road that was willing to pick us up.
2. CHECK CABLE CAR SCHEDULE. Based on this article and the book, we assumed that all the gondolas would be running, especially in July. We had a very difficult, 17-mile second day as the gondola down into Courmayer did not start until the day after we needed it. We got to the cable car at mile 13, thinking our day was done but the cable car was not running and instead, we had a 4 mile, 3,000' descent into Courmayer. It was brutal!
3. Every year, the conditions could be very different. In 2018, there were record winter snowfalls and late spring snow. What that meant was that when we traveled in early July, several sections of the trail had snow. The Col de Fours was said to be very difficult and since we had dense fog and the threat of bad weather, we did not do that high route. The long scenic route over Fenetre d'Arpette was closed as the week before, someone had died from slipping/falling from the snow covered trail as it crossed a very steep slope.
4. If you are going to skip the La Fouly to Champex Lac section (which we did), do not stay in La Fouly but take the bus at the end of the day to Champex Lac. That locale is beautiful.

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    Peter Stock

    Founder of Hosted Villas, Founder of Ensemble Cycling. Cyclist

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