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some additional TMB shortcut notes

2/2/2020

I found a few more notes in my files about the shortcuts we took.

1. We cut out the stretch across Chamonix, from Argentiere to Les Houches. That's the most developed stretch of the route and while i am sure on the high routes it would be spectacular, there is also a main road right up the valley with regular bus service and lots of car traffic and pretty ordinary villages. We also were staying in Chamonix before and after and so could get a sense of this area outside of the TMB.

2. We started by taking the cable car ski lift up from Les Houches to Bellevue/Col de Voza. That saved...I don’t know. Several hours.

3. We planned to take the local bus across les Contamines. The route drops you in the middle of town and instead of walking the X km to the end of the village, we planned to take the free local shuttle bus to Notre Dame de la Gorge, where the route really starts up again.
Note that a) the local shop in les Contamines closes at lunch so if you want picnic supplies, grab them as soon as you arrive in town (I think it closes at 12pm.

Also, the shuttle bus driver takes a break for lunch too from noon til 13h45. We were stranded in the main square for our picnic (which was OK). Check the bus schedule. Here is a summer (ete) schedule from 2014. check again for 2015.
http://www.montblancbus.com/media/upload/Contamines/print-les-contamines-ete-2014-1058.pdf

Have fun

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TMB updates (accommodations and meals)

2/2/2020

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I've been asked for more information on where we stayed along the way. Here's what I remember.

Night 1. Les Balmes,
We arrived fairly early at our overnight spot, by about 3pm.
This is a fairly rustic spot. We splurged for the semi-private room (as opposed to the dormitory rooms which housed about... 15 people each.) the food was basic but fine. There's a nice terrace here where we enjoyed our traditional post-walk beer. We passed one other overnight option I believe it was Refuge Nant Borrant. We have no idea what it would have been like.

Night 2. Refuge des Mottets
this was one of our favourite stops on the trip. Again, we spent extra $$ for a fancier private room. And it was very nicely decorated.
Dinner here was excellent. A big communal hall but the food was very good.

Night 3. Buton D'Or. In Courmayer.
Not really a refugio. Rather a real hotel but affordable and a very nice room and a GREAT breakfast. There Lots of good little restaurants in town.

Oh and a note. We had midday coffee at Refuge Elisabetta. This place is stuck on the side of the mountain and looked really very neat. I think we peeked into a couple of rooms and they looked cozy and comfortable. We wished that our schedule had allowed us to stop here longer, or overnight.
THINK about making this work for you.
If you want to stay in the mountains tonight (instead of going down into town as we did) at the top of the Down gondola was Maison Vielle. It looked fun but a bit of a madhouse. Lots of families running around. Which could be a good thing.

Night 4. Bonnati.
A big refuge but with comfortable rooms (again, we paid extra for a private room) but up on the mountain with excellent views.
Big communal dining hall but decent food. Very organized.

Night 5. Auberge des Glaciers La Fouly
Again, this was down in a village. More of a small hotel than a mountain refuge. But a good spot. Good dinner.
There is a small food shop in town.
This was also the perfect location from which to catch the bus along the road that skipped the flat stretch to Champex.

Night 6. Trient
for our final night we stayed at the Auberge/Relais du Mont-Blanc
There are not many options in Trient. This place was a laid back hippie type place. Comfortable but a bit cobbled together. Shared showers and WCs. (but then anything is comfortable after a long day of walkin, especially over the Fenetre d’Arpette which was spectacular but brutal)
another fun evening meal with a big communcal crowd. Tasty as I recall.
There was a fancier place just up the street that was just opening up la Grande Ourse. It looked nice, but more $$$ I expect.

And the next morning we walked back to Chamonix.

The End.

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

1/25/2016

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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.

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.

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some additional TMB shortcut notes

TMB updates (accommodations and meals)

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

Peter Stock

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