Around Mont Blanc to order

Report on the trip Around Mont Blanc June 14-23, 2019

We have such a service as a hike to order (or an individual guide). If you really want to go on a hike that is not on our schedule, but you are willing to pay to make your dream come true, then nothing is impossible. It was according to this scheme that this tour Around Mont Blanc “emerged”. An interested tourist called, we agreed on a price and after just 10 days we were already packing our backpacks for a hike in the Alps.

It should be noted that I discouraged the client from doing the Tour du Mont-Blanc at this time of year. After all, in June there is still quite a lot of snow on the passes. Nevertheless, the campaign took place and went off with a bang. The vagaries of the weather, vast fields of snow (as well as journal entries) made the trip even more memorable. That's how it was...

Day 0

Tomorrow morning we will go hiking around Mont Blanc. In the meantime, we spent the night right next to the fence of Bergamo airport. In fact, we settled down with great comfort - we set up tents in a forest park on the banks of the Serio River. In the evening we managed to run into the supermarket and buy gas for the burner. Therefore, dinner will be late, but hot.

Day 1

It was not in vain that we stayed overnight near the airport and did not go to Milan or Bergamo. In the morning, from Orio airport there is a direct and inexpensive bus (Flixbus) towards Chamonix. The drive takes about 5-6 hours. On the outskirts of Milan there are constant traffic jams and the bus crawls at a snail's pace, and before the tunnel leading to Chamonix we were marinated for an terribly long time at the border control, but apparently all this was taken into account when drawing up the schedule, because... we arrived on time.

Around one o'clock in the afternoon, our small group gathered in full force, teleported to the lift in Bellevue and we began to walk. Guess what I thought as soon as we set off? Of course, I thought about why my backpack was so heavy again.

In fact, my backpack weighed about 17 kg, which is a full 6 kg less than one of the group members. It’s nice, of course, to realize that someone has it heavier than you, but I would still like to reduce the weight of my luggage. And here are the ideas I have outlined in this direction:

• take a quilt instead of a sleeping bag
• one 20,000 mAh powerbank is enough
• the photo tripod should be even smaller and lighter
• the hike is short - you can do without a razor
• you can take a small Swiss knife
• you don’t need a grocery store, there are enough shops on the route.

These points alone would be enough to lighten my backpack by at least 1200 grams.

Col de Tricot (2120 m) is our first pass on the Mont Blanc trek. Here a surprisingly powerful and at the same time warm hurricane awaited us. The wind literally knocked me off my feet, but there was not the slightest desire to button up my windbreaker.

Ibexes (mountain goats) in the Alps are completely unafraid. They proudly walk along the tourist trails, only slightly skirting the tourists frantically clicking their photographic equipment.

It’s already 6 o’clock in the evening and it’s time to stop for the night. But there is such a draft in the Miage Valley today that we decide to wait a couple more hours and hide in the forest area.

As we passed the Miage shelter, a thundercloud emerged from behind Mont Blanc and covered half the sky. What was I thinking at that moment? About how nice it would be to stay overnight in this beautiful house, and not stomp into the forest at night

It's time to think about the most radical way to make hiking in the Alps enjoyable. To do this, you just need to leave a tent at home (as well as a rug, a warm sleeping bag and much more) and spend the night in shelters. Yes, this will increase the travel budget (from 30 to 60 Euros per night), but the backpack will be a couple more kilograms lighter. And this will allow you to get tired less, look around more and enjoy incredible scenery. And the shelters themselves are very picturesque.

We walked for another 2.5 hours and only set up camp at 21:00. Our tents are tucked away on the edge of the forest, just 50 meters from the first houses of the village of Les Contamines Montjoie. Theoretically, we could have lasted another 30 minutes and spent the night at an official campsite with a shower, but everyone was so tired that even the opportunity to freshen up was not motivating.

Day 2

We easily and quickly covered those same couple of kilometers to the campsite that scared us so wildly yesterday. At the end of the valley we looked into the Notre Dame de la Gorge church and began the climb, which will only end at the next overnight stop.

At the Nant Borrant farm, people unexpectedly demanded lunch, although it was only 11 am. We sit down to eat near a local shelter. Some people quickly brew sublimates, others order soup at a restaurant... Sublimates turned out to be tastier in the end, because... The soup was served instant.

In the area of ​​the de la Balme refuge (1970 m) we overtake a large group of Western tourists. And do you know why we were able to overtake them? They sat down to dinner! With our heavy backpacks, this is the only opportunity to at least briefly get ahead of the light walkers.

Somewhere from an altitude of 2000 m, continuous snow fields began. The guys even put on crampons, although there was no particular need for this - the snow had melted, the trail was made by numerous tourists and runners. Our pass was visible in the distance.

Hiking in the Alps is not all about flowers, cows and magical shelters. On the third day of the hike around Mont Blanc, 100 meters to the Bonhomme pass 2324, in the middle of a snow field, we were suddenly covered by a black cloud. A squall of wind knocked one of the tourists off his feet, and hail flew into his face. Only two of us managed to put on our raincoats. In a few seconds the storm (I'm not exaggerating, very quickly) made my unprotected palms very cold and lost mobility. Fortunately, there was a shelter at the pass (a booth measuring 2 × 2 m) and we were able to crawl to it, moving against the wind.

In the hut we changed clothes, heated the snow and warmed up with hot coffee and adrenaline, which continued to saturate the blood. We sat like this for almost 3 hours and already began to try on how to effectively lay out the sleeping bags on the floor.

However, a little later the bad weather subsided, a cosmic-enchanting multi-colored sunset began and we quickly moved towards the planned shelter.

Initially it was expected that we would spend the night in tents, but after the storm we wanted to dry our clothes and we decided to stay inside the shelter in a large common room.

Our family went to bed, and I was stuck in the kitchen of the shelter, drinking cocoa and leafing through old travel magazines (the mobile Internet did not work). So in Geo magazine in 1993 there was a funniest article about Everest. It turns out that even then, before the era of mass commercial ascents, it was believed that 8000 m was a real dump. And the price of climbing in just 2 years jumped from 2,500 to 70,000 bucks.

At midnight the same group that we had overtaken at lunch arrived. For dinner they "cooked" Chinese doshirak. I again felt like a bourgeois and even more of an epicurean.

Day 3

In the morning it was only +10 in the bedroom, but under the blanket it was warm and cozy. In general, the weather is good - the weather has improved, there is calm and a sea of ​​clouds below us. But the boots only dried out on the outside during the night at the potbelly stove. Apparently, most of the tourists from our shelter decided to bypass the next pass, making a long detour along the valley. We, taking into account the weather, decide not to change the plan.

The bright sun combined with snow forced me to apply sunscreen and put on glasses. In addition, I attached small ice shoes (micro-crampons or kittens) to my boots. We are trying to get to the Col de Fours 2665 pass before the snow melts. Therefore, we abandon the radial path to the local top and quickly stomp up.

It gets really hot on the descent. Relaxed, we roll down on our heels. In the middle of the slope we meet a Chinese couple, which is going up (i.e. in the opposite direction). Poor people - the snow porridge no longer holds at all, and they still have about 400 vertical meters to reach the pass.

Around noon we break out of the snow zone... and get stuck in a swamp. The guys changed their shoes too early (changed their boots for sneakers) and this prevented them from effectively crossing the flooded streams. I only have one pair of shoes (boots) with me, and therefore there are no problems with changing shoes.

Anticipating an early end to the day, we have lunch several marches earlier than last time. The world is beautiful again, the sky is blue, and the weather resembles summer.

We decide not to storm the pass to Italy today, but to set up tents at the Mottets shelter and have a sort of half-day break.

Since we were one of the first to arrive, we take comfortable places for tents and go to the shower while there are no queues yet. Unfortunately it's not very hot.

The Internet still doesn't work. In the evening the temperature drops to +8, but the wind subsides slightly.

Day 4

At about 8 am we begin the assault on the next pass. There is a strong wind again, but the slope is already illuminated by the sun and it is quite warm to walk.

Most of the climb was without snow, only a couple of times, in stream beds, we crossed rather dark (due to the steepness of the slope) snow jams.

Shortly before the pass we see a large herd of Ibexes. These capricorns, as always, exist outside of logic - they graze on a slope where there is no grass at all.

The Seigne 2515 pass marks the border between France and Italy. From here you can see the top of Mont Blanc, and this, oddly enough, is a rarity on the TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) route.

The wind at the pass is absolutely crazy, you can’t really sit here, even with a jacket. It took us 2.5 hours to gain 600 meters of altitude (from the shelter to the pass).

The valley on the Italian side is surprisingly densely packed with snow. Nevertheless, we quickly pass Rifugio Elisabetta, where we spent the night last time.

Afternoon, we sit down for lunch at the beginning of a large swampy valley at the foot of the Miage glacier. Mobile Internet appears and I double-check the bus schedule, which I photographed yesterday at the shelter.

In the end, we catch the bus and after 30 minutes we are in the center of Courmayeur. It's real summer here, flowers and a lot of food in the supermarket.

Two of ours stay overnight in the city, at a hotel. They need to resolve some work issues and buy new shoes. Wet snow is still very wet))

Volodya and I agreed to meet the guys tomorrow at the bus stop. In the meantime, we decided to leave Courmayeur, go up and spend the night on the slope of Mont de la Sax 2346.

I haven't been to Rifugio Giorgio Bertone for about a year and a half. During this time, the philanthropy of this shelter reached a new level - a free tap with drinking water appeared here.

We did not climb to the top of Mont de la Sax (snow and wind), but chose a traverse at an altitude of about 1950 meters. In the evening it’s simply divine there - there are no more people, it’s very quiet and very beautiful.

We set up a tent on the terrace with such a magical view that I envied myself. It's a pity that ours missed it.

All evening, thunderclouds were creeping in from France. It was thundering and blazing, we waited for rain, but it never came. But 50 meters above us a bright red deer galloped. And the Internet still worked!

Day 5

Last night I spent a long and tedious time calculating the time and calculating the kilometers. All these efforts in order to wake up today not at 6 a.m. (as usual), but at 7:30 a.m. Like at a resort!

During the night, the wild delight from the beauty of this parking lot did not go away. The camp gatherings turned into another landscape meditation. I recorded several time-lapses and started thinking quite seriously about life in the mountains.

Around 10 a.m. the first tourists finally crawled along the trail, and the top of Mont Blanc “floated” above the clouds several times. Clearly, this was a signal - it was time to move on.

The traverse continued and again it was pure happiness - minimal elevation changes and maximum beautiful views.

The coniferous trees that covered the slope turned out to be larches.

Around noon we made a big stop at the Bonatti shelter. We were terribly hungry, but for some reason we didn’t have lunch, but munched on a candy bar and stuck to the three-dimensional map of the area installed in the lobby of the shelter.

While we were having fun with the map, this guy with a laptop demonstrated miracles of efficiency - he tapped on the keyboard, endlessly called someone and danced while sitting on the terrace in front of the shelter. Apparently, the man has found his place of power and is now preparing to turn the world upside down.

We moved on and over the next hour we passed several cute farmhouses in varying states of preservation.

By 15:00 we went down to the bottom of the valley, set up a tent and finally had lunch. We had to hurry - in 40 minutes, according to the schedule, there was a bus to Courmayeur. We need to pick up our guys who remained in the city.

Already at 16:05 I was running through the center of Courmayeur - in addition to collecting tourists, I had to go to the store for yogurt:)

At about 6 o'clock in the evening our group gathered together again in a coniferous forest on the banks of the Dora di Ferret river.

At sunset, the sky, as always, scared us a little with multi-colored clouds with two or three stray drops of rain. So we had dinner on the threshold of the tent... and then we realized that it was too early to sleep. I went to the river to take pictures of the flow, and Volodya seemed to be having fun bouldering on huge boulders near the parking lot.

It was a great day - relaxed, satisfying and beautiful.

Day 6.

We got up at 5 am to increase our chances of taking the pass on hard snow. Well, the weather forecast was ambiguous.

In practice, it turned out that the morning was quite nice. Clear, cool, windless.

At the end of the first crossing we unexpectedly ran into a dangerous area. It was necessary to cross a rather powerful stream on a snow bridge of dubious strength. But we were lucky - the bridge held and after 10 minutes we landed on the Rifugio Elena shelter.

It turned out that the shelter was closed for renovations, but the “winter room” was open. Nice, we'll remember it for the future. Let's move on.

We arrived at the Grand Col Ferret 2537 pass at exactly 10:00. The snow had just begun to melt. Let's hurry down. We are already in Switzerland!

At 11 am we decide to have lunch at the la Peule shelter - the same one where we bought fresh milk a couple of years ago.

We eat and observe local life: two young mothers walk with strollers along a rough mountain path, the owner of the shelter has driven a dump truck of sawdust and is filling the yard with it.

14:00 - we went down to the village of Fuli. There are many beautiful houses and expensive cars here. But I’m interested in something completely different - while we’re waiting for the bus, I buy more gas, condensed milk (!!!) and mayonnaise.

17:00 we are already at the campsite in the village of Shampelak. We wait out the light rain and have dinner.

Before sunset we go for a walk to the lake. There are no people, no wind, beauty in abundance.

And before going to bed, you can take a really hot shower!

Day 7.

The most crowded day of our hike around Mont Blanc. From the very morning we moved in a dense stream of American schoolchildren and European pensioners. There were a lot more people than usual, although we left quite early (at 8am). Perhaps this is due to the fact that this time we spent the night in the designated place, like most of the tourists.

To each his own - I found a blooming rhododendron in the forest and took a photo of it, and a local guide found a tangled sheep and freed it.

The trail is quite boring - only once was it funny, when we had to cross a shallow river on rocks and many tourists began to invent something instead of just walking.

Actually, initially I planned to go not here, but through the neighboring Arpette 2665 pass. It is much more picturesque there - a lot of rocks, a large ridge, and a glacier. But due to the abundance of snow, plans had to be changed.

We have lunch quite early again. At 11:25, together with a crowd of our Western colleagues, we arrive at the Bovin shelter. There is real movement here. Everyone orders potato casserole with cheese, drinks mulled wine and other goodies.

Below, in the valley, the edge of the Swiss town of Martigny peeks out from behind the clouds.

At the Forclaz pass I get free Wi-Fi and for a couple of minutes I drop out of the Alps and into the office.

Already at 15:00 we set up tents in the mega-budget camping village of Trient.

I go looking for a store, but instead I find Himalayan yaks and a most curious rural cemetery.

Day 8.

It’s a wet morning - it’s drizzling, a thick layer of clouds hangs over the mountains. At the same time, it’s quite warm - I wear a raincoat and a shirt.

Quite quickly we jump out to the Balme pass. We are back in France!

In the distance you can see the mighty dam on Lake Emosson. In 2017, we had a good walk there (in the snow).

We sit down for lunch on the terrace of a closed cafe for skiers. We spent the last hour tramping along the ski slopes. There is no more snow, the grass is successfully turning green.

14:00 we go out onto the road at the Montets 1461 pass. We hold a quick meeting and, despite the bad forecast, we decide not to take the bus to Chamonix, but to continue to rock.

How can you light up in the rain? We gained 600 meters of altitude along a wonderful path with vertical stairs, stone foreheads and bloodthirsty ibexes.

We set up camp on a plateau not far from Refuge du Lac Blanc. The height is about 2150 meters, there is a lot of snow around.

A gorgeous parking lot - here you feel like a polar explorer, despite the fact that the temperature is completely above zero.

And by the way, all this is very similar to Norway.

Zombie apocalypse! Literally 15 meters from our tents there is a small lake. Newts crawl out of it in a continuous stream and row somewhere in the snow.

Day 9.

6:30 woke up to the sound of rain. Neighbors say there was a thunderstorm overnight.

It seems that the main task of the hike has been completed - everyone has finally come running and wants to go home (and to work) again. We decide not to wander along the ridge towards Brevent, but to descend as quickly as possible to Chamonix.

On the descent we see Mont Blanc again! The glaciers are amazing.

We go down to the highway, catch a bus and at noon we are in the center of Chamonix.

We go to the supermarket for moral satisfaction. By the way, by the end of the trip the weight of the backpack dropped below 15 kg.

At 16:00 we leave Chamonix towards Bergamo. Before the bus we have time to run into one of the campsites and take a shower.

22:00 We set up the tent again next to the airstrip in Bergamo. The tour around Mont Blanc is completed. We're flying home tomorrow morning!

Important

If you're planning a hike around Mont Blanc, think twice about bringing a tent. Personally, I advise leaving it at home and living in magical alpine shelters. Yes, it’s not cheap (from 20 to 50 euros), but this travel format will significantly lighten the backpack (from 20 to 12 kg). On this track, where the daily elevation gain exceeds 1000 m, such a gift for the back and knees will be extremely worthwhile. Think))

A tent is real independence and a lot of romance. However, I continue to argue that when trekking around Mont Blanc (the Alps), most hikers should leave their tents at home and stay in shelters. Otherwise, every European pensioner who overtakes you on the trail with a tiny 20-liter backpack will irritate you even more than that closet that you call a backpack))

Kirill Yasko March 28, 2020

P.S. Video about this hike