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monkeysandmountains.com /tour-du-mont-blanc-trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is list ed as not only one of Europes classic hikes, but one of t he best in t he world!
The 160km, 8000+ elevation gain hike around the highest peak (4810 m) in Western Europe is a classic. Having just completed it through France, Italy and Switz erland, I can highly recommend it. Although you dont actually go to the peak itself (that involves mountaineering), its tough. It will challenge you both physically and mentally, but with a little bit of planning you can choose how much you want to be challenged.
T here are a variety of ways that you can hike the T MB.
There are guided hikes, some where you are accompanied by a donkey, like Coco, pictured below in which you are
able to off load 7 kg of gear to him. I kept running into him along the way on our tour and rewarded him for his efforts with fruit even though he wasnt carrying any of my gear. What can I say? He has the name name as my cat, so I took to him immediately, plus I love donkeys! There are also self-
Co co , ca r r i e d 7kg o f e a ch o f h i s g r o u p s s tu ff. He s n o t fo n d o f to m a to e s , b u t l i ke s p e a ch e s a n d a p p l e s .
guided treks, in which a tour operator consults with you or makes all the arrangements for you. Lastly, you can plan it all yourself as we did.
Use a combination of the T MB site, book and map to plan each day.
Dont start by saying that you will do the trek in so and so many days. Plan each day according to what seems reasonable to you. The TMB site, shows you the availability of the refuges (mountain huts) and how long it takes to hike to the other hut. Youre also able to book the huts directly through their site. The disadvantage to the TMB site though is that it doesnt provide the elevation gain, nor the distance, which is where the book comes in. Note: If you are choosing a longer trek that often means going up two separate cols/mountain passes. Keep in mind that you will likely be much slower later on in the day when your legs are already tired, then when you first started out. Its also a good idea to plan your route out on a map, so that you can choose huts that are en route to where youre going and not out of your way.
except at breakfast where typically just bread was served. None of the refuges had gluten- free bread (which was fine with me), so I asked for a piece of fruit instead. If you have any special dietary needs its worth giving them a heads up prior since dinner is one standard meal unless you make special arrangements.
Re l a xi n g a t Fi o u x Re fu g e a n d e n j o yi n g th e vi e ws o f Mo n t B l a n c.
reserved all of our refuges in advance. We wanted to enjoy our holiday and not be on our phone each day trying to call ahead to see if there was space. We also didnt want to just show up and find out there was no space left. The disadvantage of this is that it allowed us no flexibility. The advantage was that we never had to worry about finding a place to sleep. As it turned out, all of the refuges we stayed at, did have space, so reservations may not always be necessary, but often the only space left was in a dormitory and we preferred to sleep in private rooms when possible. Travel t ip: If you dont have reservations for a refuge, then try to get an early start and arrive early, before it does come full with other hikers who have the same idea.
We
Vi e w o f Mo n t B l a n c fr o m o u r r o o m a t B o u ti q u e H te l Le Mo r g a n e i n Ch a m o n i x.
stayed at the Htel Les Aiglons, Resort & Spa the night before our trek and at Boutique Htel Le Morgane on the last day of our trek. Both are four star eco hotels in Chamonix, complete with a spa! After staying in refuges it was pure bliss. We sat on our huge patio enjoying the killer views of Mont Blanc, as we rested our blistered, aching feet. Trust me, on the final day, youll likely be tired, so its worth a bit of a splurge!
Us p o s i n g a t o n e o f th e h i g h p o i n ts a l o n g th e TMB 2700m
ENJOYED MOST OF IT! I dont believe anyone who says t hey enjoyed every second of t he TMB t here are some really t ough part s, but t o enjoy most of it is more t han I could have asked f or! Stay tuned for more helpful posts on the Tour du Mont Blanc