This is the blog post about our ninth and FINAL day hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc! Check out my summary post with all my tips for planning your own TMB!
The Tour du Mont Blanc is a 165km hiking loop around Mont Blanc, with nearly 9km of elevation gain into the sky, through 3 countries: France, Switzerland and Italy. You can go as fast or as slow as you want, staying in your choice of the many refuges (mountain huts) along the way at night. I know people who've done the whole loop in 3 days, and others who take it slow and go for 12 days. Connor, a friend and fellow hiker from Vancouver, and I planned a 9-day trek on the TMB.
Day 1: Les Houches to Gîte Tupilak
Day 2: Gîte Tupilak to Lac Blanc
Day 3: Lac Blanc to Charamillon
Day 4: Charamillon to Forclaz
Day 5: Forclaz to Ferret
Day 6: Ferret to Monte Bianco
Day 7: Monte Bianco to Balmes
Day 8: Balmes to Bionassay
Day 9: Bionassay to Les Houches
Total distance: 7.66km
Total elevation gain: 330m
Total elevation loss: 665m
Countries: France
And just like that, the final day of the TMB dawned on us. We set out early from Bionassay, even though the day was a short one, as it was also the day we would head home. The morning sun delivered the goods for our final stretch - glowing between the trees, golden hour on the mountains in such a manner which made me catch my breath in my throat. It was the perfect way to end.
We reached Les Houches, having been congratulated along the way by a big tour group, all buzzing with excitement at their first moments on the TMB, some of that excitement overflowing to us with their unexpected joy at crossing paths with 4 exhausted reverse-TMBers. Hopefully we motivated them even more to get going. And then, the arch in Les Houches came into focus. The relief flooded my body, the pride and adrenaline pulsing in my ears.
We did it.
So proud of us for doing this - and grateful that we crossed paths with Morgan and Claire to hike the TMB. Till the next adventure!
WE DID IT!
Connor and I at the Les Houches TMB gate
READ MY ENTIRE TMB JOURNEY HERE!
Day 1: Les Houches to Gîte Tupilak
Day 2: Gîte Tupilak to Lac Blanc
Day 3: Lac Blanc to Charamillon
Day 4: Charamillon to Forclaz
Day 5: Forclaz to Ferret
Day 6: Ferret to Monte Bianco
Day 7: Monte Bianco to Balmes
Day 8: Balmes to Bionassay
Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
