TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail

July 2024

Numerous years of dreaming and 1 year of planning. As per Laurie's wish we are tackling the famous TMB - Tour de Mont Blanc Trail, and doing it somewhat "in style" as we engaged Mac Adventures & booked their Extended TMB in Huts tour (13 days) Read more

List of countries

Italy
France
Switzerland
United States

Categories

Backpacking, Couple, Culture, Hiking, Nature, Photography, Self discovery, Sightseeing, Vacation, Wildlife

8.5kmiles traveled

Means of transport

Flight8,256kilometers
Walking-kilometers
Hiking-kilometers
Bicycle-kilometers
Motorbike-kilometers
Tuk Tuk-kilometers
Car-kilometers
Train-kilometers
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Camper-kilometers
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4x4-kilometers
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Motorboat-kilometers
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Cruise ship-kilometers
Horse-kilometers
Skiing-kilometers
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Barefoot-kilometers

Newest first

Footprints
Photos

Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 5
- Jul 7, 2024, 6:31am
- 🌫 52 °F
- Altitude: 3,255 ft
- France La Griaz 45.895238, 6.80354845°53’43” N 6°48’13” E
Morning in Les Houches
July 7, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌫 52 °F
Rather a cloudy morning with some drizzle continued from last night
We fortified ourselves with some yummy breakfast and checked ourselves out ready to tackle our first day of the adventure 😀

Let the (Hunger) Games begin - so would say Stanley Tucci

We are at the official Starting Point of TMB.
Still drizzling so the rain gear is outRead more
TravelerAlways have a good breakfast!
7/7/24Reply
TravelerNeed protein for these types of outings
7/7/24Reply
Traveler👍
7/7/24Reply
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 5
- Jul 7, 2024, 9:17am
- ☁️ 50 °F
- Altitude: 5,869 ft
- France Col de Voza 45.873741, 6.77066545°52’25” N 6°46’14” E
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Bellevue Telepherique and Col de Voza
July 7, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
So we cut off a couple of kilometers and some time by utilizing Bellevue Telepherique instead of hiking from Les Houches Centre up the mountain
Here we did our Cerene Foggy video of the morning, which, of course, is quite foggy
However the drizzle stopped soon thereafter and the fog also started lifting by the time we reached Col de Voza - an Alpine pass at 1,657 m
It is located in the west of the Mont Blanc massif , on a ridge line descending from the Aiguille du Goûter to the southeast towards the confluence of the Arve and the Bon Nant to the northwest . The pass is directly surrounded by the Tête de la Charme to the west and the Bellevue plateau to the east, dominating the valley of the Bionnassay torrent and the hamlet of the same name to the south and the Arve valley at Les Houches to the north.

We saw some black cows and met Princess BeaRead more
Traveler What a beautiful, serene morning video. Thank you!
7/7/24Reply
TravelerWhat beautiful views! And I loved your foggy morning video.
7/7/24Reply
Traveler Cows... I had this love-hate thing with cows in Bavaria.
7/7/24Reply
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 5
- Jul 7, 2024, 9:28am
- ☁️ 55 °F
- Altitude: 3,793 ft
- France Les Contamines-Montjoie 45.821847, 6.72632745°49’19” N 6°43’35” E
Les Contamines
July 7, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
After a couple of little ups and downs, we finally came into Les Contamines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Contamines-Mo…) and checked into out abode Hotel Christiania.
Our little room
View from the window

After cleanup and little rest, we had anice dinner, which consisted of a choice between vegetable soup and l'escargots (no need to tell who had what here, right? 😊), a porch chop with pasta and vegetables and a cheesecake ( sorry, disappeared rather fast, so no picture)Read more
TravelerThis is a wonderful photo of you, Allan!!
7/7/24Reply
TravelerSee, now, Laurie took that one 🙂
7/7/24Reply
TravelerThe food is looking significantly hardier-- more hardy? Good. You'll need it.
7/7/24Reply
Traveler👍
7/7/24Reply
Travelersnails look yummy 🤤 and I second that is a frame-able photo of you in your element!
7/10/24Reply
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 5
- Jul 7, 2024, 10:36am
- ☁️ 55 °F
- Altitude: 4,400 ft
- France Le Champel 45.86514, 6.75641345°51’55” N 6°45’23” E
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Bionnassay
July 7, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Took a nice break at Bionnassay - a high-altitude hamlet in France located in Haute-Savoie , in the commune of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains , in a small side valley to the Val Montjoie , at an altitude of 1,330 metres. It is located at the foot of the Tête de la Charme and the Col de Voza to the north and Mont Vorassay to the south.

Drank yummy café au Lait and met some rather large rabbits.
Also passed a small chapel on exit from the hamletRead more
Traveler Finally need the sunglasses
7/7/24Reply
TravelerYeah... it git nice and sunny 🌞
7/7/24Reply
Traveler La vie en rose
7/7/24Reply
TravelerQuand il me prend dans ses bras Il me parle tout bas
7/7/24ReplyTranslate
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 5
- Jul 7, 2024, 11:41am
- ☁️ 54 °F
- Altitude: 4,229 ft
- France Le Champel 45.863392, 6.7581345°51’48” N 6°45’29” E
La Vilette
July 7, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
After crossing Riv Arne we cameout into a clearing an soon had a fast brake at La Vilette - another little hamlet known for its fountain where hikers can replenish their water supply
Soon after we came across this little monument but little verse aside, it makes no sense to me, esp the 1600-1900 part
Oh wellRead more
TravelerYou both look so rested and happy! This looks like a really great vacation.
7/7/24Reply
Traveler🙏
7/7/24Reply
Travelergreat pictures of you two!
7/10/24Reply
Traveler🙏
7/11/24Reply
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 5
- Jul 7, 2024, 5:59pm
- ⛅ 66 °F
- Altitude: 3,793 ft
- France Les Contamines-Montjoie 45.818094, 6.7289745°49’5” N 6°43’44” E
EoD musings
July 7, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
So... this was not exactly a piece of cake walk in the woods.
While I'm not going to say that, we struggled, but it wasn't easy even with that initial shave of time and distance.
At times, the trail was very muddy and slippery, and in those conditions, going down is worse than up.
Here are some stats
The elevation map of the trek from Bellevue Station and a video summarized the walk of the dayRead more
TravelerI LOVED your End-of-Trail relive the trip video! You are really talented, Allan. You had several of my favorite photos in your video. It was WONDERFUL! I hope you'll do a breakfast presentation of the whole thing back home.🙂🙂❤
7/7/24Reply
TravelerPlease let me get off this mountain first 🙏 😊
7/7/24Reply
TravelerYes, breakfast presentation with raclette. Very inspirational.
7/7/24Reply
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 6
- Jul 8, 2024, 5:31am
- ⛅ 52 °F
- Altitude: 3,796 ft
- France Les Contamines-Montjoie 45.818345, 6.7292645°49’6” N 6°43’45” E
Les Contamines morning
July 8, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
Checked out from Christiania after breakfast (scrambled eggs, local cheese & ham, nutty bread and Café au Lait), stopped at the supermarket to get some provisions for the hike and decided to take a shuttle to the next point (shaved off 4km)Read more
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 6
- Jul 8, 2024, 9:02am
- ☀️ 57 °F
- Altitude: 4,026 ft
- France Le Baplieu 45.791737, 6.71628245°47’30” N 6°42’59” E
Notre Dame de la Gorge
July 8, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
The Notre-Dame-de-la-Gorge chapel is located in the commune of Les Contamines-Montjoie ( Haute-Savoie ) at the bottom of the Val Montjoie , at an altitude of 1,210 metres, on the edge of the Bon-Nant . Present since at least the 11th century , this former parish church was built in a Baroque style between 1699 and 1707. It has been listed as a historic monument since 2015.

https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapelle_Notre-…Read more
TravelerBeautiful church! Looks like a challenging hike.
7/10/24Reply
TravelerThank you so much for posting these beautiful photos!
7/10/24Reply
Pretty church in beautiful scenery! [Harvey]
7/13/24Reply
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 6
- Jul 8, 2024, 9:27am
- ☀️ 59 °F
- Altitude: 4,741 ft
- France Monts Jovet 45.779243, 6.71492345°46’45” N 6°42’54” E
10 2 1 2
Nant Borrant
July 8, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bo…

Technically, the explanation above has little to do with our hiking. However, that's how the waypoint is marked (nearby farm Chalet du Nant Borant)Read more
Traveler ❤️
7/10/24Reply
Love this! ❤️ [NancyN]
7/10/24Reply
So beautiful 😍 [Nancy Necker]
7/10/24Reply
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Traveler TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) Trail
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- Day 6
- Jul 8, 2024, 11:55am
- ☀️ 63 °F
- Altitude: 5,620 ft
- France Lacs Jovet 45.757565, 6.71095745°45’27” N 6°42’39” E
Chalet de la Balme
July 8, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
Situated at the heart of the nature reserve, this mountain refuge hut sits at the foot of the Pennaz needles (2688m) in the direction of the Bonhomme mountain pass.
We stopped at a well-deserved break
While Laurie opted for Orangina, I went for lemonade with Grenadone concoction
This is also the last time that any communications will be possible for quite a while - a couple of more meters up and the signal just does not get that highRead more
TravelerWill miss hearing from you. Hope to hear soon when you are back in range.
7/10/24Reply
TravelerThanks ❤️
7/10/24Reply
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