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| Our Trail - clockwise - blue circles were our stops |
We hiked on TMB from August 17 to 25 with Altitude Montblanc for a 9 day guided hike - in clockwise direction (blue arrows in above Figure). The hiking group had 15 person including the guide, 6 women, 9 men, from 3 countries (US, France, Canada), two common languages - English and French.
What an adventure it was!
In 9 days, we hiked 160 km, with 8500 m elevation gain, walked on the lands of three countries - Switzerland, France and Italy. Mountains, glaciers, valleys, water falls, meadows, sheep, cows, marmots, and hawks ...despite reaching my physical capability limit, I thoroughly enjoyed hiking on TMB.
The "immersion" with our French speaking new friends, the local foods, the comradeship formed in the group made our TMB much more than an outdoor adventure, it was an experience of life time.
The following is our realized itinerary.
August 15 - arrived at Geneva in the evening, stayed in hotel at downtown, near Lake Geneva
Preparation for TMB - bought water and snacks.
August 16 - toured a small portion of Geneva in the morning, went to Chamonix in the afternoon
Sunrise concert by Lake Geneva at Place de jeux des Bains des Pâquis
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| Sunrise concert by Lake Geneva |
Brunswick monument, the flower clock, Geneva fountain (shooting up 140m), St Pierre Cathedral, Rhone river...
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| Geneva Fountain |
Took bus to Chamonix in the afternoon - a beautiful French resort town with many resturants, also the starting point of TMB.
Stayed in a hotel near the center of the Chamonix - Croix Blanche
August 17, TMB day 1....raining in the morning
August 19, TMB day 3.....cloudy to Sunny in the afternoon
stayed at Relais d'Arpelle, we were lucky to get a regular hotel room with toilet, shower, and a balcony facing the valley.
August 17, TMB day 1....raining in the morning
Hiking in the clouds, barely could see anything. On a clear day Mt Blanc would be right in front of us by the trail near Lac Blanc, reflected in Lac Blanc. The rain stopped near the end day 1, beautiful mountains, blue glaciers appeared!
14km, 600m up, 1000m down, portion of the trail very steep
stayed at Chalet Alpin du Tour which is right in front of a glacier, bunker beds, 5 person a room, dinner and next day breakfast at onsite restaurant
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| at our TMB starting point |
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| blue glacier across the valley |
August 18, TMB day 2.....raining...until 2pm
It was dry when we started initial steep climb. When we reached high point for the day, it was raining and windy, we had to delay lunch break and hiked forward to an underground shelter. The beautiful Swiss village Trient was our lodging location.
14km, 800m up, 1000m down
stayed at Trient - La Grande Ourse. Our hotel room was spacious with beautiful views from two windows. It has an attached bar, and also a restaurant.
August 19, TMB day 3.....cloudy to Sunny in the afternoon
Because of the rains in the previous two days, the air was fresh, the sky was clear blue and the grasses and trees were greener.
18km, 1000m up, 800m down. The downhill trail was steep with loose rocks - it hurt my knees a lot, and I was very slow.
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| my hiking guide Chloe did double duty during portion of the downhill |
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| on the way to lodging |
August 20, TMB day 4.....Gorgeous day
A beautiful day with relative easy but long hike in the valley, and splendid scenery.
I got up early to enjoy the views of golden glaciered rocky mountains during the Sunrise. At the end of the day we also soaked our feet and knees in freezing glacier river!
20km, 400m down, 600m up.
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| isn't it gorgeous! |
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| Champex Lac - a natural glacier lake |
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| Mountain peaks by the valley |
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| last climb to La Fouly |
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| The glacier facing the hotel - Maya Joie |
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| cold therapy of feet and knees in the glacier river |
stayed at Maya Joie, double occupancy rooms, gorgeous surroundings, but there were bed-bugs in some rooms.
August 21, TMB day 5.....Beautiful day
The main landmark this day was Mt Dolent. Mt Dolent is at the intersection of France, Italy and Swiss. there are several glaciers around the mountain peak.
18+km, 950m up, 950m down
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| I was in the front of the group because I started early from a break |
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| black and white sheep on the slope - side view of Mt Dolent |
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| Mt Dolent |
stayed at hotel restaurant Lavachey in Italy... two twin beds for double occupancy. We had the best dinner on the trail... we had real meat - half chicken breast - for the first time on the trail, for entree.
August 22, TMB day 6.....Sunny day
Another beautiful sunny day. We were now at the south/southwest to Mt Blanc. Mont Blanc was the main attraction on this portion of the trail, along with a few high peaks around it.
In fact we saw Moon set over Mt Blanc when we stepped out of Hotel Lavachey in the morning.
14km, 1000m up, 800m down
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| Moon set over Mt Blanc - the glaciered mount, which is 14 km away |
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| Lily did double duty on this day |
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| clouds come and go - making a constant changing view of Mt Blanc |
stayed at Rifugio Monte Bianco (= Mont Blanc), bunker beds for double occupancy, which is located at the foot of Mt Blanco, across a valley.
August 23, TMB day 7.....Sunny day
I skipped the first mountain on the section of TMB trail per the suggestion of the guide to allow my hurting knees rest a bit, and took a easier walk around, but joined the main group the rest of the way. The second mountain pass on the trail actually has higher elevation gain.
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| hiking along a glacier river instead of climbing mountain |
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| stream |
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| A herd of sheep - the shepherd and his dog were sitting nearby |
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| The valley west to Mont Blanc |
stayed at Refuge des Mottets, we stayed at double occupancy rooms. Those who selected single occupancy shared a wide bed with many people in dormitories.
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| Goats near the Refuge |
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| shared wide beds |
August 24, TMB day 8.....Sunny day
This section of the trail is the steepest, and has long steep ascend and descend. Due to potential afternoon storm, some of us were advised to skip the section, and take a detour by the transportation vehicle. Those on the regular trail, climbed mountain with a herd of cows, and witnessed a helicopter emergency rescue, as well as a hang glider taking off.
18.5km, 1450m up, 1300m down.
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| steep ascend |
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| hiking with cows |
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| emergency rescue of an injured hiker |
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| going downhill with no obvious trail |
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| Roselend |
Left figure - detour by vehicle, right - regular hiking in miles
stayed at Hotel La Gelinotte at Les Containines-montjoie. Nice garden hotel. Last super of our TMB.
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| view of Aiguille de Bionnassay from our room - which blocks Mont Blanc |
August 25, TMB day 9.....Rain to Cloudy
The last day on TMB started with the sound of glacier rivers and rains. The rain stopped when we started hiking! It was a relatively easy hike, we finished hiking at 4pm, at Le Houches.
20km, 800m up, 800m down.
Mission Accomplished
We celebrated the completion of TMB at the ceremonial starting gate at Les Houches with group pictures and a group drink before parting our ways...
This was our first multi-day trekking, and the first time we traveled and vacationed with people outside our circles of friends, we enjoyed the trip very much! the mountains, glaciers, meadows, valleys, sheep, cows, and the company of our French speaking new friends. Thanks to our guide, Chloe for her patience, guide, encouragement and coordination, so we had a great time on TMB.
Note: The last paragraph was approximately a few words I said before giving Chloe - our guide, the appreciation card, and gratuity from the US hikers at the drinking party.
We celebrated the completion of TMB at the ceremonial starting gate at Les Houches with group pictures and a group drink before parting our ways...
This was our first multi-day trekking, and the first time we traveled and vacationed with people outside our circles of friends, we enjoyed the trip very much! the mountains, glaciers, meadows, valleys, sheep, cows, and the company of our French speaking new friends. Thanks to our guide, Chloe for her patience, guide, encouragement and coordination, so we had a great time on TMB.
Note: The last paragraph was approximately a few words I said before giving Chloe - our guide, the appreciation card, and gratuity from the US hikers at the drinking party.
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| last stretch to the finishing line |
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| Mission Accomplished |
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