2018 Tour du Mont Blanc

Two students, one from Imperial College, tackled one of the most famous mountain treks, travelling anti-clockwise from and to Les Houches, a village in the Chamonix Valley in France. The 13-day camping tour involved crossing ten passes, seven valleys and passing through three countries, France, Italy and Switzerland. On arrival in the Chamonix Valley, the towering Aiguille du Midi and the other Aiguilles could be seen rising above the clouds, as well as some peaks of the Mont Blanc Massif, especially the Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m) and also some parts of the Val d’Arve (Chamonix Valley).

The first two days of the journey would take the pair to the Val d’Arve, the hamlet of Le Fouilly, the Col de Voza (1,657 m), the hamlet of Bionnassay, the hamlet of Le Champel, Les Contamines, the Refuge du Nant Borrant, the Reserve Naturelle des Contamines-Montjoie, the Refuge de la Balme, the Col du Bonhomme and to the Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme.

This was the most difficult part of the tour due to steep climbs the cold weather and the torrential rain. The terrain became swamp like, thus slowing their ascent, and thick fog made visibility very low, thus causing difficulty with direction finding, and having therefore to rely on the GPS application on their phone. Parts of the way were covered by snow, however, the students were able to enjoy a hot meal and warm themselves up at the Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme.

The next morning provided the splendid sight of the Chapieux Valley and the distant snow-covered peaks of Mount Pourri, (3,779m). Journeying on took the team to the Chalets de la Raja, Les Chapieux, the Refuge des Mottets, Col de la Seigne, the Rifugio Elisabetta Soldini, Lac Combal, a strikingly beautiful glacial lake, the hamlets of la Visaille and Entreves and onto Courmayeur. This stage allowed the pair to enjoy the views over the Glacier des Lanchettes and the Aiguille des Glaciers. At this point the students took the cable car from Entreves to Pointe Helbronner (3,462 m), where they could see the Aiguilles towering above the Chamonix Valley, the Western face of the Grande Jorasses, together with the Dent Du Geant, the glaciers that cover the top of Western Europe, and the entire resort of Courmayeur and its valley. Also, in the distance was the Gran Paradiso massif, in Italy, the Grand Combin in Switzerland and some parts of the Matterhorn, and the immensity of Mont Blanc’s peak, standing over 1,400 m above. At Pointe Helbronner the students were able to take a number of photos of the beautiful landscapes, mountain views and the scenery.

The next stage involved a climb up the Mont de la Saxe, before passing through the Refuge Bertone, Rifugio Bonatti, the hamlet of Arnuva, Rifugio Elena, and Grand Col Ferret, (2,537 m), the highest point in the tour. This was followed by a descent into Switzerland, onto the Swiss Val Ferret, reaching La Fouly and then onto Champex-Lac. The pair then travelled through the small communities of Champex d’en Haut and Champex d’en Bas, the dairy farm of Plan de l’Au and onto the dairy farm of Alp Bovine, before descending to the Col de la Forclaz. This was followed by a descent to the Trient valley and then onto the Col de Balme (2,191 m), and the border between Switzerland and France. Then it was a fairly steep and sandy descent up the Col des Posettes and onto the village of le Tour before reaching Argentiere in the Chamonix Valley. They then journeyed to Montroc, before reaching the hamlet of Tre-le-Champ and shortly after began to ascend the Aiguiles Rouges and then to Lac Blanc, where they took the ski lift to the Refuge Flegere. The final day the pair travel to Plan Praz where they started the ascent on the Brevent peak, (2,525 m). before the long descent through the hamlet of Merlet and the village of Le Bettey to their destination at Les Houches.

Despite having to endure some difficulties, the team were able to experience the beauty and spectacular views of the Alps, and also the towering Mont Blanc, which they were able to observe from different directions. The tour du was a fascinating experience, not only for the breath-taking landscapes, but also by revealing the lives of the people living in the remote villages or in mountain huts in the three countries.