Traversing France, Italy and Switzerland, the Tour du Mont Blanc (or TMB, for short) is an iconic hike, and one which had sat on my wish list for nigh-on six years. The TMB is 170km (or thereabouts, depending on any variants taken) of snow-capped cols, alpine pastures (minus the cast of The Sound of Music) and lush valleys; an adventure like no other. / Traversant la France, l’Italie et la Suisse, le Tour du Mont Blanc (ou TMB, en abrégé) est une randonnée iconique, qui est sur ma liste de merveilles depuis presque six ans. Le TMB, c’est 170km (à peu près, dépendant des variantes) de cols toujours enneigés, d’alpages (sans la distribution de La Mélodie du Bonheur) et des vallées verdoyante; une aventure sans pareil.
We crossed fast-flowing torrents fuelled by meltwater, picked our way across snow bridges (‘Always let someone heavier than you go first,’ advised a fellow walker) and scooted down Col des Fours on our derrières. We picked wild strawberries by the side of the path, staining our fingers pink in the process. We slept like logs in refuges; dined like kings at the tavern-like Refuge les Mottets. We saw marmots, lizards, butterflies of all different colours – cobalt, topaz, pearly white – and, just as we were beginning to think we wouldn’t, ibex. / Nous avons franchi des torrents à fort débit, avons négocié les ponts de neige (‘Laissez passer quelqu’un plus lourd devant,’ sages conseils d’un autre randonneur), et sommes descendus du Col de Four sur nos derrières. Nous avons cueilli des fraises sauvages au bord du sentier, des taches roses sur nos doigts. Nous avons dormi à poings fermés dans les refuges ; avons dîné comme des rois au Refuge les Mottets. Nous avons vu des marmottes, des lézardes, des papillons de toutes couleurs – cobalt, topaze, nacré – et, au moment où nous ne pensons plus à les voir, des bouquetins.
Here’s a taster of the Tour du Mont Blanc . . . / Voilà un avant-goût du Tour du Mont Blanc . . .
La Grenouille Anglaise 
Oh wow, what an amaaaazing adventure! Love the photos! Out of curiosity, what’s the food on day 7, the pie type of thingybobby?
Caz xx
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Thanks 🙂 It was super fun, though I still can’t get over how much faster time goes when you’re on holiday! It was an apple pie at a little café along the route, just what was needed to power us through the rest of the day. Xx
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What an adventure traversing three countries! Must have been exhausting, but such a rewarding experience. The views look gorgeous!
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It certainly lived up to expectations! I didn’t do any training beforehand (oops…) so the first couple of hills were a bit tougher going, but it eased off after that. I think the way we split the route up helped, as our days were usually around 20km, with a few shorter days sandwiched in the middle. The scenery was absolutely stunning – I was lost for words on more than one occasion!
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