Tour du Mont Blanc #2: Les Contamines-Montjoie to Refuge des Mottets

Ordinarily, I’m not a morning person: give me an early alarm and I’ll find a way to wake up later and get ready faster. On the trails, it’s a different story. We rose at half six, packed up and joined the queue for grub on the dot of seven. Breakfast was, shall we say, unsubstantial: three slices of baguette, with jam, Nutella and butter on the side doesn’t quite cut it when you have ten or so kilometres and a sizeable peak standing between you and lunch.

Tour du Mont Blanc #1: Les Houches to Les Contamines-Montjoie

Claps of thunder roused us during the night; lightning danced across the inky sky. By first light, the storm had passed and only a few grey clouds lingered. The Tour du Mont Blanc was calling – but first, breakfast (or, more accurately, breakfeast; our Airbnb host put out a seriously good spread).

Warming Up for the Tour du Mont Blanc

Before setting off on the Tour du Mont Blanc, we had a couple of days in Geneva and Les Houches to relax, stock up on supplies (long time no see, BN Biscuits!) and squeeze in a short hike up Col de la Forclaz.

The Snowy Slopes of Planpraz

Since we weren’t catching a train back to Lyon until mid-afternoon, we figured we had enough time to hike up a mountain – and if needs be, we’d simply catch a ski lift back down. After deliberating over Planpraz (1,999m) and La Flégère (1,894m), we decided on the former and then thought we may as well ask our Airbnb hosts roughly how long the ascent would be. “Ten minutes,” they replied confidently. Laurence and I exchanged a confused look, Our Airbnb hosts may be into trail running, but surely even they couldn’t run up this beast in ten minutes? “On foot?” we queried. “Oh,” they said, upon realising we didn’t intend to catch the ski lift up, “In that case, around three hours.”

Atop the Aiguille du Midi

The Téléphérique de l’Aiguille du Midi has been transporting visitors to the summit of one of the Mont Blanc massif’s highest peaks since 1955; for those with no mountaineering experience – myself included – it’s the closest you’ll get to the summit of Mont Blanc. At a dizzying height of 3,842m, the Aiguille du Midi commands stellar views of the Chamonix Valley, the Aiguilles Rouges and the Mont Blanc massif. It also serves as the gateway to the Vallée Blanche, a world-renowned off-piste ski route; the descent of almost three thousand metres over glaciers edged with seracs and riddled with crevasses is not one for the inexperienced.

An Alpine Escape

Nestled between the Aiguilles Rouges and the Mont Blanc massif lies the alpine town of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, a haven for winter sport enthusiasts and hikers alike. Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, more commonly referred to as Chamonix, hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924. Over the past century, it has become a firm favourite amongst lovers of the great outdoors, offering everything from off-piste runs and paragliding to nature trails and via ferrata. Back in February, Laurence and I spent three days exploring this alpine wonderland – and our only regret was not spending more time there.