Another blog post that I’m writing days later. I think I need to get in the habit of writing the text offline so I don’t forget details while waiting for decent wifi.
Woke up in Hotel La Chemenaz to a lovely view and a breakfast that had me somewhat forgiving the dinner!
We dropped our bags back in the baggage room and headed off up the valley–an easy stroll to start the day then turning inevitably uphill. Hoards of people though, especially once we started climbing. The Tour du Mont Blanc may be the first multi-day hike we’ve done that lives up to a reputation for being too popular. I didn’t get a good photo of the crowds here–hopefully better photos of future busy points.
The climb leveled out somewhat when we reached a pretty valley with lovely views of the Col ahead. Here’s Dave illuminating the trail with the fluorescent orange shirt he bought in Falmouth.
And one of my typical expression when trying to take a selfie, something I find ridiculously challenging.
We eventually reached the Refuge de Balme, where we had a coffee, admiring the view back down the trail.
Then onward and upward, pausing to navigate or to marvel at where we’d already walked.
Dave is bemused by my sudden interest in photographing flowers, but really it’s just an excuse to stop and take a breath for a moment 🙂
The trail got steeper and rockier–lots of slate and some granite.
Another pause to look back…and breathe!
We reached our first significant snow field here. Dave was reluctant to cross it, hoping for an alternative path. But we forged ahead, since almost all the other hikers were walking across it. Only once we stepped off the snow back onto the trail could I see that there really is an alarming gap between the ground and the bottom of the ice. Still, we survived!
Eventually, we reached the Col du Bonhomme.
I naively thought that was it for the climb, but then could see there was a little more yet to do. Just round the next corner, right?
But in fact, the trail continued to climb over rocky ground for quite a way. The trail become a bit more of a scramble.
At about this point, we spotted another hiker, a Japanese man on his own looking lost, wearing non-hiking shoes, and carrying one hiking pole (cane-style), a backpack, and–most remarkably–a shopping bag. We were at almost 2500m in the middle of nowhere! We caught up with him at a stream ahead where he asked us if we thought it safe for him to fill up his tiny, empty plastic water bottle from the stream. We encountered him again at the Auberge in the evening, looking equally lost, and again walking through Courmayeur. So somehow he keeps safely reaching destinations!!!
Finally we reached the Col du la Croix du Bonhomme and could see the refuge a short distance below.
We stopped for a remarkable quantity of sparkling water and some coffee.
Gratuitous artsy shot of me taking a photo of Dave taking the selfie 🙂
Then down down down, of course.
We encountered these poor sheep gathered in a pen. It was quite warm and they were panting. I hope they weren’t destined to spend too long there, though there was no sign of any people tending them.
This little bridge felt like we were basically there. But as ever, we weren’t really.
Another knee-grinding descent for the last mile or so (I blame glacial valleys!) before finally arriving at the lovely Auberge de La Nova.
Much needed refreshment outside.
And the loveliest dinner yet in the cosy dining room. Soup and a fantastic beef stew. We sat next to two couples from Leeds and Sheffield who were interesting to chat with. We ran across them again the next day on the trail and again in Courmayeur.
Not the best night of sleep–my back\hip\leg is getting ever more grumbly!
This entry was posted in Tour du Mont Blanc 2018