TOUR DU MONT BLANC

The established route of the Tour du Mont Blanc is a trail of about 200km. On average, nine to eleven days are required to complete the circuit. Registered as one of France’s Sentiers de Grande Randonnée, its prestige leads people to quite different preconceptions. Either the Tour du Mont Blanc is thought of as impregnable, braved only by alpinists, or it is spoken of in the same breath as countless other high paths across Europe, accessible to all.

The commercialisation of the region and the enduring wilderness of the Alps mean that neither of these assumptions is quite true nor wholly false. The Tour du Mont Blanc does not have to be a hair-raising assault on the peak of the mountain, or an amble through meadows which roll gently at a safe distance from the Mont Blanc massif. The lands can be all things to all to people.

Walking conditions
The usual route of the Tour du Mont Blanc is quite taxing. The path climbs at an average gradient of 1:10 through the seven valleys of the Mont Blanc massif. At times the trail climbs to over 2,500m, but for the most part it stays between 1,500 and 2,000m. Tidy paved paths can help visitors up the mountainsides but elsewhere the trail can become more obscure and less hospitable. This uncertainty plays a major part in the attraction of the route, and over the duration of the walk glaciers, mountain peaks, chains of villages, alpine meadows and barren passes add extra variety.

Visiting the area
In spite of the risk of freak weather, the summer months are a good time to consider visiting the mountains. In the winter, or even in the early part of the walking season, ice axes, crampons and some serious walking experience would probably be required in the event of bad weather.

Access to the region is no longer dependent on seasonal conditions. Chamonix and the Rhône-Alpes département have been extensively developed and the area boasts two international airports, in Lyon and Geneva. The TGV railway slices from Paris to Lyon, and more than 1,000km of motorway crosses the area, leading drivers easily to the foot of the Alps.

Three cultures
On the usual nine to eleven day walk, the Tour du Mont Blanc crosses, in an anti-clockwise direction, from Les Houches in France to Courmayeur in Italy, through to Champex in the Swiss Alps and back to Les Houches. Switching over three languages, three currencies and three distinct cultures, the tour can appear to have traversed entire nations. For those willing to step off the track and into authentic communities, the bustle of Chamonix in France and the picture postcard outcrops of alpine hamlets in Switzerland supply varied food, accommodation and atmosphere.

Guides
Even without considering alternative routes and approaches to the Tour du Mont Blanc, a wide range of services and facilities can change the face of an excursion. For the less experienced walking party, knowledgeable guides are always available. In Chamonix their work and expertise is highly regarded, and a fête is held in their honour every August. For a more independent alternative, mules can be hired to bear luggage, allowing a little extra freedom to absorb the tremendous panorama that reveals itself along the length of the trail.

Bases
Whilst the Tour du Mont Blanc can be accessed from any number of towns around its circuit, for those intending to begin in the French quarter some choices have to be made. Chamonix, the self-proclaimed capital of the French Alps, has a long tradition of excess, both in its glorious winter sports facilities and its après ski culture. Alternatively, the village of St Gervais is more homely in its scale and approach. Both allow for easy access to Les Houches, the usual starting point for walkers.

Alternatives
The lands of the Tour du Mont Blanc are often presented as an idyll of diverse wildlife, typical alpine scenes and cultural contrasts. In some ways this is a fair representation, but what is increasingly becoming characteristic of the area is the ability of the tourist authorities and tour operator to offer customised packages to visitors. For those stretched for time, brisk routes namecheck the key sites and celebrated passes, peaks, glaciers and cols – the Mer de Glace, Les Drus, the Flegere plateau, Village du Praz. Supervised expeditions are also run for children, activities including hiking, fishing and rafting.

© Walk Europe
Walk Europe is a guidebook which provides holiday ideas for single travellers, couples, families and groups of all ages and abilities.

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