Les Chapieux, where I finished yesterday, is a pinch point on the Tour du Mont Blanc and not only are many guests ferried by taxi to Bourg St Maurice, 12 miles away, but even there space is at a premium. So when I booked up 11 months ago, I had to accept a dorm room for the night or nothing. Luckily, my five room mates were all very considerate- which meant that I had to be too- and included a young couple- Austin and Anastasia -from Florida I’d met at the last hotel, an Irishman from Derry, and a Canadian lady. No snoring, no getting up in the night, but boy was it hot, despite two big fans whirring away all night and the windows being open. None of us I think got much sleep at all, so by 6 am we were ready for breakfast and then the 730 taxi.
The standard Tour takes 11 days, but my 11 days included one rest day and combining two days together. This was that day. Luckily, the taxi driver drove us an extra 6 km up the road to Refuge Des Motetts, and at the end of the day, rather than walk to Courmayeur, I and many others were diverted to La Visaille along a more scenic route, where there was a bus. So the two combined days with these shortcuts actually made an easier single day than yesterday.
First, once again it was up hill, steep straight away, but thankfully as it was so early (830) the climb was mostly in the shade of the mountains. After barely two hours sleep, I was not only exhausted, but actually wanting to fall asleep. But it passed , and after two hours, I was there, the Col de la Seigne (2516 metres)my first border crossing point, from France into Italy. It was only 1030 and was all downhill from this point on.
Around the top unfortunately even stopping for a drink of water attracted the attention of groups of wasps or hornets, so looking forward downhill into Italy, I ploughed straight on.
The vista below was even more beautiful than yesterday’s. And I have to say most of the rest of the walk – apart from one long straight stretch where the sun was beating down and there was no shade- was the most scenic yet.
Jagged mountain crests, enormous mountain waterfalls, a couple of idyllically placed mountain refuges, a pretty lake, and then a gorgeous path downhill alongside a gushing river, with forest and mountain all around. This part was clearly popular not just with Tour hikers, but also with holidaying Italians. It all had a grandeur that reminded me of California’s Sierra Nevada, and the smell of pine was exquisite.
Then suddenly it was back down to earth and a wait for the hourly bus into Courmayeur. After a half hour wait there was just enough room for the seventy or eighty people that had accumulated to get on the bus. God only knows what it is like in peak season.
So a lovely hike today, walking nearly 15km, up 714 metres (still a lot but half of yesterday’s climb), and down 849 metres. So far I’ve hiked nearly 50km, up 2500 metres and down even more, 2800 metres. Still another seven days hiking to go, and tomorrow is another big climb, nearly 1300 metres, but less downhill.
My Tour du Mont Blanc journey 