I have a large coffee table book on my bookshelf called Hiking Beyond: Traveling the World’s Epic Trails. Yes, I know what you’re thinking – why is it on my bookshelf and not on my coffee table? I don't have the answer to this question, but I can tell you that it's about Tour of Mont Blanc (TMB):
more impressive [than its 170km] It’s a cumulative climb of 10,000 meters… No technical skills, crampons or down jackets required to protect against the biting cold, Mont Blanc hikers climb more meters than Everest climbers.
You may know that I have an unusual itch that I can't help but scratch when someone scratches me Comparative rise in meters vertically with Climbing Mount Everestwhether it’s the stairs in your home or a small section of hillside you’ve walked on Cycling up and down repeatedlyor pass it a few times on a long trail. That's because you don't actually climb the entire 8848-mile climb to Mount Everest. The base camps on both sides of the mountain are around 5,500m above sea level, and you can actually drive to one of them. The gauges on Everest are notable because you climb them closer to outer space on Earth. This means there isn't much oxygen to breathe. The 10,000m of Mont Blanc is really not comparable to Everest, unless you're hiking with a gimp mask, down jacket and crampons.
this The three authors of this book Damian Hall, Dave Costello, and Billi Bierling are undoubtedly famous for writing inspirational coffee table books. Ultrarunner Damian Hall doesn’t surprise me at all; Run around TMB in 22 hoursThinks climbing Everest is a trivial matter (although how he sees enough TMB to remember what it's like is another question). As you know, Dave Costello wrote this hit song, which doesn’t surprise me either oliver's armylearn the difference between hiking and high-altitude mountaineering. But Billi Bierling, keeper of the Himalayan database and heir to the estate of the great chronicler Elizabeth Hawley, herself Climb six 8000m peaks Including Everest (Billy, not Ms. Holly) should have been clearer. I can only conclude that when Damien ran to the publisher with his editor, she failed to catch him.
Anyway, I am aimlessly (if you’ll pardon the pun). I'll get to the point.
Even more wisely, the author beyond on foot It goes on to describe how TMB “guides you through three countries – each with a unique feel”. I'm working on Edit my video clips In September 2024, Edita and I hiked around the TMB. We didn’t wear down jackets (although it would have made the shots more interesting), but we definitely felt a change in atmosphere as we crossed the high mountain passes into another country.
To solve this problem, I edited the video into multiple parts, each ending with a border. I have completed the first two videos, the first one The French part of Chamonixand the second Italian section through Courmayeur. There are 28 minutes of footage in total. In a later blog post I will complete the setting for the Swiss part and the final French part back to Chamonix.
you can Read the whole thing in one go here. You can also View all my still photos Start your trip here and read the trip report France and Italy here.
Tour of Mont Blanc (TMB): Chamonix to La Seigne Pass
Our Mont Blanc tour begins with a cable car ride above the Chamonix Valley to the Planpraz ski resort. It was mid-September, but by the time we climbed to the 2,525m peak, there was already snow on the slopes above. LeBrevan Via the Brevan Pass. Here we joined the group of tourists who were continuing their cable car ride up the mountain from Chamonix.
Snow accumulation is temporary. It faded away as we walked through the forest to the village. Risuchethe traditional starting point for TMB. We only briefly encountered it again two days later.
Before the big day crossing we had a lovely day walking along woodland trails through the peaceful villages of the Monjoy Valley three high pass: Col du Bonhomme (2,329m), Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (2,479m) and Col des Fours (2,665m). Here we climbed the Tête Nord des Fours (2,756m), a classic viewpoint on Mont Blanc, to reach the highest point of the hike.
On the fourth day of hiking, we hiked along the glacier valley to seigne passwhich marks the border between France and Italy.
Tour of Mont Blanc (TMB): Col de La Sègne to Col de Ferret
Hiking into Italy for the first time in five years, traversing 2,516m seigne pass On our fourth day on Mont Blanc. We walked down the picturesque Val Veny, with the outer pinnacles of the Mont Blanc massif framing the valley to the left. The second half of a long day involved climbing up an elevated trail above the valley and then through the ski resort to our destination. Courmayeur overnight.
The next day Edita convinced me to accept high route High above Val Ferret in Italy, along the Mont de la Saxe ridge and up past the 2,584m Tête de la Tronche. During this time the clouds cleared and we were able to see stunning views of the more technical Italian side of Mont Blanc.
We booked a taxi to take us back to Courmayeur from Alpe Noise in the evening, so we covered this section at a brisk pace, which I found to be quite quick. exhausted.
The next morning we continued hiking from Arpnouvaz to Val Ferret, climbing past a herd of mean-looking cattle to reach an altitude of 2,537m. Colonel Ferret. Here we enter Switzerland after a two-day layover in the Italian Alps.
