From: Tre-le-Champ
To: Les Houches
Length: 17.6 m
Elev. gain: 6138 ft
Time: 12 hrs 56 mins
The hike:
It was a long day.
The goal was to combine two day’s hikes (stage 10 and 11) into one. The main reason was that I couldn’t find reasonable lodging along the route. In theory there were many hotels in town. But that required taking the lifts and buses from and back to the trail to access the hotels. Taking lifts were expensive and time consuming. So it was more efficient, both financially and time-wise, for me to do the long hike instead.
I woke up at 4am and took the 6:10 bus from Geneva to Chamonix.
From there I took a local bus to Montroc station, where I started my hike at around 8:30am.
Most people start the hike from Les Houches as that is the official starting point of this hike. But due to various reasons, mostly because I changed my itinerary after I booked the hotels and didn’t want to change them, as some were already sold out or the prices had already gone up by then, or it was just too much hassle.
I did extensive research and decided this would be the best starting point for me as it was accessible (within reasonable walking distance from the bus station) and didn’t require lifts.
It just so happens that this was also the day Mont Blanc Marathon was held.
The trail started with some tough ascent. It was tough not just because of the elevation gain. I had a heavy backpack with two week’s worth of everything I needed (The plan was to bring old and worn clothes and throw them away after use so the backpack will get lighter and lighter), including food, plus four bottles of drinking water. I had never carried a backpack this heavy in my life and I could barely stand up with it on my back. I was so not used to it I hiked really slow.
Then came the ladders. I read about these ladders and was very excited about them as I was obsessed with ladders (and many other things). This was one part of the hike that I was really looking forward to.
I was rewarded with great views.
And more ladders.
There were some scrambling too.
And more views.
Then I reached probably the most scenic section of today’s hike, with lots of little ponds, lakes, and breathtaking views.
Another ladder.
And more scenery.
Col du Brevent.
There were a lot of marathon runners in this section of the trail. I had to stop frequently to let them pass. This is one of the main reasons it took me so long to finish the hike today (Another reason being slow with the heavy backpack).
I even ran into a couple of ibexes on the trail.
There were various trail markers. Here are some yellow signs showing you where to go.
I finally reached Le Brevent. This is where the final descent started. You could also take a lift back to town if you decided to end your hike here.
You could see the glacier clearly.
I was so grateful for the long descent at the end.
I finished the hike at around 9:30pm but still had to walk another 30 minutes to the hotel in Les Houches. For some reason, despite the long and strenuous hike, my legs weren’t sore at all. But my shoulders were as my backpack was so heavy.
My route today:
