For 11 days we tortured our bodies climbing up, down and around the Mont Blanc massif in search of incredible views. We found them.
One of the most common questions we hear among serious hikers is how these two iconic long-distance treks compare. The Tour du Mont Blanc or Everest Base Camp? The Tour du Mont Blanc is probably the most famous trek in Europe and a rite of passage for intrepid walkers. But Nepal’s Everest Base Camp trek is potentially the most famous trek on the planet. Which to choose? Well, as with any worthy comparison, there are no easy answers. While both are strenuous endeavors that offer some of the best scenery in the world, they also have many significant differences. A number of factors such as location, fitness, comfort requirements, season and available time need to be considered when deciding between these two awesome trips. Timing and Weather TMB: Located in the European Alps, the TMB is very much a summer trek. Some people manage it in June but usually have…
Perfect hikes don’t just happen, they are the product of smart planning and wise packing. Keeping your backpack as small and light as possible while still having all your most important gear and enough clothes to deal with the elements is truly an art form. Even after all these years we are still constantly learning new tricks and getting new planning ideas. You will feel every ounce of extra weight on the way up the passes – which is also why its a good idea to start your training plan for the Tour du Mont Blanc early and practice carrying your backpack with at least the same amount of weight in it as there will be on your trek. Here are our recommendations for your Tour du Mont Blanc packing list in early fall (the clothing choices, in particular, will be different in mid-summer): Other posts that will help you…
The Tour du Mont Blanc’s journey around its namesake mountain passes through France, Italy and Switzerland. So it ain’t cheap. But compared with travel in these countries’ most famous cities, the Tour du Mont Blanc costs really don’t seem that bad. Of course, what you actually spend will vary considerably depending on your accommodation choices and how much you like to splurge in restaurants when the opportunity arises. But I will provide a cost estimate based on what we spent, with info on the alternatives. Other posts that will help you in your Tour du Mont Blanc preparation: Tour du Mont Blanc Complete Guide Covers all the information you need to plan your TMB trek while giving you a feeling for the day to day parts of the trek and other Tour du Mont Blanc tips. Self Guided Tour du Mont Blanc Itinerary and Trail Description Details on our itinerary…
When we were planning for the Tour du Mont Blanc hike a big question was what was available for meals and drinks. We did a lot of research into what meals were provided at the rifugios and mountain huts, what we should bring from home, and where we could buy food from grocery stores or supermarkets. This is an overview of what we found out ahead of time and what we learned on the trail about the options for Tour du Mont Blanc food and drink on our independant trek. Food at the Refuges and Mountain Huts We had booked rifugios with half-board for 10 of our 12 nights, meaning that they provided our dinner and breakfast. Everything we had read said that even if the food is not inspired you won’t leave hungry, which we found to be true. Some places had particularly good food, such as Gîte Michel…
There is a wide range of accommodation available on the Tour du Mont Blanc trek, although much of that variety is concentrated in just a few main areas. Along other parts of the trail you may be limited to a single mountain hut, which can turn into a bottlenecks that fills up quickly. We booked all our Tour du Mont Blanc refuges and accommodation roughly 6 months ahead, not by original plan, but because when we started playing around with it in late February just to see what some of the huts looked like we were startled to see that certain days were already full. We had read that trekking in September would mean smaller crowds and less concern regarding beds. However, it seemed that there were a number of groups also planning the same time frame as us and on those days some of the more popular and isolated…
