The Tour of Mont Blanc lasts between 9 and 13 days — depending upon your level of physical fitness - averaging 5 hours walk daily, between 800m and 1000m daily climb and crossing 3 countries: France, Italy and Switzerland.

An overview of the Tour of Mont Blanc

The Tour of Mont Blanc is one of the best — if not the best — of the world’s classic walks. It circumnavigates the Mont Blanc massif. The walk has all the excitement of the high mountains yet none of the worry of altitude sickness. It crosses numerous cols with stunning views of spectacular snow and rock peaks. Accommodation along the route is plentiful.

The ’official’ Tour du Mont Blanc follows an established route around the main block of mountains containing not only Mont Blanc but its principal allied summits such as Verte, Chardonnet, Gouter, Géant, Jorasses, d’Argentière, Dolent and numerous others. The tour can be done in both the traditional ‘anti-clockwise‘ direction and the ’clockwise’ direction. There are several alternative routes that subsequently link.

Were it to stand alone with no near neighbour to lend it scale, the great snow- and ice-crusteddome of Mont Blanc would still lay claim to the title of Monarch of the Alps. At 4807m (15,771ft) the summit stands a good 3700m (12,000ft) above Chamonix, and is 3km higher than the nearest habitation on the Italian flank. On blue-skydays it dazzles in the sunshine or floats on a raft of cloud, commanding one’s attention with its dominating height, for it has a regal presence equal both to its appearance and its stature. That presence is not always benign, of course, for the mountain also dictates the weather and controls the climate of its surrounding valleys. But catch it in a benevolent mood, and those valleys bask in its glory.

Mont Blanc does not stand alone, however, and the large number of attendant peaks and aiguilles, savage rock walls, ridges and tumbling glaciers, rather than detract from its grandeur, simply add to it with their own individuality – courtiers whose impressive company would grace any massif anywhere in the world. The Grandes Jorasses, Aiguille Noire, the Verte and Drus, Aiguille du Midi, Mont Maudit and Mont Dolent, on which the borders of three countries meet, each of these (and there are many more) would stand out in any mountain crowd. Here they attend court, subdued only by altitude.

Mont Blanc then is more than just the highest mountain in Europe west of the Caucasus. Indeed, it’s more than a big mountain massif, it’s a mountain range, compact and complete in itself. According to RogerFrison-Roche, this beautiful 25km-longwall of rock, snow and ice has some 400 summits and more than 40 glaciers that scour the heartland and add lustre to every scene. Carrying the frontiers of three countries, France, Italy and Switzerland, it is moated by seven valleys – those of the Arve, Montjoie, des Glaciers, Veni, the two Vals Ferret (one Italian, the other Swiss), and the Vallée du Trient – valleys that define the limits of the range, and through which winds the route of the Tour of Mont Blanc (TMB), a trekker’s route that revels in some of the most exquisite mountain scenery of all.

The history of the Tour of Mont Blanc

Over a period of 10 to 12 days the TMB entices walkers on a circuit of this magnificent mountain block, making a journey of around 170km (105 miles), with an accumulated height gain and loss of something like 10,000m (32,800ft). Depending on the precise route taken (for there are variations), there are 10 or 11 passes to cross as the tour progresses from one valley to the next. Each of these valleys enjoys unforgettable views, and each has its own individual character – the bustling, tourist-centredVallée de l’Arve (the Chamonix valley), the sparsely inhabited Vallée des Glaciers, the pastoral Swiss Val Ferret, to name but three.

That the TMB is the most popular long walk in Europe is not in doubt. In excess of 10,000 people embark on this circuit each summer. Why? Well, everyone’s heard of Mont Blanc, and anyone with more than a passing interest in mountains will know of its stunning scenery. Beyond this, the TMB’s reputation as one of the great walks of the world has long been established. Longer, in fact, than any other alpine route.

The first pedestrian tour around Mont Blanc took place as long ago as 1767, when Horace Bénédict de Saussure and friends set out from Chamonix with an entourage of guides, porters and mules to explore the range by way of the Col du Bonhomme, Col de la Seigne, Courmayeur and the Grand St Bernard Pass. Saussure was imbued with a love of mountains in general and Mont Blanc in particular, and in all he made three full tours of the range, sleeping in beds where available, but otherwise accepting with equanimity the hay of a simple alp hut or chalet. As a scientist he travelled to expand his knowledge of the range and its structure, taking time to meditate on the geology, but also to eulogize its beauty.

Sixty years later J. D. Forbes, the Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh, succeeded Saussure by combining scientific observation with a true love of mountains, and made his own tour of Mont Blanc in 1839, concluding that ‘the most successful of Alpine travellers will, if disposed to be candid, admit that the happiest, if not the proudest, moments of their experiences, had been spent on some of the more majestic passes of the Alps, or on some summits not of the highest class.’

Such sentiments have been shared by many tens of thousands who have followed in his footsteps.

The TMB became increasingly popular during the mid-Victorianage, when it was almost invariably experienced on the back of a mule, but the growth of outdoor activities in the 20th century established the route as the ultimate long mountain walk. And it’s not hard to see why.

The Tour of Mont Blanc route

Clockwise Tour of Mont Blanc

Stage 1: Champex – Ferret
Stage 2: Ferret – Grand Col Ferret – Rifugio Bonatti
Stage 3: Rifugio Bonatti – Courmayeur
Stage 4: Courmayeur – Rifugio Elisabetta
Stage 5: Rifugio Elisabetta – Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme
Stage 6: Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme – Les Contamines
Stage 7: Les Contamines – Bionnassay – Les Houches
Alt Stage 7: Les Contamines – Refuge de Miage – Les Houches
Stage 8: Les Houches – Le Brévent – La Flégère
Stage 9: La Flégère – Col de Balme – Trient
Stage 10: Trient – Alp Bovine – Champex
Alt Stage 10: Refuge Les Grands – Fenêtre d’Arpette – Champex

Anti-clockwise Tour of Mont Blanc

Stage 1: Les Houches – Bionnassay – Les Contamines
Alt Stage 1: Les Houches – Refuge de Miage – Les Contamines
Stage 2: Les Contamines –  Croix du Bonhomme – Les Chapieux
Stage 3: Les Chapieux – Col de la Seigne – Rifugio Elisabetta
Stage 4: Rifugio Elisabetta – Courmayeur
Stage 5: Courmayeur – Rifugio Bonatti
Stage 6: Rifugio Bonatti – Grand Col Ferret – La Fouly
Stage 7: La Fouly – Champex
Stage 8: Champex – Alp Bovine – Col de la Forclaz
Alt Stage 8: Champex – Fenêtre d’Arpette – Col de la Forclaz
Stage 9: Col de la Forclaz – Col de Balme – Tré-le-Champ
Alt Stage 9: Col de la Forclaz – Refuge Les Grands – Tré-le-Champ
Stage 10: Tré-le-Champ – La Flégère
Stage 11: La Flégère – Le Brévent – Les Houches

The Tour of Mont Blanc sign-posting

The main routes, along with the alternative explorations, give the very best perspective and appreciation of the whole region and provide the best balance of visual return for the physical effort required. At every opportunity we recommend walkers take in closer contact with the area and enhance memories of the visit.

The route is signposted with waymarks and this is carried out with varying degrees of enthusiasm and efficiency, and is either in the form of red–white bands painted on rocks, trees or buildings; or a yellow diamond outlined in black bearing the letters TMB. Sometimes an accompanying arrow indicates the direction of travel.

In the Swiss section metal signposts are used at major trail junctions, and the TMB route will be indicated on the finger post, usually with an indication of the length of time expected to reach the next named location.

As is often the case in mountain regions, waymarks are most prolific where the route is obvious, while on awkward terrain (where signs would be welcome) waymarking is sometimes annoyingly absent. That having been said, route-findingshould not cause any undue problems.

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