CR Adventures 010822: TMB Day 7 - Hotel Splendide (Champex) to Auberge Mont Blanc (Trient) via Fenetre d’Arpette

TMB Day 7 starts from Hotel Splendide in Champex a beautiful village located in the French-speaking Swiss canton of Valais, part of the municipality of Orsières. The village lies at 1,470 metres on the shore of Lac de Champex, at the foot of the Mont Blanc Massif.

We take the route out of Champex along the
Chemin d’Arpette choosing the high route variant, you will get your first glimpse to a wall of mountains crowned with a jagged row of craggy peaks, and you will question how you can get through. The climb passes through a variety of beautiful landscapes; first, come the pine forests, then the alpine meadows, and finally the barren and boulder-strewn scree slopes of the upper section, and the same is true in reverse for the descent.

The 1,300 metres of climbing will all appear worthwhile when you finally reach the tiny gap in the mountains of Fenêtre d’Arpette. Gazing through this ‘window’ into a new valley you will see rows of mountains extending to the horizon and the chaotic and crumpled body of the Trient Glacier.

This is the physically demanding but spectacular high route option from Champex to Trient , crossing over the Fenêtre d’Arpette (2,665 metres), which should only be walked in good weather conditions. The view from the col offers an extensive view overlooking rows of mountains and the mighty Trient Glacier.

Taking the high route variant via Fenêtre d’Arpette guarantees today will be one of the most demanding hikes of the entire TMB, climbing to a height of 2,665 metres. We can only recommend this hike in good weather conditions, for those who do not suffer from vertigo as the upper section of both the ascent and descent is boulder-strewn, steep and loose and if you are not a solo walker. For the easier traditional TMB route use the ‘Champex to Trient via Alp Bovine’.
We continue the difficult decent whilst admiring the beauty of the Trient Glacier towards Trient and the Auberge du Mont Blanc our accommodation for the night some way down The Valley.