TOUR DU MONT BLANC (FULL TRAIL/ANTI-CLOCKWISE)
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 107.84 mi
- Elevation gain
- 34,596 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Difficult
- Elevation loss
- 34,596 ft
- Max elevation
- 8,741 ft
- TrailRank
- 45
- Min elevation
- 3,194 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 6 days 10 hours 6 minutes
- Coordinates
- 17916
- Uploaded
- August 23, 2017
- Recorded
- August 2017
near Les Houches, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (France)
Viewed 3028 times, downloaded 197 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
We did the "tour du mont blanc" (TMB) in 7 days. Full autonomy mode, carrying our heavy backpacks (20 to 25 kg): camping stuff, clothes, food and water. It was a very tough experience because of the heavy loads on our back not because of the trail itself. I will not discuss the different stages of the trail here. There are lot of manuals that give you a detailed description of this amazing adventure. I found Kev Reynolds' book :The tour du mont blanc to be of great help. I downloaded it on my kindle and read it before, during and after the trip. It explains everything and goes into all details.
I will give some tips and tricks that i learned from our one-week tough trek:
1- Backpacking is different from hiking! Having a heavy backpack on your back makes the walk really difficult. We are experienced and tough hikers but we found it really difficult and even painful to have such a weight on our shoulders for the whole day! So if you decide to do this trek full autonomy, be prepared for it! Take the lightest stuff (Tent , sleeping bag...) and be sure to have a comfortable backpack!
2- Train well for this trek. The more you are fit, the more you will enjoy this adventure. Walking uphill with a heavy load on your back is the best training for this kind of trekking.
3- Don't load lots of food and water! I found that 1 -1.5 L of water is enough most of time as you will have many fountains on the way. Choose hypercaloric food with minimum volume and weight. Trekking meals found in sports shops are a great choice.
4- Start your day as early as u can so u can finish your walk before evening and have time to relax for the next day.
5- A full set of rain gear is a must. Weather is unpredictable and it can rain at any time
I will give some tips and tricks that i learned from our one-week tough trek:
1- Backpacking is different from hiking! Having a heavy backpack on your back makes the walk really difficult. We are experienced and tough hikers but we found it really difficult and even painful to have such a weight on our shoulders for the whole day! So if you decide to do this trek full autonomy, be prepared for it! Take the lightest stuff (Tent , sleeping bag...) and be sure to have a comfortable backpack!
2- Train well for this trek. The more you are fit, the more you will enjoy this adventure. Walking uphill with a heavy load on your back is the best training for this kind of trekking.
3- Don't load lots of food and water! I found that 1 -1.5 L of water is enough most of time as you will have many fountains on the way. Choose hypercaloric food with minimum volume and weight. Trekking meals found in sports shops are a great choice.
4- Start your day as early as u can so u can finish your walk before evening and have time to relax for the next day.
5- A full set of rain gear is a must. Weather is unpredictable and it can rain at any time
Waypoints
Waypoint
6,094 ft
AIGUILLETTE D'ARGENTIERE 1893M
Waypoint
6,476 ft
ALPAGE DE BOVINE
Waypoint
4,637 ft
ALPINUS LODGE
Provisioning
5,378 ft
ALTITUDE 2000
Waypoint
7,725 ft
AUBERGE DU LAC BLANC
Waypoint
5,654 ft
AUBERGE DU TURC
Waypoint
5,881 ft
BELLEVUE
Summit
8,279 ft
BREVENT PEAK 2525M
Waypoint
3,833 ft
BRIDGE
Waypoint
6,537 ft
BRIDGE1
Waypoint
3,959 ft
BRIDGE2
Campsite
6,297 ft
CAMPING (NIGHT 1)
Campsite
4,433 ft
CAMPING (NIGHT 6)
Waypoint
0 ft
CHALET DU COL DE BALME
Waypoint
5,207 ft
Chalet Glacier
Waypoint
4,781 ft
CHAMPEX
Waypoint
7,221 ft
COL BALME
Waypoint
7,914 ft
COL CORNU 2406M
Waypoint
8,126 ft
COL DE LA GLIERE 2461M
Waypoint
8,230 ft
COL DE LA SEIGNE
Waypoint
6,952 ft
COL DE TRICOT
Waypoint
8,734 ft
COL DES FOURS
Waypoint
7,646 ft
COL DU BONHOMME 2329M
Waypoint
7,746 ft
COL DU BREVENT 2368M
Waypoint
3,908 ft
CONTAMINES
Waypoint
3,792 ft
COURMAYEUR (NIGHT 3)
Waypoint
8,171 ft
CROIX BONHOMME
Waypoint
6,759 ft
ELENA2
Waypoint
7,231 ft
Elisabetta
Waypoint
0 ft
En Plein Air
Waypoint
5,621 ft
FERRET
Waypoint
8,315 ft
GRAND COL FERRET
Waypoint
5,805 ft
L'ARE 1760M
Waypoint
7,822 ft
L'INDEX
Waypoint
0 ft
La Balme
Waypoint
7,766 ft
LA CASERMETTA
Waypoint
5,184 ft
LA FOULY
Waypoint
6,817 ft
LA PARSA 2075M
Campsite
6,833 ft
LA PEULE (NIGHT 4)
Waypoint
7,740 ft
LAC BLANC 2352M
Waypoint
4,788 ft
LAC CHAMPEX
Waypoint
7,152 ft
LAC DE CHECROUT
Waypoint
7,652 ft
LAC VESSES
Waypoint
7,283 ft
LACS DE CHESERYS
Waypoint
6,191 ft
METALLIC LADDERS
Waypoint
6,152 ft
REFUGE DES MOTTETS
Waypoint
7,962 ft
MOUNT FAVE
Waypoint
0 ft
Nant Borrant
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Bouquetin des Alps https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/tour-du-mont-blanc-full-trail-anti-clockwise-19350822/photo-12134197
Hello we booked for july and will follow your trail😊