10th Oct 21 – Train Battersby – Manchester International Airport, many tannoy announcements re. wearing face-covering unless asked to remove by security yet 50% of staff including security weren’t conforming. Plane back to stand from runway to get our flaps okayed then smooth run to Geneva. Grigor picked me up to overnight at his.
11th – Into Cham to buy food then train to Les Houches for late start (15:00) after boiling eggs. Camped in forest above Bionnassay where the rutting deer roared all night.
12th – Alpine start 10:00 walked forest/high level variant via Refuge Tré la Tête 1969m to camp in bivouac site at Refuge la Balme (all refuges closed and boarded up).
13th – Over Col du Bonhomme then variant left at Col de la Croix du Bonhomme over Col des Fours 2675m then down to Refuge des Mottets and over the Col de la Seigne 2516m for a smack-in-the-face-view of Mont Blanc and into Italy; to camp at Refugio Elisabetta Soldini.
14th – to Courmayeur distracted by views of the ‘back’ of the Mt Blanc massif.
Descended through the ski area and forest path to Courmayeur intending that Tourist Info would avail us of a campsite with hot showers and laundry. None open. The ☆ hotel only had cold showers so ☆☆☆ it was and with our handwashed pants and socks hanging on the heated towel rail we hit the town; well, the small supermarket, to try and stock-up on 5 days of food that wouldn’t use too much ethanol to cook or be motivation-sappingly heavy.
After gorging on apples and fresh tomatoes, satisfying cravings for fresh vitamins (the dried prunes and figs, apart from their unsociable after-effects didn’t really cut it) we headed over the road for dinner.
15th – Replaced my dying Walshes with a more appropriate sh’boot then climbed out of Courmayeur to wander through autumnal larch and cow pats gazing at the roof of Europe, occasionally crossing iced streams to arrive at Refugio Walter Bonatti.
We found the winter room open and chose this over camping as it wasn’t easy to find lee from the wind+view, only either/or. After a pan full of gf spaghetti & pesto we retired in awe of the headtorch from a bivouac high on the Grandes Jorasses.
16th – long traverse of Val Ferret and very muddy approach to Grand Col Ferret into Switzerland. Took the variant from la Peule to camp in woods (marked Létmaire on map) above Ferret at 1800m.
17th – easy day 16km and 450m of climbing.
18th – Champex to Col de Balme, 16km + 2,000m of climbing. Haven’t zuzzed any pics on this blog, they’re all just as my phone took them.
Finding no flat spots above Trient we continued in the dusk and camped Col de Balme.
19th – Heading down this morning.
With only 8 days it was never our intention to complete the whole TMB; rather to explore the high level variants and enjoy the journey (we have both walked the Aiguille Rouges/Brevant several times). We walked down to Montroc in time to hear train approaching through the tunnel so bezzed it and jumped on for Chamonix.
Check back soon. .
louis hume 