Mont Blanc: the Tour du Mont Blanc from Chamonix, Courmayeur and Champex

1. Day 1: Geneva to Chamonix

   Geneva Airport to Chamonix

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Chamonix
   Day 1 details

   Your guide meets the group in the arrivals hall at Geneva Airport (GVA) at about 1 pm; the exact time is confirmed with your final itinerary, and if you land later we book you a seat on a scheduled shuttle to Chamonix and meet you at the hotel. Our own vehicle takes about an hour and a quarter up the Arve valley, and the last stretch opens onto Mont Blanc, at about 4,805 m the highest summit in the Alps, with the Bossons glacier hanging above the road. Chamonix sits at about 1,035 m and hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924. After check-in there is time to walk the pedestrian streets around the Place Balmat and the statue of Saussure and Balmat pointing at the summit. Before dinner your guide and mountain leader run through the week, check boots and layers, and explain how each walking day splits into an easier and a fuller route. Welcome dinner together in town, with Savoyard dishes on the menu.

   Included

   • Meeting at Geneva Airport (GVA) and the drive to Chamonix
   • Welcome briefing and kit check with your guide and mountain leader
   • Welcome dinner in Chamonix

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Chamonix

   Activity: Later arrivals travel on a scheduled shuttle we book for you.

   

2. Day 2: Lac Blanc

   Chamonix to Les Praz, the Flegere lift, Lac Blanc and back

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Chamonix
   Day 2 details

   A short ride to Les Praz and one of the first lifts of the day to La Flegere at about 1,877 m take out the steep forest climb, so we start walking on the Tour du Mont Blanc while the air is still and the path quiet. The trail climbs steadily on the Aiguilles Rouges side of the valley, which faces Mont Blanc all day: across the gap you see the Aiguille Verte, the Drus, the Mer de Glace and the Aiguille du Midi. After about two hours and some 480 m of climbing we reach Lac Blanc at 2,352 m, where on a calm morning the whole range reflects in the water. Lunch is a sit-down meal at the refuge by the lake. We walk back down to La Flegere and ride down to the valley by mid-afternoon, with the rest of the day free. Marmots whistle from the boulders, and ibex often graze above the lake.

   Included

   • La Flegere lift up and down
   • Guided walk from La Flegere to Lac Blanc (2,352 m) with your mountain leader
   • Sit-down lunch at the refuge at Lac Blanc

   Easier option: Walk about an hour on the balcony path towards Lac Blanc and back to the terrace at La Flegere, or take the Index chairlift higher and follow the path with less climbing.

   More active option: Come down by the Lacs des Cheserys and continue along the Grand Balcon Sud to Planpraz, riding the gondola down from there (about 6 hours in all).

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Chamonix

   Activity: About 4 to 5 hours on foot, 8 km, about 480 m up and down on a rocky path.

3. Day 3: The Grand Balcon Nord and the Mer de Glace

   Chamonix to Plan de l'Aiguille by cable car, walk to Montenvers, rack railway down

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Chamonix
   Day 3 details

   We walk from the hotel to the Aiguille du Midi cable car and ride the first section to Plan de l'Aiguille at about 2,317 m, right under the granite needles. From here the Grand Balcon Nord runs across the mountainside below the glaciers, with the whole Chamonix valley under your feet and the Aiguilles Rouges, where we walked yesterday, across the way. The path is mostly level or gently down, with one short climb towards the Signal Forbes viewpoint, and after about three hours it reaches Montenvers at 1,913 m, above the Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in France. Boards along the path show how far the ice has shrunk since the 1820s. Lunch is at Montenvers, then the red rack railway, running since 1908, takes us down to Chamonix in about twenty minutes. The afternoon is free for the town, the Alpine Museum or a rest before the move to Italy.

   Included

   • Aiguille du Midi cable car to Plan de l'Aiguille
   • Guided walk on the Grand Balcon Nord to Montenvers with your mountain leader
   • Lunch at Montenvers
   • Montenvers rack railway down to Chamonix

   Optional experiences

   • The Aiguille du Midi top station (3,842 m) on an early timed slot before the walk, priced at booking

   Easier option: Ride the Montenvers railway both ways and spend the morning at the Mer de Glace viewpoints with your guide.

   More active option: Walk all the way down from Montenvers to Chamonix through the forest instead of taking the train, about 2 more hours and 880 m of descent.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Chamonix

   Activity: About 3 to 4 hours on foot, 7 km, about 200 m up and 600 m down.

4. Day 4: Skyway Monte Bianco and Val Veny

   Chamonix through the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Entreves, Punta Helbronner, then Val Veny and Courmayeur

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Courmayeur
   Day 4 details

   We load the luggage early and drive through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, 11.6 km under the massif, into Italy. At Entreves we take one of the first cabins of the Skyway Monte Bianco, whose cabins turn slowly as they climb, to Punta Helbronner at 3,466 m. From the terrace you look straight at the south side of Mont Blanc, across the glaciers to the Dent du Geant, and on a clear morning far out to the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. Back down, the van takes us to La Visaille at the end of the public road in Val Veny, and we walk up the valley beside the rubble-covered Miage glacier to the Lac du Miage and Lac Combal, with lunch at a refuge in the valley. In the late afternoon we check in to our hotel in Courmayeur, an old mountain town at about 1,224 m, and dine together in town.

   Included

   • Drive through the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Italy, with your luggage in our vehicle
   • Skyway Monte Bianco to Punta Helbronner (3,466 m), first cabins of the day
   • Guided walk in Val Veny to the Lac du Miage and Lac Combal
   • Lunch in Val Veny
   • Dinner in Courmayeur

   Easier option: Stop at the Lac du Miage and walk back to La Visaille, about 1.5 hours in all.

   More active option: Climb on from Lac Combal towards the Rifugio Elisabetta, below the Col de la Seigne, about 2 more hours.

   Free time: Free hour before dinner in Courmayeur

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot in Val Veny, 9 km, about 300 m up and down. At 3,466 m you may feel the altitude; move slowly on the terraces.

   

5. Day 5: Val Ferret and Rifugio Bonatti

   Courmayeur to Planpincieux, the balcony path to Rifugio Bonatti, down to Lavachey

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Courmayeur
   Day 5 details

   Val Ferret is the long valley that runs north-east from Courmayeur under the Italian face of the massif, and its south-facing balcony path is one of the finest stretches of the whole Tour du Mont Blanc. A short drive takes us to Planpincieux, and we climb through larch forest to the open pastures of the balcony, where the Grandes Jorasses, at 4,208 m, fill the view across the valley with the Planpincieux and Frebouge glaciers hanging off them. After about three hours we reach Rifugio Bonatti at about 2,025 m, named after the Italian climber Walter Bonatti, for a sit-down lunch on the terrace. From the refuge it is about an hour down to Lavachey on the valley floor, where the van waits. Back in Courmayeur by mid-afternoon, you have time for the shops of the Via Roma, a coffee, or a rest before an evening at your own pace.

   Included

   • Guided walk on the Val Ferret balcony path to Rifugio Bonatti with your mountain leader
   • Sit-down lunch at Rifugio Bonatti
   • Descent to Lavachey and the drive back to Courmayeur

   Easier option: Drive to Lavachey and walk straight up to Rifugio Bonatti for lunch and back, about 2.5 hours in all.

   More active option: Start on foot from Courmayeur and climb to Rifugio Bertone and along the Mont de la Saxe ridge to Bonatti, the full stage, about 7 hours.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Courmayeur

   Activity: About 4 to 5 hours on foot, 10 km, about 700 m up and 400 m down.

6. Day 6: Over the Grand Col Ferret into Switzerland

   Courmayeur to Arnouva, on foot over the Grand Col Ferret to La Fouly, then Champex-Lac

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Champex-Lac
   Day 6 details

   Today you walk from Italy into Switzerland. The van drops us at Arnouva at the head of Val Ferret, about 1,769 m, and takes the luggage round through the Great St Bernard Tunnel to Champex. We climb steadily past the Rifugio Elena, with the Pre de Bar glacier to the left, to the Grand Col Ferret at 2,537 m, the border, where a stone marks the line and Mont Dolent rises above the meeting point of the three countries. The descent into the Swiss Val Ferret is long but gentle, through pastures to the alpine farm of La Peule, where we stop for a hot lunch, and on down to La Fouly at about 1,593 m. The van meets us there for the half-hour drive to Champex-Lac, a small resort around a lake at about 1,466 m. Dinner together at the hotel or in the village.

   Included

   • Guided crossing of the Grand Col Ferret (2,537 m) from Italy to Switzerland with your mountain leader
   • Lunch at the alpine farm of La Peule
   • Luggage moved to Champex-Lac by our vehicle
   • Dinner in Champex-Lac

   Easier option: Ride round with the van and your guide, and walk the level riverside stage of the Tour du Mont Blanc from La Fouly to Praz-de-Fort, about 2.5 hours.

   Activity: The longest standard day: about 5.5 to 6 hours on foot, 13 km, about 770 m up and 950 m down. The leader decides on the morning whether the col is clear of snow and safe in the forecast.

7. Day 7: The Bovine path or the Fenetre d'Arpette

   Champex-Lac to the Col de la Forclaz by the Bovine path or over the Fenetre d'Arpette to Trient, then back to Champex

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Champex-Lac
   Day 7 details

   The last stage gives you a real choice, and the two leaders make it possible. The Bovine route is the main line of the Tour du Mont Blanc: it drops gently from Champex through forest to Plan de l'Au, then traverses high pastures to the Alpage de Bovine at about 1,987 m, with the Rhone valley and Martigny far below and the Grand Combin behind. We stop there for lunch at the farm's buvette, then walk on through larches to the Col de la Forclaz, about 5 to 6 hours in all. The Fenetre d'Arpette variant is for strong walkers in good weather: a 1,200 m climb up the Arpette valley and a boulder field to the notch at 2,665 m, then a steep descent beside the Trient glacier, 7 to 8 hours with a picnic. The van collects both groups and brings everyone back to Champex for a farewell dinner by the lake.

   Included

   • Guided walk on the Bovine path to the Col de la Forclaz, or over the Fenetre d'Arpette to Trient with your mountain leader
   • Lunch at the Alpage de Bovine buvette (picnic for the Arpette group)
   • Transfer back to Champex-Lac
   • Farewell dinner in Champex-Lac

   Easier option: Walk around the lake and up the Arpette valley to the Relais d'Arpette and back, about 2 hours, with the afternoon free in Champex.

   More active option: The Fenetre d'Arpette (2,665 m) to Trient: 7 to 8 hours, about 1,200 m up and 1,400 m down, crossing a boulder field. Only in settled weather and when the col is clear of snow.

   Activity: Bovine: about 5 to 6 hours on foot, 15 km, about 700 m up and 650 m down.

8. Day 8: Back over the Forclaz to Chamonix and Geneva

   Champex-Lac to Martigny, the Col de la Forclaz and the Col des Montets to Chamonix, then Geneva Airport

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   After breakfast we drive down to Martigny in the Rhone valley and climb back over the Col de la Forclaz, where yesterday's walk ended, and down through the Trient valley to the French border at Le Chatelard. Past Vallorcine, the road crosses the Col des Montets, at the edge of the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve, and drops into the top of the Chamonix valley at Argentiere, so the whole range you have walked around comes back into view one last time. We stop in Chamonix for a last coffee and a walk to the river, about an hour and a quarter after leaving Champex. From there it is about another hour and a quarter down the Arve valley to Geneva Airport, arriving around 1 pm. Your guide sees you to the terminal before saying goodbye. If you are staying on in Chamonix, you can leave the group there.

   Included

   • Drive over the Col de la Forclaz and the Col des Montets to Chamonix
   • Drop-off at Geneva Airport (GVA), or in Chamonix if you are staying on

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm.

   

Wildlife and weather: Late June brings flowering meadows but snow can linger on the Grand Col Ferret and the Fenetre d'Arpette, which we only cross when the leader judges it clear. July and August are warmest, with afternoon thunderstorms, so we walk in the mornings. September is often clearer and quieter, with first frosts. Marmots are common around Lac Blanc and in Val Ferret, and ibex graze near Lac Blanc.

• Chamonix3 nights
• Courmayeur2 nights
• Champex-Lac2 nights