TMB: Our story
Part 1: Les Houches - Val Veni
Prologue
At 11 o'Clock in the evening of Friday August 28th we leave Doetinchem by car in the pouring rain in the direction of Les Houches. We drove through Germany and Switzerland to France. Sunday around 12 o'Clock we arrive at the campsite in Les Houches. It is the same campsite as where we stayed for two nights when we did the GR5. We do not remember much of the campsite. After the tent we pay a visit to Les Houches. Here we go and look for a suitable spot to park the cars for coming 10 days when we are doing the TMB.
Around half past 5 Jacqueline and Alex arrive at the campsite. Here we make the last planning for next day. Together we prepare supper at our tent. After supper they leave and go to a hotel halfway between Chamonix and Les Houches, where they stay for the night. And we prepare ourselves for bed, but not after taking a glimps of the beautiful scenery called "Alpenglühen ".
Sunday August 30th: Les Houches - refuge de Truc
Statistics:distance: ca km
up: 1275 m, down: 560 m,
weather: sunny.
After breakfast we break up and pack the car for the stay at the car park. We arrive just before 8 o'Clock at the meeting point. Jacqueline and Alex arrive a little later. They park their car next to ours. After some pictures we leave and start with the Tour. In Les Houches Jacqueline wants to buy some batteries for her camara because she noticed that the old ones were low. After this short break we really start. We follow the signs of the ultra trail since these follow the route as marked in our booklets; the official GR-signs point to another route. The route immidiately starts climbing. After col de Voza we take the high mountain variant, so we continue climbing along the railway track towards Bellevue. Here we go along a small path, cross the railway at the station and continue along a nice mountain path in the direction of chalet de l'Arc. On the way to the chalet, we pass high above a stream on a bridge. In the meadows a little after the chalet we have lunch with a great view on the Glacier de Bionassay. After lunch we climb in two stages to col de Tricot. While catching our breath we eat some blueberries. The last part of the climb to the col is hard.The descent is long, but not mean. At chalet the Miage we have our last break for the day before we continue with the last climb to chalet de Truc. We are glad that the climb is in the shade of the mountain side. At chalet the Truc we pitch our tent. After our evening meal Jacqueline and Alex come to our tent and have a cup of tea. In the meanwhile we enjoy the beautiful sunset and Alpenglühen.
Monday August 31st: refuge de Truc - Col de la Croix du Bonhomme
Statistics:distance: km
up: 1325 m, down: 560 m,
weather: sunny.
After a good breakfast with porridge, we break down our tent and pack our backpack. The day starts with a descent to La Frasse. Here we drink some nice cold water and have a chat with some fellow walkers, a family from America. After another descent we arrive at Montjoie, where we do some shopping. From here we have a relaxed walk to the Notre Dame de la Gorge. After the chapel the route climbs to Chalet-Hotel Nant Borrant. During the climb we have a small break at a waterfall. After Nant Borrant we walk along a wide path through a broad level alpine pasture in the direction of la Balme. In the shadow of some trees we have a lunch break in the meadow. After lunch the path starts to climb first to La Balme and then to the col du Bonhomme. During the climb to the col steep and leveled parts alternate. Especially the steper parts are though in the burning sun. The part from col du Bonhomme to col de la Croix du Bonhomme is not so tough, but when you're tired it still is hard. Near the col we pitch our tent for the night, while Jacqueline and Alex descend to the refuge.
Tuesday September 1st: Col de la Croix du Bonhomme - near refuge Elisabetta Soldini
Statistics:distance: km
up: 870 m, down: 1335 m,
weather: start sunny and hot, later some rain.
Because we want to take the Alpine variant, Jacqueline and Alex have to return to the col where we spent the night. While we are breaking down the tent, they arrive. Together we walk to col des Fours. The climb is not steep, but the height makes is touch afterall. The descent to La Ville des Glaciers goes through very varying landscape - one moment we are walking through a meadow, next moment the green grass is replaced by grey stones. We also see some nice rock formations. The last part to La Ville des Glaciers we have to descend through a steep meadow. Here we have a short break in the shadow of a building. Because of the heat the simple walk to the Chalets of Mottets takes much more time than the booklet promis us. Here we refill our bottles again before we start to climb to col de la Seigne. Halfway the slope, just after the hairpin bends we have lunchbreak on the side of the track. After lunch we continue climbing to the col. In the meanwhile it is getting cloudy. After a break at the col, most of the time in the sun, we descend first to a recently opened information centre dedicated on the Mont Blanc Massive and then to L'Alpe inférieure de la Lée Blanche. Here we say goodbye to Jacqueline and Alex, who spend the night at refuge Elisabetta Soldini. Edwin and I continue descending to find a spot to pitch the tent for the night. After a while, we see a cabin a little before Lac de Combal Barrage. Because it is open we decide to spend the noght inside. But unfortunately, at the beginning of the evening some men come to pick up the cabine to bring it to Courmayeur. We are asked to leave the cabin elsewise they are going to take us away together with the cabin. So afterall we still have to pitch the tent.
Continued in part 2
Last modified November 2010