Tour du Mont Blanc Day 3: Les Mottets to Courmayeur

Tour du Mont Blanc Day 3: Les Mottets to Courmayeur – 7/13/16 – 15.2 Miles

[Note:  This posting is very long and I had difficulty limiting photos. You have been warned.]

Will I get over these trail jitters?  Will these sleepless nights end?  Will I ever stop worrying about tomorrow’s mileage/elevation? Yes: today the tide turned.

Jim and I were up very early after another poor night of sleep for me (no Tylenol PM) and worry about what today’s 27 kilometers will bring. We shared breakfast with Hai, our British friend from last night’s dinner, who was eagerly looking forward to a high mileage day.  Our destination was the town of Courmayeur; his was as far as his feet would carry him until he stopped. Jim feasted on muesli, bread, jam, OJ and coffee. My appetite was definitely off, but I tried to consume some calories (normally not a problem for me). We planned to get lunch mid-day at Rifugio Elisabetta.

Our boots were still damp, as were our hiking clothes (yes, we wore the same pants for 10 days) but we expected to dry out as the forecast promised some sunshine.  We were on our way by 7:20 a.m. [Les Mottets is strict: everyone out by 8:00 a.m.]

Know where you’re going next: Col de la Seigne, the border crossing to Italy

Every day begins with a climb and we will soon be enveloped in the mist. Goodbye Les Mottets!

A teasing peek/peak at what awaits behind the clouds

Still spooked by yesterday’s level of difficulty, I asked Jim to stay in front of me and go slow up to the Col so I could just follow his feet and focus on my steps without looking too far ahead.  We climbed at a pace I could sustain and this worked extremely well, stepping purposefully and concentrating on steady breaths.  I did glance around from time to time.

Crossing this cascade got our attention. One misstep is one too many!

We caught up with the clouds, making it even more important to stay close together.  Like yesterday, we mixed in with a guided group and leap-frogged each other during rest and photo breaks.

Foggy mountain sheep

Hello Italy!  At the Col de la Seigne, cold, damp and very, very windy (a few degrees more tolerable than yesterday) so again we didn’t stick around.

As we began our descent, the clouds lifted up to linger around the mountaintops, letting the sunshine and blue sky take over. My spirits lifted as well with the revelation of the grand towering jagged peaks we had been walking past.  Unlike hikes I’ve done in the U.S. (Glacier NP, Grand Tetons) where I sometimes felt like I was at the top of the mountains, here I realized that I will never be on a summit looking down, that the mountains will always be much taller than whatever elevation I may reach. 

Our friend Hai walking past remains of an old building (the last we saw of him). The French-Italian border of Col de la Seigne has long been significant in relations between the countries, constantly guarded by a garrison that included the Barracks. This link describes the area just before and during World War II: “In the thirties, with the rise in international tension, in the Mont Blanc area they were held exercises with spectacular maneuvers of military units at high altitudes. The darkest time lived in these places is related to the Second World War, during which the Col de la Seigne was the scene of one of the attacks carried out by the Italian army behind a now beaten France by Nazi Germany. Even today are recognizable everywhere in this area the remains of the fortifications and shooting positions.”

The Barracks are now a museum and environmental education center called La Casermetta – a perfect spot for a break.

Now with a spring in our step we followed cowbell music into the pastures of Lée Blanche, a small valley at the high end of Val Veni, crossing braided streams and passing more building remains and lush flowers.

Sitting high up on a shelf, Rifugio Elisabetta looked like a postcard.  In fact, it is an iconic picture of the Italian Tour de Mont Blanc.

At Elisabetta we met many TMB hikers taking a break out of the strong wind.  Inside we inquired about a takeaway lunch – sorry, they don’t do that – so we cooled our heels until 11:00 a.m. when the soup was ready, chatting with a British family (mom, dad, young adult daughter).  Wow!  Huge portions of veg for me with a Fanta orange, lentil for Jim with Italian coffee, and an enormous slice of cake for dessert.  A hiker walked in dreaming of a hot panini – sorry, they don’t do that – but the cook was feeling magnanimous and did it anyway. Can we have a Coke to go, please?  A total of 32€ and well worth it.  They even had wifi.

From Elisabetta the trail dropped down into Val Veni, passing by the Glacier de la Lée Blanche with its streams of glacier melt flowing down to create Lac Combal.

Another waterfall tucked into a fold in the landscape

More abandoned buildings

Looking down into Val Veni

Along the valley floor the TMB follows an old roadbed built by the Italian army.  This is a look back over our shoulder.  Can you see Rifugio Elisabetta? Majestic Mont Blanc is hiding in the clouds again.

Lac Cambol

Fishermen at Lac Cambol

At the northern end of the lake is the decision point for taking the valley route or the high route to Courmayeur.  The weather was fine – bring on the high route, which means climbing again, but the expansive view made the effort less arduous.  Up, up, up through open meadows ringed by white-topped mountain peaks.  Awe-inspiring, overwhelming, humbling. 

 A significant pause today and perhaps the outstanding moment of our TMB trek: Jim was walking ahead of me as we tried again and again to capture the scenes on our cameras, all the while shaking our heads because it was so immense and…uncapturable. He stopped, turned to me and said, “This is one of the best days of my life.”  I snorted, punched him on the arm and said, “Oh, yeah, what about our wedding day?  What about that time we…?”  And he said again, “No, this is one of the best days of my life.  I’m serious.  I can’t believe we are standing here.” We stood and looked and commenced walking again, not talking.  Indeed, one of the best days of our life together.

Looking down on Val Veni, Lac Combal and the TMB low route (lower left), looking across at the Aiguille de Combal (upper left) and Glacier du Miage (upper right).  We saw the other side of Glacier du Miage on our first day hiking from Les Houches to Les Contamines. The building ruins in the lower left foreground are Alp inférieur de l’Arp Vielle.

Alp inférieur de l'Arp Vielle

A little bit higher, another abandoned building: Alp supérieure de l'Arp Vielle

Glacier di Miage

Mont Blanc towering past the top of the frame, still wreathed in cloud smoke, as Glacier de Bruillard (left) and Glacier de Fréney (right) flow straight down from its height. The horizontal grey tentacle-like streaks in the lower left are the lowest portion of Glacier du Miage: FYI, the longest glacier in Italy and the largest debris-covered glacier in Europe.  This two-dimensional photograph does not convey the vastness of this scene.

From the highest point of the day on the TMB, looking at Mont Blanc and the twin glaciers

Val Veni panorama - the tip of Mont Blanc above the clouds

The only thing that could possibly make this day better for Jim is – mountain bikers from out of nowhere!

Called a balcony path, reminds me of the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park in Montana

Mont Blanc and Glacier de Bruillard and Glacier de Fréney

Southern face of the Mont Blanc range

The best view yet of Glacier du Miage

Staying on course as the TMB descended back down to tree line

Oh, Dolonne, you look so inviting down there in the Aosta Valley. If only you were as close as you appear! There were still several kilometers between us and our hotel room in the adjoining town of Courmayeur.  As we passed homes, buildings, a couple of hostels and snack bars, zig-zagging on dirt roads and grassy slopes, watching for TMB route markers was our most important job.  The grassy slopes were criss-crossed with cableways.  Our Dutch roommates last night had advised us to ride the cable car down to Dolonne, but no, we are purists!  We’re hiking every inch of the TMB. 

Note to those considering this:  take the cable car.  The final descent to Dolonne is not intended to be scenic or fun.  It is the shortest way to get down the mountain on foot, with dozens of short switchbacks, sometimes no more than 20 paces before turning. Thighs shaking, knees aching, cursing loudly, we descended a punishing 3,600 feet, hobbling out of the woods onto a paved road and into the town of Dolonne.

Back to my mistake in judgment of abbreviating the recommended first three days of the TMB into two days.  If today’s hike had been shorter, we might have enjoyed Dolonne, stopping for an adult beverage and exploring some side streets.  Instead we hurried across the bridge spanning the Dora Baltea River to reach Courmayeur.  At the bustling tourist office we got directions to our hotel just a block away. 

Hotel Bouton D'Or - that corner room with two balconies is ours (120€ including the most extravagant breakfast buffet I shall ever see this side of heaven.)

Inexpensive yet luxurious after 2 nights in bunk beds with strangers! A king-size bed! A separate entryway to stow our backpacks! An extravagant bathroom, decadent hot water and soap! As we unpacked to retrieve clean clothes, Jim shook out the filthy rain pants he had been carrying, and little chunks of mud flew all over the room, the soft linens, the clean floor. He washed them in the tub as best he could and hung them out on that fine balcony.

After showers and a wardrobe upgrade, we walked around town in search of dinner.  Again, we shortchanged ourselves tremendously by our limited time in Courmayeur.  At a nondescript restaurant Jim chose the buffet, expecting huge portions of pasta, but it turned out to be only antipasto.  He rose to the task and consumed mass quantities.  My simple dish of ravioli with fontina cheese and grape tomatoes in olive oil was superb. 

Mileage:  15.2 Miles    Elevation Gain: 4,380 feet   Elevation Loss:  6,345 feet

 “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery – air, mountains, trees, people.  I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’”  ~Sylvia Plath

Tour du Mont Blanc Day 2: Les Contamines to Refuge des Mottets

Tour du Mont Blanc Day 2: Les Contamines to Refuge des Mottets – Day 2 - 7/12/16 - 17.4 Miles

“It could be that the purpose of [this hike] is only to serve as a warning to others.” ~Ashleigh Brilliant

Val Montjoie and the looming Aiguelle de la Pennaz

My biggest mistake in planning our TMB hike was making our second day too long (the next biggest mistake was making our third day too long). Of the 11 stages recommended and outlined in Tour of Mont Blanc, I shortened Days 2, 3 and 4 to two days.  My Day 2, from the town of Les Contamines to the isolated Refuge des Mottets, via the high route of Col des Fours, was more than 15 miles.  It turned out to be our worst weather day as well.  Looking back at my notes and the photos, I am transported to that cold, miserable, never-ending sufferfest.  But hey!  I’m here now with a triumphant testament of survival.  And the sun was shining at the end.

Thunderstorms rolled through the night as I lay in my bunk at Chalet de CAF. Hikers were subdued during a cold breakfast of cereal, juice and bread with (delicious) butter.  Jim and I collected our bag lunches, laced up our boots, shouldered our packs and departed before 7:30 a.m.  We were still indecisive about hiking the high route, looking to get the pulse of other hikers along the way.

What is our first waypoint?  Notre Dame de la Gorge

Crossing over Le Bon Nant to get back on the TMB

Le Bon Nant was looking swollen to full bank and opaque gray with glacier silt, misty, and the sky was a dull gray too

Fill ‘er up, it’s “Eau Potable”

Le Bon Nant

The first kilometer was easy, flat, no rain, stopping several times for the usual comfort adjustments, coat on/off, hood up/down, pants legs on/off. 

Notre Dame de la Gorge

At the parking area groups of dayhikers were loading up and joining the pilgrimage.  From here we were shocked into climbing mode, finding that our legs were not quite over yesterday’s exertion. The TMB rose steeply up through a wooded ravine, then popped us out into a beautiful, misty valley.

A steady drizzling rain set in and pack covers appeared.  At the Refuge Nan Borrant more hikers joined the flow, literally, up the valley.

At the Refuge de la Balme we sought respite, but only paying customers were allowed inside the dining area.  As the rain intensified, we huddled under the eaves to eat a Clif bar and pull on rain pants over our hiking shorts. 

Not fit out for man or beast

A cascade flowing down from Lac Jovet, which I understand is lovely

Plan des Dames, a memorial cairn said to commemorate the place where an English woman died in a storm.  Reminiscent of the memorial to hiker Ido Keinan on Iceland’s Laugavegurrin trek.

The next significant waypoint was the Col du Bonhomme, which we couldn’t see in the clouds, and our only motivation was in our imaginations.  I stowed my camera deep in my pack and relied on Jim’s smart phone camera to record our progress.  The temperature dropped sharply and small snow fields appeared, followed by larger snow fields, now slushy and slippery.  We crossed gushing big streams and newly formed rivulets flowing alongside and over the trail.  I followed a little old French fellow who was slowly but carefully and methodically choosing a good path over the snow.

Turn around, that's Lac Jovet behind you

At Col du Bonhomme sits this tiny wooden shelter, at the moment crammed with teeth-chattering trekkers who did not appreciate anyone opening the door to see if there was room inside (no). My opinion of the situation is obvious.  After just a few minutes of wind chill factor, Jim and I pushed on, thinking that the worst was behind us. It was not.

Looking back at the tiny wooden shelter

I was dismayed to find that the path continued to climb, now over rough jagged rocks.  Great cracks had collected snow, making any obvious path barely discernible save for footprints of those going before us.  We unashamedly integrated ourselves into a guided group for the next hour, at times separated from each other but never totally alone. I am the red dot following other red dots in the upper left of the photo.

Our hands were numb in rain-soaked gloves and underneath our rain gear we still wore only shorts and tee shirts (remember way back at Refuge de la Balme when we hastily put that layer on?)  Hypothermia is possible in much better conditions than we were experiencing.  At the next saddle, Col de la Croix du Bonhomme, was the decision point for taking the high route over Col des Fours.  At the sign for the turn, other trekkers were stopping, looking, then continuing on the lower route.  Jim and I didn’t even slow down: we were aiming for the Refuge five minutes ahead on the lower route.

The Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme is a popular winter ski hut with sleeping space for 113, serving soup and refreshments to day visitors, which today included every single person on the TMB.  Like most accommodations along the trek, boots are not allowed inside so we left ours on the covered porch and pushed our way inside and claimed seats as far away as possible from the door (which wasn’t far because, you know, people.)  Out of the corner of my eye I saw a young woman quietly crying into her boyfriend’s shoulder and I silently empathized.  Do we really have to go back out there? 

Hot chocolate would have sold for any price at the snack bar.  We ate our lunch that we had carried all that way, but I had little appetite.  Over an hour’s time we slowly warmed up to almost normal, but every minute spent sitting delayed arrival at our final destination – which was now 2 hours farther away since we were bypassing the high route.  Whose idea was it to hike all the way to Les Mottets?  Oh, that would be me…

In light rain we faced a steep two-hour descent, more slippery snow, a little less fog.  When we looked up from our feet the view, even in these conditions, was magnificent.

What is our next waypoint?  Le Chapieux, where reasonable people spend their second night on the TMB.  But not us. At the tiny visitor center (bathrooms!) we read signage about a shuttle bus to Refuge les Mottets and I asked the staff person about the timing versus the distance walking. I was fast convincing myself to take the bus, but Jim coached me to “go for it and hike the last 5 km."  The sun was coming out!

Bridge crossing Torrent de Glaciers

The clearing skies around Mont Jondu

Sunshine, however, didn’t disguise the uphill we still faced (an additional 900-foot gain) and I struggled mightily, whining, muttering to myself and taking it out on Jim, even though I was the master planner.  With my lower lip protruding, I sat down beside the trail to rest.  Jim coaxed me with a Twix bar, and eating just that little something gave me a bit of energy to pull it together for the last kilometer. 

Refuge les Mottets

Refuge les Mottets dormitory (we paid 56€ per person half-board in a four-person room, bathroom and showers down the hall)

We arrived at 6:45 p.m., just 15 minutes until dinner, no time to unpack or hang out clothes to dry, just remove boots and find assigned seats in the crowded common room. 

At our table we joined three personable guys from Holland and a young Asian guy named Hai from the U.K. who spoke in an almost indecipherable British accent.  Digging into the first course of bean and vegetable soup, then lamb stew, more veggies, bread and butter, we deconstructed the day (bad weather, still better than a day at work) and tomorrow’s forecast (better).  

I didn’t linger over the crème brulee, instead went outside to spread some clothes out in the fading light.  I had no desire to take a shower, just get a little bit organized (mentally and literally).  Jim and I shared a four-person room with two men from Holland (not the same ones we met at dinner), congenial but also focused on their preparations for the next day.

Was the worst behind us?  What awaits? I was as tired as I’d ever been and eight days more seemed impossible.  Best to break it down into one day at a time.  Meanwhile, another night of light sleep, another thunderstorm rolling through.

Miles:  17.4       Elevation Gain:  5,997 feet     Elevation Loss:  3,652 feet

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”  ~Nelson Mandela