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Guidebook for walking the Tour of Mont Blanc, one of the world's classic treks. The 170km TMB route typically takes 11 days and is described in both anti-clockwise and clockwise directions, with optional variants. Includes information about refuges and facilities and a separate booklet showing the entire route on IGN 1:25,000 maps.
Cicerone says:
A guidebook to hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB), a spectacular circuit around Mont Blanc. Covering 170km (105 miles), the TMB takes around 11 days to walk from its official start at Les Houches (France), passing through Courmayeur (Italy) and Champex (Switzerland) before returning to France via the Chamonix valley. A well-serviced introduction to high-level mountain trekking for walkers with good levels of fitness, it can also be run, fastpacked or hiked in 5–9 days.
The route is described in both directions in 11 daily stages between 7 and 21km (5–13 miles) in length. Variant routes and alternative stages are also provided, giving the option of visiting cols, refuges and viewpoints not included on the official TMB route.
- Contains step-by-step description of the route alongside 1:100,000 maps
- Handy facilities planner, route summary tables and accommodation listings help you plan your itinerary
- Includes transport info, a French–English glossary, notes on local history and sites of interest
- A map booklet, containing 1:25,000 IGN mapping and route line, is available separately from Cicerone
- GPX files available to download
Our Verdict
For nearly 50 years Cicerone have been producing guidebooks on recognised treks, regions, areas and general tips for hikers.
We have used them countless times and they've always provided excellent insight and knowledge that you only get through experience, giving you the edge to make your trip a success and more enjoyable too.
If you're a gram counter you can easily remove sections of the book to take with you making your own ultra-lightweight guidebook with only the essential sections that you require.
- Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear
Features
- Seasons: With high passes to negotiate, this is a summer-only route, best tackled between early July and end of September
- Centres: Chamonix (not on the actual route); Les Houches and Les Contamines (France); Courmayeur (Italy); La Fouly, Champex and Trient (Switzerland) are all on the route of the TMB
- Difficulty: Much of the TMB follows clear, well-graded paths suitable for fit walkers. But there are some very steep climbs (and descents), and two stages on which near-vertical ladders are used to scale cliffs (though alternative options are offered). A demanding route for first-time trekkers and old-hands alike
- Must See: Some of the world's finest mountain scenery; Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe; the Chamonix Aiguilles; the Mer de Glacier, second longest glacier in the Alps, a choice of seven or eight passes to cross, each with its own heart-stopping views
Specifications
- Edition: Sixth
- Number of pages: 200
- Size: 17.2 x 11.6 x 1.2cm
- Weight: 240g
Contents
- Introduction
- The Tour of Mont Blanc
- The route
- Clockwise or anti-clockwise?
- Suggested itineraries
- How to get there
- When to go
- Accommodation
- Languages
- Maps and waymarks
- Preparation and equipment
- Safety in the mountains
- Using this guide
- The Tour of Mont Blanc – anti-clockwise
- Stage 1 Les Houches – Bionnassay – Les Contamines
- Stage 1A Les Houches – Refuge de Miage – Les Contamines
- Stage 2 Les Contamines – Croix du Bonhomme – Les Chapieux
- Stage 3 Les Chapieux – Col de la Seigne – Rifugio Elisabetta
- Stage 4 Rifugio Elisabetta – Courmayeur
- Stage 5 Courmayeur – Rifugio Bonatti
- Stage 6 Rifugio Bonatti – Grand Col Ferret – La Fouly
- Stage 7 La Fouly – Champex
- Stage 8 Champex – Alp Bovine – Trient
- Stage 8A Champex – Fenêtre d’Arpette – Trient
- Stage 9 Trient – Col de Balme – Tré-le-Champ
- Stage 10 Tré-le-Champ – Refuge La Flégère
- Stage 11 Refuge La Flégère – Le Brévent – Les Houches
- Places and items of interest on the TMB
- The story of Mont Blanc
- The Tour of Mont Blanc – clockwise
- Stage 1 Champex – Ferret
- Stage 2 Ferret – Grand Col Ferret – Rifugio Bonatti
- Stage 3 Rifugio Bonatti – Courmayeur
- Stage 4 Courmayeur – Rifugio Elisabetta
- Stage 5 Rifugio Elisabetta – Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme
- Stage 6 Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme – Les Contamines
- Stage 7 Les Contamines – Bionnassay – Les Houches
- Stage 7A Les Contamines – Refuge de Miage – Les Houches
- Stage 8 Les Houches – Le Brévent – La Flégère
- Stage 9 La Flégère – Col de Balme – Trient
- Stage 10 Trient – Alp Bovine – Champex
- Stage 10A Trient – Fenêtre d’Arpette – Champex
- Appendix A Route facilities table (anti-clockwise)
- Appendix B Accommodation
- Appendix C Campsites on the TMB
- Appendix D Useful contacts
- Appendix E Further reading
- Appendix F French–English glossary
