On the Tour du Mont Blanc

So the time had come to say goodbye to Switzerland and finally head south with the third pass over the main ridge. First, I pedaled uphill to La Fouly, the last, somewhat sleepy-looking town before crossing the border with an exceptional location even for Switzerland. Directly opposite the town center, the Mont Blanc massif rose up, adorned with mighty glaciers, seemingly endless towards the sky, and gave me a first impression of what I could expect in the coming days.

Here in Val Ferret, I joined the Tour du Mont Blanc, briefly TMB, a very popular long-distance hiking trail that goes around Mont Blanc. It is supposed to be completely doable as a bikepacking tour, but I wanted to restrict myself to the Italian, eastern side and unfortunately skip Chamonix. As a result of its popularity, the frequency of groups of hikers coming towards me increased significantly. And of course, there were some who were quite surprised when they saw me struggling with my bike. Fortunately, the reactions were consistently positive, and I was even cheered on by some. However, the problem for me was finding a suitable sleeping spot. Not only did someone pass by constantly, but the entire area up to Col Ferret was a spacious plateau that was completely visible from the pass. There was truly no hidden spot for me to find. My only option was to switch to the Italian side. According to the map, there was another side valley during the descent that could provide better protection.

At first glance, however, this valley did not impress me much - deeply cut above a gorge, there was not a single somewhat flat spot as far as the eye could see. But due to the lack of other options, I still followed the less-trodden path and struggled through quite rugged terrain back uphill until I saw a glimmer of hope - above a waterfall, the terrain bent. And indeed, after I had worked my way up there, the view opened up to a small, hidden high valley. There was not a soul in sight, but I had the breathtaking panorama of Mont Dolent and the Grand Jorasses right in front of me. A truly exclusive campsite in an absolutely dreamy location. I could hardly believe my luck and enjoyed the view until the cold finally drove me into the tent and the warm sleeping bag shortly before sunset.

After the frosty but equally magnificent sunrise, I enjoyed a fun descent in the Italian part of Val Ferret. But as soon as I reached the road in the valley, it was already uphill again. I wanted to follow the TMB, which went up and down along the slope endlessly. An extraordinarily arduous section, but it was fully justified by the spectacular views. It was only shortly before Courmayeur that I made more progress. But the next climb did not take long here either. It was supposed to go up 1000 meters on a forest road. Nothing spectacular, but the effects of the current heatwave in Europe hit me for the first time. Although I was at an altitude of 1500 meters, the heat was oppressive. First in the full sun, it seemed that the surrounding rocks had absorbed heat, and even the rushing glacier river no longer had a cooling effect. Eventually, I entered the forest, but even there, the further ascent was torture. Completely exhausted, I reached the forest boundary at some point and once again faced the problem of finding a suitable campsite.

The area was still heavily frequented by hikers and day trippers. In addition, there had been no water for quite some time. And without water, it was impossible to have dinner or breakfast. So, I kept pushing on in the hope of eventually finding the urgently needed water. With the afternoon already advanced, the paths became increasingly empty, and then I finally found a small stream where I could refill my water supplies. After climbing another 50 steep meters through rough alpine meadows in cross-country to a non-visible depression, I finally found it - the next premium campsite directly opposite the main peak of Mont Blanc, and that too in perfect weather.

The last day on the TMB led past an impressively located high moor that provided a pleasantly green contrast to the entire archaic rock and glacier world, and finally up to the Col de la Seigne border pass. With the mighty Mont Blanc rising in front of me, I had now arrived in France. There is no more glacier, no more steep rock needles, and no more impressive peaks like here anywhere else in Europe. The three days on the TMB were a spectacular scenic experience. After that, it was a fast descent straight to the first freshly baked and deliciously topped baguette of my journey. Vive la France!