Has anyone done the entire hike? Did you use a tour company? Which one? I should have said the hike AROUND Mont Blanc, not up it.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16390 posts
Yes, and we went with friends on a guided trip. Ours was with REI Adventures, but they do not do foreign trips any more. Our French guide also runs the same itinerary for Mountain Travel Sobek, a company we have used with good results for Patagonia and for a Japan hiking trip, so I can recommend them with confidence. Their trips tend towards the high end, with nice accommodations (3-star on the route, not huts) and excellent food.
https://www.mtsobek.com/trips/europe/the-alps/alps-tour-du-mont-blanc-hiking/
A friend of ours did a self-guided trip using Distant Journeys, and had some issues with route-finding. Having done the hike, I can totally understand how one could have difficulties, as there are several places with alternate routes. I see the same company does the route as a guided hike, so that may be a less expensive option than MT Sobek if you are interested. Looks like they use huts more than mountain hotels.
https://www.mtsobek.com/trips/europe/the-alps/alps-tour-du-mont-blanc-hiking/
There are of course other companies, including the Chamonix Guide service. Whatever you choose, I strongly recommend doing a guided trip.
https://www.chamonix-guides.com/en/activities/category/randonnee/tour-du-mont-blanc-hiking
We were very happy to have professional (and very friendly) guides, especially on the day we were caught in a bad rainstorm with 3000 feet of descent over rocky ground with near-zero visibility. Also on the day 2 days later when the normal route was blocked by a mudslide after said rainstorm.
Posted by
Loire Valley
773 posts
tricky at the moment - many of the paths are closed, and some guides are refusing to take people even on paths that remain open
Posted by
Los Angeles
4438 posts
I seem to recall Rick hikes around it in one of his newer shows
Posted by
Wynnewood, PA, USA
271 posts
Yes. In 2016. MacsAdventure. A "self-guided" tour. Certainly, other options (accompanied by a guide) are available if you so desire.
Of all my hikes/walks (post-retirement and beginning at age 66), the TMB was the most strenuous and demanding. It was also stunningly beautiful and well-worth the effort and preparation (which was considerable).
N.B. I would not walk the TMB today (at 74) - it's too strenuous. With that said in Oct. 2021 I walked the Camino Portuguese and will walk the Rota Vicentina this coming October 2022. IMO, it's critical to know one's abilities and limits.
Be safe and happy travels.
Posted by
Yorkshire
1287 posts
Hey Simon - Why are the paths closed? You’d think it was the height of the TdMB season?
To answer the OP’s original question, I have done most of the TdMB, but unfortunately, having done most of the tough stuff, I slipped on a fairly innocuous path and landed myself in hospital for a week (it was a rather nice hospital and they did a first class job of repairing my busted knee).
We went with a British based company, KE Adventure Travel (who we had used before and who we have booked with on another walking tour in Europe next year) and they are based in the Lake District, Keswick, to be precise. All was going swimmingly until I did something silly and that was absolutely nothing to do with KE!
Ian
Posted by
Loire Valley
773 posts
It's related to this. A lot of the glaciers in the Alps are unstable
Posted by
Yorkshire
1287 posts
Ah, I see. I can’t open your link (getting a ‘404’) but I know the piece you are referring to. Thanks for the info - got to go back and finish the last couple of days, but not this year!
Posted by
Los Angeles
4438 posts
And now there is this:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mont-blanc-rescue-deposit/index.html
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16390 posts
The article is about the collapse of the Marmolada glacier in the Dolomites of Italy, not Mont Blanc. Here is another from Reuters that should open:
There have been other incidents of glacier collapse and other issues (icefall, rockfall) caused by warming, and they have affected the actual climb to the summit Mont Blanc. Many climbing routes up the mountain (and others such as the Matterhorn) are closed.
But I have not heard anything about the Tour du Mont Blanc, a village to village or hut to hut walking route around, not ON, Mont Blanc, being closed. In fact the Chamonix Guide Association is offering their tours, with one scheduled to begin 29 August, that one can sign up for now.
https://www.chamonix-guides.com/en/activities/details/hiking-authentic-tour-du-mont-blanc
The icefall and other issues are all the more reason to go with a local guide, but should not deter one from going. The guides know what and where to avoid, and will make alternate routes available if and when necessary, just as our guides did in 2018.
There is no cause to give up on this dream, at least not at this time.
Posted by
2 posts
We did not use a tour company for the complete hike. Instead we did self-guided with the help of using the Cicerone guide book for TMB. It's more effort working out itinerary and making all the needed reservations for the each hut on your own, but it saved us money. All the information we needed was found in the Cicerone guide book.
Posted by
Loire Valley
773 posts
Trouble is that many websites don't update. Best would be to contact the mountain guide office direct