Tour du Mont Blanc
 

Words & Photos: Cati Pearson

Our trip to Europe was based around two main activities, bike parks and the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB). The latter was decided upon by me as the perfect couple's activity, Tysin on the other hand agreed to it as a suffer-fest.

The day before our TMB mega mission we camped at the base of Mont Blanc's Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix. Packing and repacking our bags, we tried to settle on the lightest mix of must-haves and want-to-takes. We fuelled up with French cheese and crackers, followed up with the regulation bowl of pasta to energy preload for the trip.

Carbo-loading for the mission ahead.

Day 1

We awoke bright and early to find a cheapish carpark to leave our van in Chamonix, which as you might guess is really hard to do. We saddled up our bikes and headed off along the comfortable cycle paths that flow along the either side of town, high above the parks before dropping down and following the rivers. It was an easy start, which continued as we got to the ski area of Le Tour where we treated ourselves to a gondola ride (saving 700m of climbing).

At the top we took cute photos, excited for the first real part of the TMB to kick in. We headed off downhill, surprised by the number of walkers heading in the opposite direction – who would have thought! Slowly, we navigated our way around them. Unlike at home, they seemed happy to share the trail and moved to one side when they saw us coming.

The trail was rocky, involved plenty of track stands and demanded good line choice. We descended the 1000m vert very slowly before popping out at the valley floor in Trient. We climbed up the next bit on the tarmac to the Col de la Forclaz (seven times a stage in the Tour de France). Lots of roadies were stopped there for selfies. We of course followed suit. Thinking the rest of the track would continue to be as enjoyable and rideable as we expected, we loitered in the sun before carrying on towards the Collet de Portalo.

Oh how we were wrong, the trail from was a hard push. Big roots the size of cats meant even when the gradient was rideable the trail wasn’t always. There were sections of flow but the majority of the uphill was walking. At the col we were encouraged by hikers' reports that the descent was straight forward and that there was a shop with 'pies and cows' just around the bend. We were stoked until discovering the pie shop was cash only. In typical millennial fashion we weren't carrying coins or notes. On empty-ish stomachs we continued along the farm tracks before dropping into some fun, tight and techy trails amongst the trees. We finally arrived at our Swiss Refuge, Relais d’Arpette, after 35km, 1650m vert and 7 hours total time (5 hours moving). Imagine how gutted we were to find out it was vegan. While the food was great, what we really craved was big bowl of cheesy pasta.

Day 2

Kicking off with another early start, we enjoyed cruising through tiny Swiss town after tiny Swiss town - blessed with sections of quiet single track for once that actually had us flowing. At La Fouly we stocked up on cheese and salami for sandwiches before following our GPS, we turned off to attack the big hill of the day. We pushed, hiked and grovelled our way up for hours, alongside glaciers (and then over the top of glaciers).

After 2 hours we realised we had not seen another person since we left the valley floor, which is unheard of on the TMB. Worry set in – where the fuck were we? Our GPX file was borrowed from another rider’s trip, so surely bikes could get through?

We finally popped out at the top, to the surprise of unassuming bird watchers. "Wtf are you doing here? The TMB is on that ridge over there" (pointing to a fully rideable track in the distance!). We were on the Petit Col Ferret, rather than the Grand Col Ferret. Turns out this is an alternative route for hard-core hikers who want a bit more tech in their day. Face palm. The lovely birdwatchers fed us up with salami and focaccia before informing us how to get back onto the TMB. Unfortunately, we weren’t very smart and once again took a wrong turn, proceeding to descend on switchbacks of death that became unrideable. Once again we were walking.

By the valley floor I was very angry with myself and upset. Tysin forced us to have a snack break but I just wanted to keep going. If we followed the set path we had another 500m ridge to cross before climbing to our accommodation. We were running out of daylight. The decision was made to take the road into Courmayeur then up to our accommodation. I’m stoked we did this as the road was downhill the entire way which meant speeds exceeding 25km/h. As a bonus the road was lined with glacier after glacier and presented the best views of Mont Blanc of the entire trip.

The joy bubble was burst on the other side of town as we struggled up the final climb to Rifugio Monte Bianco. Thankfully it wasn't vegan and we were blessed with free hot showers, our own room, Aperol Spritzes and pasta to celebrate. How good.

46km, 2000+m vert, 9 hours total time (6 hours moving).

The view from our accommodation.

Day 3

The fact that the last two 40km days took us 9 hours had us scared shitless about time limits. You have until 6pm to make it to your Rifugio or else your bed can be given away. So once again, we headed off along the river trails towards the French/Italian border as the sun rose over Mont Blanc. This was the most beautiful valley I have ever seen, peppered with purple flowers, water falls, alpine lakes, snow covered mountains and minimal walkers. It was even rideable! The best scenery of the entire trip. Near the top we bumped into the Italian DOC workers who were educating people about the birds in the area. We learned how to identify Eagles, Falcon, Vultures and Kites.

We literally spent the next two days eyeing up any bird we saw and making poor calls on their species. Eventually we settled on a definitive “that one’s big!". From here, we enjoyed a massive rideable downhill all the way to the next town. Stops were made to capture photos and talk to the guardian dogs watching over the sheep and goats on the hillside.

At Les Chapieux, we treated ourselves with coke and lollies before starting our final mega push for the day. Luckily, we were able to duck on and off the tarseal road for the start of this which saved us hours of pushing through farm land. We also had lots of cheers from hikers encouraging us to the summit. The descent to the valley floor was the most technical of the entire trip, baby head boulders and uneven hiking steps. We trialled our way down with Tysin taking much better lines than me. Happily, we rolled into our home for the night, Gîte le Pontet. We were not late and enjoyed our own chalet with showers and mini ponies next door. A great day – definitely the best and most beautiful of the trip.

46km, 2000+m vert, 9 hours total time (6 hours moving).

Day 4

Our final day was the most uneventful. By this point we were getting tired (and maybe a bit scared of more pushing). Like other mornings, the start was an easy roll through town towards Les Contamines-Montjoie. We got a wee bit lost (who would have guessed) through some back streets, but enjoyed the slower pace of the day. At the base of our one and only climb, Col de Voza, we lay in the shade eating lollies and gritting our teeth for another walk. It was no where near as bad, or as long, as the others, and walking was just a minimal few paces. We popped out at the col, only a stone's throw from Mont Blanc. The beast of a mountain was in full glory and we took a moment to enjoy it as we sat by its side. We watched the tourists load into the train that heads up the mountainside onto Mont Blanc and sighed a breath of relief that it was almost done.

Our final descent into Chamonix was through the bike park. We hooted and hollered down a blue trail, bikepacking bags and all. Mandatory photos were had at the TMB sign in Les Houches. Cheese and crackers were eaten to give us the boost for the cycle path back to our car. We did it! Celebrations ensued with Aperol Spritz, cheese fondue, and then later food poisoning – but that’s a story for another time.

33km 1000m vert, 5 hours total time (4 hours moving).

100/10 would recommend – but only to those who know how to read a map properly and love taking their enduro bikes for a walk.

Also check out Cati's Tour des Bike Parks yarn from the same trip.