TRAIL: TOUR DU MONT BLANC – DAY 4

DAY FOUR – July 6

​Day four without a shower, woke up to the sound of rushing water from a glacier outside our window, the trail eased into a long ascent and then ended in the longest descent ever but did spend a lot of time looking at Mont Blanc and the glaciers, ended the day with an epic shower, laundry and pizza!

It was the first decent night’s sleep I had since we started this hike. Which, when I think about all the other strangers sleeping with in feet of each other, it’s quite remarkable.

It was another beautiful day. Sunshine and more sunshine! The day started with a short jaunt along an old Italian military road.

There’s nothing uniquely spectacular about the dusty road itself but the surrounding scenery – Mont Blanc, the receding Glacier du Miage, and the valley ahead – is just about enough beauty one person can take.

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What is nice about the road section is that it’s a great little warm up for what’s to come. And that is more ascent – of course!

The uphill trail was heart racing inducing! At this point I had become very adept at using the ol’ “stopping to take a picture” excuse to catch my breath. (My other go-to excuse is “I have to take a layer off, I’m getting hot”.)
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And this is what happens when you do stop to “take a picture”. I mean, come on already with the gorgeous scenery!

I’m really saddened to hear about the recent news about the glacier on Mont Blanc melting and in peril of collapse. But I should also say, I’m not surprised. Europe had its second major heatwave in recent years. It was hot.
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We saw evidence of melting glaciers and it was clearly evident how much they had receded. Here is the Glacier du Miage:

It’s a stark reminder that we must do more to protect our planet. The next generation of hikers may have a completely different pictures of the glaciers or pictures of where the glaciers once were.

The high path is the main route and unless the weather dictates otherwise, I strongly advise taking this route. It’s hard but ever-so rewarding. The higher the ascent, the more spectacular the views.
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As you can see the balcony trail is completely open to the elements and could be treacherous in bad weather. Thankfully we had a glorious day because this was one view of the trail:

​This section of the trail was quite lovely. But there were a few patches of snow along steep sections that got my heart racing. When the snow just goes straight down, my heart races until I get across.
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Up close, it doesn’t look all that steep or dangerous, but then changes perspective and it changes the angle of the slope:

We started to get closer to signs of civilization. The area around Courmayeur is full of ski hills and it seemed that suddenly we were in the trees again. The shade was a welcome relief from the glaring sun

We stopped at the Rifugio Maison Veille for a sandwich and a beer before the descent into Courmayeur. We could see Courmayeur as we picked up the trail again.

We heard the descent was long but in our naivety, we didn’t believe it could be that long. It looked so close! But, we were so very, very wrong. As pretty as the trail was it was downhill forever. Okay, not forever but it sure did feel like it.

Courmayeur would peek through the trees every once in a while, teasing us with its proximity. We did our usual distraction techniques to pass the time, which is primarily playing music and singing. In case anyone heard some crazy ladies singing Elton John and Wilson Philips in the forest that day, that was us.

Finally! Courmayeur!
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We made it! I was exhausted. My body ached but the thought of a shower (first one in 4 days! You can only imagine the disaster that was under my hat) and pizza and ice cream and a bed kept me going.

We treated ourselves to a hotel. No rifugio tonight! We stayed at Hotel Crampon. A lovely little hotel, GOOD showers and a solid breakfast. They also offer laundry service and despite the cost it was worth it. A good shower and clean clothes – Life was good.
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Next: Days 5 & 6
Go back: Day 3