TRAIL: TOUR DU MONT BLANC – DAY 9

DAY NINE – July 11​
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Back in view of the Queen herself after an exhaustive 800+ meter ascent to Col de Balme, crossed back into France, incredible views of the valley, and a stay in the tiniest, coziest private room possibly ever.

“It’s just 800 meters!” By Day nine, an 800 meter ascent is just your average day on the Tour du Mont Blanc.
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I quite like the feeling of looking back to where we came from and feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment {insert life analogy here}.
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Like this picture (left). I’m smiling because way back in the distant valley is Trient and that’s where we hiked from. (Also this is a rare photo of me from the hike without a hat!)

Our accomplishment – we conquered a never ending 400 meter ascent steep switchback to get to this point.

And we were half way to Col du Balme. But the even better news is that there’s a random picnic table just waiting for us to sit at it. I’m not religious but god bless whomever took it upon themselves to carry the table up that never ending switchback!
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What a rather nice place to stop and eat the egg that was in my bagged lunch from Auberge du Mont Blanc. The first and only egg in a bagged lunch on the trail so it was kind of a delicious treat.
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Obviously we had to record it with a picture (Second photo of me without a hat, perhaps not so rare after all, but I see now that I should have had it on.).

As we continued the trek up to Col du Balme, the temperature got progressively cooler as we ascended above the tree line. The cool air was a nice change from the humid valley below.
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You can almost see the temperature change in this photo as little snow patches start to appear:

Even on an overcast day the scenery became more and more spectacular the further up we ascended. When you get above the tree line, the flowers take over as ground cover.
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Fields of pink or purple or yellow – splashes of colour that were bursting with life.

There is such a sense of relief when you can finally see the refuge! The building is basically on the Swiss/France border so I’m not sure what county it’s actually in. And look who we bumped into at the Refuge – Utah!
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There wasn’t a washroom open (it was likely only open to overnight guests) but they did have a little cafe with cozy indoor seats. We had some tea and hot chocolate to ward off the chilly breeze coming off of the snow and then we got back on the trail, which went from Beautiful to Stunning to I-need-more-adjectives-for-Incredible! Such awesome views!

This section follows a ridge and grants spectacular views of the Chamonix Valley and Mont Blanc. It’s absolutely breathtaking even on an overcast day.
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It’s days like today that I get why most people walk counter clockwise – because of these views. If you were hiking the trail in a clockwise direction, you might miss this because it would be behind you.

The counter clockwise direction means you have the best views of Mont Blanc in my opinion, and you avoid some incredible difficult descents (it’s easier to go up than down some of the really steep parts).
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Our destination for the night was the Auberge la Boerne in Tre-le-Champ.

Two things come to mind when I think of this Auberge.

One: tiny quarters. We booked a private room. I use the word ‘room’ but I could easily also use the word ‘closet’ to describe the size of the space. There were three beds squeezed into it, a window that opened into another room and there was just enough room for one person to stand in the room at a time. I guess it’s not the place to stay if you get claustrophobic.

The second thing is that if you forget your towel like I did and only realize that once you’re already in the shower and can’t leave, that a merino wool t-shirt makes an excellent alternative to a towel.

This Auberge did have really good food and a lovely terrace, which is a nice spot for a game of gin. I slept really well surprisingly enough, considering I had a tiny bed and a slightly damp t-shirt.
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Next: Day 10
Go back: Day 8