Hiking TMB: Courmayeur to Elena

In January, six of us decided to hike the famous Tour de Mont Blanc trail in the Alpes. After research and discussions with Alpine Exploratory, our travel agent, we decided to only hike the northern section. Seven days, around seventy miles, from Courmayeur in Italy to Chamonix in France. July 30 was our first day of hiking TMB: Courmayeur to Elena, 14 miles, 5,000 feet elevation.

After a great dinner the night before at Ristorante La Terrazza and a good breakfast in our hotel Triolet, it is time to start our hike. I am nervous, as this is supposed to be the toughest day, although most dramatic day of the TMB. Despite all our training, I am not sure I am ready. We walk through the still quiet pedestrian streets of Courmayeur. We are planning to take the Armina route today. Once on the trail, that first section from Val Sapin to Rifugio Bertone is 2.5 kilometers, ~ 1.6 mile, and 2,100 feet elevation gain. It is the most elevation gain in the shortest distance and more than I have ever done before.

We cross the village of Villair. Just before we are about to enter the trail, two guys are sitting on the side of the road. One of them has blisters so we take out the first aid kit and give them the special blister bandages and tape. They tell us they are from Israel. This is day 5 for them. I think to myself “they have a long day ahead of them.” We start the climb, and the trail takes us on a number of switchbacks, or zigzags, as they call them here. Although this section is steep, it is not as bad as I had feared. We stop regularly to take in the beautiful views over the Aosta valley. We reach Rifugio Bertone just before 11 and are happy to sit down for a break.

Courmayeur

Map TMB5

View over Aosta Valley

View from Rifugio Bertone

Rifugio Bertone is not yet serving anything, so we continue on. We climb up behind Bertone to Mont de la Saxe. Soon we have our first view of Mont Blanc. We are lucky, last week they had torrential rains. Some people even had to cancel this section. Today, the sky is clear, with some white clouds surrounding the peak of Mont Blanc. The views are spectacular. The trail levels out a bit. Although we still climb, it is at a pleasant incline, and we soak up the views that continue to amaze at every turn. The trail continues with some steep descends and then again ascending up to another viewpoint for more photos.

First looks at Mont Blanc

The last part up to Bonatti is another set of steep “zigzags” and we are glad when we reach the top. Our friends from Israel also made it to Bonatti, despite the blisters. Though his feet do not look like he can hike for another five days.

lunch at Bonatti

Bonatti to Arnouva

After a wonderful lunch at Rifugio Bonatti, we have to keep moving. Most people spend the night at Bonatti, however, they were fully booked. Instead, we continue to Elena. It is after 2PM and we still have close to 5 miles to go. After a short climb up, the trail once again levels out. I really enjoy this part of the trail. It crosses several streams with little bridges and more beautiful views. Eventually we start a steep descend into the valley with more zigzags. It is then that we realize the trail is leading us first all the way down into the valley to the Chalet Val Ferret in Arnouva. Elena, however, is located up from the valley. As a result, we will have another steep climb up before we reach Elena.

The final stretch

After a bathroom break at Val Ferret, we are ready for the final section for today. I am looking forward to a shower. However, when we get to the trail head, we see that it is blocked off with yellow tape. The alternative route is the dusty road that stretches in front of us. Reluctantly we start to walk. It feels like the road is never ending and leads to nowhere. It does lead somewhere: to a turn that leads to yet another road to nowhere. We look up and see a flag on what looks like a patio, far above us. We tell ourselves, that cannot be it. But unfortunately, that is where the never-ending road goes. This final stretch is a beast and after almost 10 hours of hiking, we finally reach Rifugio Elena.

Rifugio Elena

We check in and are told we need to hurry as dinner is starting in less than 30 minutes. At least our luggage has arrived. We have 3 bunks in a big room. The room is still fairly empty, so I go back to ask if we can have 3 bunks in a corner near a power outlet. The manager rudely refuses, saying those are reserved for other people. After a nice but short shower (they are set on 5-minute timers, although mine doesn’t last more than 3), we go upstairs for dinner. While getting drinks at the bar, the same manager yells at us again: we have to hurry up, as dinner is being served. I feel like we are in some kind of school camp. To call dinner is mediocre is generous: a plate of pasta with barely any sauce, followed by some meat, with big green peas and polenta. More people have arrived, however, the beds in the corner stay empty.

Mountain flowers

Day 1 summary

Our first day was amazing, it is probably the most incredible hike I have ever done. The first part of the hike that I had dreaded most, was steep, but by far not as bad as I had feared. Actually, the last part on the steep and dusty road up to Elena was the worst for sure. And Elena itself should be skipped if possible. Next time I would stay in Chalet Val Ferret instead and add the 1.5 miles to the next day. Shout out to Dan and the team at Alpine Exploratory for organizing this trip. Although they couldn’t make the actual hike easier, they did make the rest easy by booking all our accommodations, organizing for our luggage to be picked up and dropped off at the next place and providing us with detailed instructions, maps and daily route cards.

All photo credit: Liane Aihara, Mariel van Tatenhove, Mauren O'Gorman, Seema O'Dwyer, Tammy Bacca, Vanessa O'Keeffe