Mont Blanc Trails

Tour Itinerary

Day 1.
Arrival

 

Day 2.
From the centre of Les Contamines-Montjoie we cycle along a wild brook through the Val Montjoie. After only a few kilometers we will come to the first strenuous ascent of the tour. The way leads steeply up the Col de Voza, through hamlets with old, wooden huts just beneath the Aiguilles de Bionassay (4025m). Having crossed the rails of the Tramway du Mont Blanc we take the first downhill into the valley of Chamonix. Through the animate pedestrian zone and on some single-track sections we reach Argentière.

 

Day 3.
From Argentière it's just a few kilometers to the chair lift that takes us to Col de Balme (2204 m). The way up there is full of ugly ski-slope and it's just too steep to be any fun, so the chair lift is the better choice. At Col de Balme we can see the snout of Glacier du Tour. Mont Blanc rises majestically into the sky. This day offers pure single-track pleasure! Just behind the border of Switzerland a path plunges down to Trient almost 1000 vertical meters. Next is a short ascent over Col de la Forclaz (1526 m), another 900 vertical meters down, and a narrow tarmac road up to the hotel at the Lac de Champex.

 

Day 4.
The morning starts with a single-track that leads us from the high valley around Lac de Champex through a mountain forest down to lovely Swiss Val Ferret and its small, old villages. On a scarcely used valley road and precipitous gravel track we get to the mountain pasture La Peule, which is a great place for a rest. Homemade bread, cheese and salami are sold here. After 500 vertical meters on single-tracks we reach Grand Col Ferret (2537 m). Hardly anyone will make the whole way to the pass on bike, because it's just too steep. We will relax and enjoy the views of Mont Blanc (4808 m), Grandes Jorasses (4208 m), and Grand Combin (4314 m), as well as some bizarre glacial formations. A technically challenging single-track takes us along Mont Dolent (3820 m), whose summit is divided between Italy, Switzerland, and France, and we eventually wheel down into the Italian Val Ferret. On a gravel track we get to the valley road which takes us to our hotel in a small village at the end of Aosta Valley.

 

Day 5.
The first meters of the day lead us downwards towards Courmayeur. Then we climb Col de la Seigne (2516 m). In the breathtaking countryside around Val Veny steep sections vary with plain sections. You will find it hard to watch the ground as your eyes are drawn to the gleaming white ice summits. Enormous glacial moraines are reminiscent of past days when ice masses went far down into the valley. Idyllic lakes such as Lac de Combal reflect the mountain panorama. Here we switch to a bumpy military road from the Second World War. Along some ruins of former barracks we approach the pass. Once there, we take a 25 km downhill to Bourg St-Maurice in the Isère Valley. First on single-tracks, then gravel roads and finally on historic tarmac roads - several times the Tour de France took this way to Cormet de Roseland - we make it to our hotel. Before dinner we will have time to visit the Old Town or relax in the swimming pool.

 

Day 6.
Through old, flower-decorated Savoyen villages our small road leads us up the south slope of the Isère Valley. The ski areas of Les Arc and La Plagne can be seen on the other side. There's hardly any car in this region - the road is all ours. On an altitude of 1650 m we will reach the farm track to Cormet d'Âreche (2109 m). Gravel serpentines elegantly wind their way up the mountain. After 25 km and 1350 vertical meters the Refuge de la Coire is a nice opportunity to have a break. Refreshed, we can take on the last 460 vertical meters of the day. On a rarely used pass we get to Beaufortain, where we start wheeling down a landscape of mountain pastures and brooks, to the storage lake Lac de Roselend. Just a few kilometers more and we arrive at the next hotel.

 

Day 7.
In the cool morning breeze we start the day on rather unknown tracks over countless switchbacks to a rather unknown pass. We will hardly encounter anyone up to an altitude of 2300 m except cows, sheep and perhaps some wanderers. Almost 500 vertical meters down a challenging single-track we get to a small tarmac road that takes us upwards to Col du Joly. Up there the panorama is unparalleled: the white giant rises just in front of us. A mixture of gravel tracks, wanderer's trails and pebbly dirt roads will present us with a diverse rally down into Val Montjoie. Along the way we cross an old roman bridge and pass the baroque church Notre-Dame de la Gorge, which is well worth seeing.

 

Day 8.
Departure