Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 6 – Champex Lac to Ferret

Our previous year’s Tour de Mont Blanc walk had taken us across the mountains from France into Switzerland. Now our train from Geneva airport was heading for Martigny, so we could pick up where we had left off at Champex Lac. I had decided to hike this 180km circuit of Mont Blanc with a friend, in stages of a few days at a time. This time we were returning for a third year of what ended up being a four year hiking journey.

Read about our previous day’s walk on the TMB: Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 5 – Col de Balme to Champex Lac

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An elderly man in the seat across the aisle beckoned to me confidentially and spoke first in German, then in English when I looked blank. “What are the three fastest ways to spread news? he asked, looking pleased at his riddle. The answer ; “Telegram, Telephone, Tell a woman”.

Not quite knowing what to make of the joke, I smiled politely and gazed out of the window, as the medieval castle at Montreux sped by. Lake Lausaune was so big that we could only just make out the far shore and a haze hung over the water in the warm sunshine.

The journey from Martigny

At Martigny we changed to the local line on the cheerful, red St Bernard Express with the dog on the side. It was once used to rescue people in the mountains, although nowadays the helicopter is more in demand.

I almost missed the quick change at Sembrancher, in my desire to take just one more photo. Our train journey ended at Orsieres where we picked up our bus connection to take us up the winding hairpin bends to Champex Lac. The bus was full of primary school children heading home, who were creating a riot all around us, until a stern French aunty told them to pipe down.

A long day of travel and we were back where we ended last year, pulling off our boots and putting on our Crocs at the Gite Bon Abri. Not much had changed in the year we’d been away.

We had the same 6 bed bunk room to ourselves with red flanellette sheets and duvets. The same supper that started with an aperitif of sweet wine and some home-made cheese straws.

The mules were grazing outside, ready for the next day when they might be carrying someone’s baggage up the mountain. The forecast was good and we were all set fair for our few days walking on the Tour de Mont Blanc.

Setting off from Champex Lac

Our first day was planned to be our longest. The terrain was gentle with not too many steep climbs in altitude.

My friend had experienced serious problems with acute mountain sickness (AMS) during our walk the year before. This year she had prepared herself to avoid it, with a large water pouch which she could sip through a tube and some medication (Diamox).

Our little joke was that she’d told all her friends that she was on Viagra. We’d heard somewhere that they are in the same family of drugs and both work by increasing the blood supply!

As we came down the hill at 8.30 towards the lake, all the shops were shut but the fishermen were lined up along the bank. Being conscious of the etiquette of the Tour de Mont Blanc, I must have said about ten Bonjours as I passed them one by one along the path by the lake. I even spotted a few of those naughty children who were causing a riot in the bus out fishing with their dads.

We nearly got lost before we had even started. But a little way down the road we picked up the yellow and black diamond TMB signs, and turned into the cool and shady woods.

The carved wooden sculptures that we’d spotted outside Gite Bon Abri and also on the lake continued with a menagerie of carved wooden animals and other sculptures along the route.

The Sentier des Champignons

A forest sign told us that we were on the “Sentier des Champignons.” Although we saw a wooden mushroom sculpture, it was too early for the autumn crop of real champignons.

At a bend in the path, the clanging of cow bells warned us that there was a dairy farm in the building below the path. Thankfully no cows blocked the way as we had experienced last year, in an encounter that had terrified my friend.

As the forest cleared, we walked down to the road into the village of Issert. On the bridge that crossed the mountain river, we stood and took some pictures of the old wooden houses.

The path skirted open meadow, through the small hamlet of Les Arlaches. Workmen were repairing the attractive old wooden barns and houses, in various states of repair. Through gaps in the houses we glimpsed fertile vegetable patches with orange home grown pumpkins. A large cross marked the end of the village.

Through the Alpine meadow to Praz de Fort

The path continued through an Alpine meadow and next we reached the somewhat larger village of Praz de Fort. Crossing the river again, we stopped for an early lunch on a fallen log overlooking the river, keeping a safe distance from the row of bee hives.

It was only 11.30am and we had been walking three hours. However, the map showed us we had only walked around a third of the distance for that day. We dared not linger much longer!

On the outskirts of the village, where a lot of new houses had been built, we nearly got lost again. The path passed through forest, along a causeway created by moraine left by the retreating Glacier de Saleina, with the light dappling through the pines.

A view of the glaciers at La Fouly

An hour or so later, we approached the larger village of La Fouly. It seemed to receive a lot of visitors in both summer and winter, judging by the numerous cafes, equipment shops and information centre.

Had we been looking for a more lively location for our night’s stop this would probably have been it. The village has wonderful views of the hanging glaciers. We settled gratefully into the sunny outdoor terrace of the Auberge des Glacier for a reviving Orangina.

Lean climbing types surrounded us, with their wraparound sunglasses. The cafe was a riot of colour, with orange striped deck chairs set on green astroturf and electric blue sun umbrellas. Window boxes full of pink geraniums framed the glacier, hanging in a bowl of the mountains.

Eventually we prised ourselves from our deck chairs and mustered the energy to walk the final hour up the valley to Ferret. This is last village before the road ran out.

Arriving at Ferret

In Ferret, we had booked a room at Hotel Col de Fenetre, the only place in town. Here we were thrilled by our en suite twin room, a real step up from some of the dorms where we had slept in previous years.

The day ended with a cold beer, a meal of pork in mustard sauce. It was finished by a slice of ice-cream that had a red Swiss flag embedded in it – what a novelty!

Today’s walk had been long, but on easy terrain through Alpine meadows and pretty villages. Tomorrow, we would get away from the road and up into the real mountains.

Read about the next day’s walk Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 7 – Ferret to Rifugio Elena

Watch my Tour de Mont Blanc Video

This video from our third year of walking on the Tour de Mont Blanc covers Days 6, 7 and 8 of the walk.

Resources for the Tour de Mont Blanc

We used the Cicerone Tour of Mont Blanc guide by Kev Reynolds. It’s an excellent guide for both the clockwise and anti-clockwise route. There’s a detailed route guide, maps, accommodation information and points of interest along the route.

We took the train from the station at Geneva Airport buying a combined ticket that covered all the changes and the integrated bus service to Champex Lac. The route was via Martigny where we changed to the St Bernard Express to Orsieres with a brief change at Sembrancher. At Orsieres we waited half an hour for the bus to Champex Lac. The whole journey took around 3 hrs 30 minutes.

On the first night we stayed at Gite Bon Abri at Champex-de’en-Haut, which we highly recommend. They offer private rooms and 6 bed dorm rooms with dinner and breakfast. The Gite may be booked in advance by e-mailing [email protected].

The second night we stayed at Hotel Col de Fenetre at Ferret. We had a twin room with en suite bathroom with dinner and breakfast. The hotel does not have a website but reservations can be made by e-mailing [email protected] Tel. +41 027 7831 188

Bookings for some refuges (including Col de Fenetre) can also be made on the Mon Tour de Mont Blanc website. To avoid disappointment and a long walk, you should book your place in all refuges. You can normally do so a day or two before, or from the previous refuge.

The Autour du Mont Blanc website has useful information to help you prepare for your Tour de Mont Blanc walk.

Read Next

Read about the next day’s walk: Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 7 – Ferret to Rifugio Elena

More tales from the Tour de Mont Blanc

• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 1 – Les Houches to Refuge la Bellachat
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 2 – Refuge de Bellachat to la Flegere
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 3 – Refuge Flégère to Lac Blanc
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 4 – Flégère to Refuge Col de Balme
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 5 – Col de Balme to Champex
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 6 – this article
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 7 – Ferret to Rifugio Elena
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 8 – Rifugio Elena to Rifugio Bonatti
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 9 – Rifugio Bonatti to Courmayeur
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 10 & 11 – Courmayeur to Chapieux
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 12, 13 & 14 – Chapieux to Les Houches

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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