Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 9 – Rifugio Bonatti to Courmayeur

We’d arrived at Rifugio Bonatti the night before and were nearing the end of our 2012 walk on the Tour de Mont Blanc. The Refuge is about as close to a boutique hostel as you can get up here at over 2000 metres.

It’s perched high on the mountain side above the Val Ferret and the village of La Vachey. Considering that there appeared to be no road access to the refuge, I was amazed at the level of comfort.

Our twin bedroom had two pine beds. It had tasteful touches like the embroidered linen cloth at the window and the handwoven woollen curtains, with pretty woven bows.

The hostel is named after the famous Italian climber, Walter Bonatti. Walls and corridors of the Refuge were covered with old black and white photos of him climbing in the Alps. There’s also atmospheric vintage posters of climbing heroes of the 1950s and 60s.

This article may contain affiliate links that provide commission on purchases you make at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Communal dinner

Dinner at the refuge was a communal event. We sat down at long tables with all the other guests in the pretty dining rooms. It sported traditional wooden beams and a beautiful old blue and white tiled stove.

The dinner was simple but better than we’d tasted at many of the refuges. First, salad with local cheeses, then a mini-quiche served with carrots and tiny new potatoes. Finally desert of a set blancmange with a bitter chocolate sauce and shortbread biscuits creatively moulded to the Refuge Bonatti motif.

Over dinner we chatted to a Japanese couple who looked super fit. Not surprising since it turned out that they had just run the TMB Ultra-marathon. They ran courses of 17hrs and 30 hrs each carrying only 3-4 kg rucksacks. This event is only for the elite endurance runners.

On a previous year in Chamonix at the start of our walk we had sat in a cafe enjoying a cold beer, as the runners arrived at the finish line looking grey with exhaustion.

Over dinner Julia and I planned our route for the following year when we would finish the TMB. We deliberated on which routes to take and the refuges where we wanted to stay. We speculated on where we might expect snow even in summer.

The perfect postcard photo

At the front of the refuge, the sun slowly dipped below the mountains. Soon only the peak of Mont Blanc was lit up in glowing orange.

Many of the guests went outside to take the perfect “Sunset over Mont Blanc” shot. Finally the sun slipped behind the mountain ridge and the air became suddenly cold.

Choosing our path

The next morning, we debated which of the two paths shown in the guidebook we should take. The main path followed the line of the valley and looked less demanding.

An alternative went over the ridge at our back and followed the other side of the Mont de la Saxe ridge. These paths joined up above Courmayeur.

We decided on the easier main route, keen to get to Courmayeur that afternoon in time to buy our bus tickets for the next day, for the journey through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Chamonix.

All day we walked along an undulating path. The Mont de la Saxe ridge was on our left and the views of Mont Blanc framed by blue skies on our right.

It was easy walking in perfect weather. There were plenty of spots where we couldn’t resist stopping for photo opportunities, the ultimate Monc Blanc postcard shots.

Stopping for lunch

By early afternoon we reached the end of the ridge. We found a flat grassy viewpoint just above Refugio Georgio Bertone. Here we settled to have a late lunch with the ultimate view over the valley.

There was a round metal table with all the different viewpoints etched on it. Down to our left in the valley the town of Courmayeur now appeared.

Before long our peaceful lunch-time spot became crowded. Group after group of chattering Italians had spread out around us laughing and talking loudly. We realised that this was the first viewpoint when you climb up from Couymayeur and so a favourite for walkers coming up for the day.

Our feeling of being away from it all in the remote mountains was at an end as we started our final decent to the town of Courmayeur. The path below Rifugio Georgio Bertone led us steeply down through shady woodland. I was glad to have my walking poles to support my knees on the uneven path.

Reaching Hotel Bouton d’Or

The path wound downward, downward until we reached a residential road. We walked down it into the heart of Courmayeur where we found our Hotel Bouton d’Or. Although it was the end of a tiring day, we remembered to ask the hotel owner to take a final “end of the TMB photo” as has become our tradition.

After leaving our packs, we bought our tickets for the bus the next day at the nearby bus station. This will take us back to Chamonix, in good time to pick up our airport transfer to Geneva.

The following morning we had an hour to spare before the bus left and noticed that the crowds were gathering in the town centre. Going to investigate, we discovered that it was the start of another ultra-marathon. This time around the Aosta valley, called the Tor des Geants.

Crowds of lean, tanned men in colourful lycra were being channelled towards the starting point. In the narrow space of the square banners and flags swayed in the wind.

Catching the bus to Chamonix

We couldn’t stay long enough to see them off but left them to their feat of endurance and headed back down the hill to the bus station to catch our bus to Chamonix and home.

It all felt very familiar at the station in Chamonix, with the geranium filled window-boxes. There’s the view of Mont Blanc from the other direction. The statue of 18th century climbers, Balmat and Saussure points up to the summit.

We’d started there the year before in 2011 on the second leg of our Tour de Mont Blanc starting at La Flegere and ending at Champex Lac. In September 2013 we’ll be back to complete the fourth and final leg of the circular Tour de Mont Blanc walk. We’ll start again at Courmayeur and finish at Chamonix Les Houches.

This is a walk that takes around 12 days to do if you tackle it in one go, but I’ve enjoyed taking it at a rather calmer and less exhausting pace. Four years or twelve days, it’s up to you. Mont Blanc, I’ll be seeing you very soon!

Click here to get the FREE Tour de Mont Blanc Packing guide

You’ll also be subscribed to our free monthly newsletter for great travel resources, news and offers. You can unsubscribe at any time and we’ll never share your e-mail.

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 – Champex Lac to Ferret
• 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 – This article
• Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 10 – Courmayeur to Chapieux

Resources for walking the Tour de Mont Blanc

We started this day’s walk at Rifugio Walter Bonatti, which I would highly recommend and one of the nicest we stayed in on the whole walk. The Refuge has a dormitory and private twin rooms with the shared bathroom just across the corridor. Dinner and breakfast is included. The refuge can be booked by e-mail [email protected] and by telephone (+39) 335 68 48 578 or use the form on their website.

We stayed at the pleasant 3 star Hotel Bouton d’Or which is very well located in the centre of town and 5 minutes walk from the bus station. Hotel Bouton d’Or offers single and double rooms and includes an excellent buffet breakfast.

Courmayeur

We ended the 2012 leg of our Tour de Mont Blanc at Courmayeur in Italy. It’s a lovely and lively town which has numerous options for accommodation and eating out.

Courmayeur is an ideal place to stop if you want to build a rest day into your Tour de Mont Blanc circuit. It is also one of the three best places to start or end the TMB circuit. The others being Chamonix in France and Lac Blanc in Switzerland.

Courmayeur can be reached from Turin and Milan Airport by public bus with SAVDA although we have not taken this route, or from Geneva via Chamonix.

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.

My jacket and walking trousers were provided* by outdoor clothing specialist, Ellis Brigham. They offer a wide range of waterproof jackets, trousers and other walking gear you might need for a trek on the mountains. Items are available both through their website and UK stores.

Read Next

Read my Tour de Mont Blanc Diaries Day 1 & 2 – Courmayeur to Chapieux and over the pass into France

* More info on my policies page

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

Click to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, news and reader offers