Tour de Mont Blanc – Day 1 – Les Houches to Refuge de Bellachat

On our very first day hiking the Tour de Mont Blanc, we were enthusiastic but a little slow to get on the trail. As we left Les Houches in the Chamonix valley, little did we realise how arduous this 170km circular mountain trail, spread across three countries, could be! Luckily we’d decided to break up the Tour de Mont Blanc into sections of a few days at a time, and in the end it took us four years to complete.

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A leisurely start from Les Houches

The walk from Les Houches started in a rather more leisurely fashion than most serious walkers would allow. Our boutique hotel in Les Houches was so pleasant that we lingered a little too long over our croissants and muesli.

Next we popped into the sports shop, to hire some walking poles and save our knees on the walk ahead. We leafed through the brochures in the tourism office and posed for photos by the water pump outside. Just one more brief stop at the tabac to buy maps and some water and we were finally ready to set off.

A steep climb out of Les Houches

Clutching my Cicerone Tour de Mont Blanc guide book, I read the instructions carefully to make sure we didn’t take a wrong turn. We followed the path over a busy main road, across the railway track and up the hill for a steep climb out of Les Houches.

At breakfast we’d been asked why we were going the ‘wrong way’ on the Tour de Mont Blanc. We soon found why most people walk the TMB anti-clockwise. Although it’s perfectly possible to walk clockwise as we were doing, it meant a particularly punishing climb out of Les Houches. Not ideal when your legs are just getting acclimatised for the walk!

We zig-zagged up the forest trails, glad of the shade, since the sun was already hot. Occasionally the trees parted to reveal a glimpse of the valley below.

The trails were well marked with regular signs or the white and red painted stripes to signify the TMB route. As we climbed steadily, we debated the clockwise/anti-clockwise choice.

Which direction should you walk the TMB?

Walking anti-clockwise means that you will be going with the flow and seeing the same faces in the refuge most nights. But you may have other walkers regularly passing you or you passing them, or end up tagging on to other groups heading the same way.

Clockwise means that you still meet other walkers but they’re more likely to be heading in the opposite direction. This means seeing different faces in the refuge each night, which could be an advantage if you want advice on the conditions of the path you’ll be walking the next day.

Reaching the statue of Christ the King

After 45 mins we reached the enormous concrete statue of Christ the King and took a short break to admire the view. By this time it was mid-day and suddenly the bells hidden away in an adjoining wooden shed started to creak and then to ring, making us jump at the sound.

Emerging from the forest, the path now became more rocky, with a couple of mountain streams to hop across. On one precarious section we had to negotiate metal hand rails and foot-treads, embedded into the rocks.

After tackling this steep section we emerged into an open area of brush and heather with butterflies and beetles with crimson wings flitting around.

A steep uphill climb

As we raised our eyes to the route ahead, we could just make out the path, winding up to the crest. Little coloured dots of other walkers moved steadily down towards us.

Many of them, we discovered later, were walking for the day and had come down from the cable car at Brevant. These we could distinguish from the TMB walkers, from the smaller size of their rucksacks.

They gave a cheerful bonjour and an air of having just jumped out of the shower. By contrast, 5 hours of up-hill walking, had transformed us into hot, sweaty creatures.

Fortunately, the etiquette seemed to be that on narrow paths the descending walker would give way to the ascending walker. Finally after a seemingly never-ending climb, we reached the crest and the Refuge de Bellechat came into view.

Reaching Refuge de Bellechat

At 4pm, the refuge guardian looked a little surprised to see us so early. We were the first to arrive and most of the other guests wouldn’t turn up for another hour. She showed us where to leave our boots at the entrance and offered us a selection of plastic clogs to wear inside.

The wooden Refuge de Bellachat consists of a downstairs dining room with cheerful orange checked cloths and curtains. Some pretty flowers in window boxes turned out to be imitation, as the only flowers that could grow at this altitude were the miniature alpine varieties.

Upstairs we were shown the ‘Dortoir’ with space for up to 28 guests. Immediately any memories of comfort and luxury from our previous hotel faded away. The single room had bunk style arrangement on both sides. Mattresses lay side by side with a pillow and 2 woollen blankets per bed space. There was no separation between men and women.

Facilities at Refuge de Bellechat

Over dinner we wondered whether the dreadlocked walker who smelt of stale cigarette smoke would end up on the mattress beside us. (He ended up above us).

There was an outside toilet and the ‘salle de bain’ was a double sink with 2 cold taps. This modest bathroom was essentially a wooden shed with lace curtains at the window, but no shower in sight.

In fact most of the refuges do have hot showers and a little more comfort. But we quickly realised that if you can’t cope with basic accommodation and communal sleeping arrangements, then the TMB may not be the walk for you!

The stunning location of Refuge Bellechat

What the Refuge de Bellachat lacked in amenities it more than made up for in location. The terrace offered a grandstand view of Mont Blanc, its surrounding peaks and the glaciers further down the valley.

As we sipped our very welcome cold beer, we felt incredibly lucky to have been transported from Bristol into this stunning mountain environment in only 24 hours.

We had left Les Houches around 11am and arrived at 4pm. Five hours walking albeit with a stop for lunch and a few other rest breaks. The guidebook had given this route as 3.5 hours.

Our walk had been just the right length for us, but the prescribed TMB walk continued for another 4 hours on to Flegere. We were thankful that we had decided to break up the stage to take it at a more comfortable pace.

A view of Lac du Brevant

Once we had relaxed for a little. I decided to explore behind the refuge, following the path we would take the next day. Before long I got a view down on the small Lac du Brevant, looking beautiful in the evening sun.

Even though I had packed my swim suit, I was happy just to gaze at the lake from above. Turning back to Refuge de Bellachat, most guests had arrived and almost all the 28 bed spaces were taken.

Dinner and an early night

Supper was included in the half board price and all the guests sat down together at the long tables. We enjoyed a simple meal of soup, pasta with mince and a puree apple desert.

Soon after 9pm the company started to thin out and settle down in the dortoir to sleep. After a long day of walking we were all happy to get an early night.

To be honest there was not much else to do. With rucksack weight pared down to the minimum, even packing a novel would seem like a luxury.

The next morning we continued past Lac du Brevant. Climbing up to the Brevant peak our walk on the Tour de Mont Blanc took us to the next refuge at Flégère. Read about our Day 2 walk here.

Watch my Tour de Mont Blanc Video

This video from our first year of walking on the Tour de Mont Blanc covers Days 1, 2 and 3 of the walk.

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Planning 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.

At the start of our walk, we stayed in Les Houches, a village in the Chamonix Valley – check out all the hotel options here. Les Houches is well placed for summer walking opposite the start of the anti-clockwise TMB route.

We booked our transfer from Geneva airport to Les Houches through Alpy Transfers. They run an efficient airport to hotel service.

Bookings for Refuge de Bellachat can be made only by telephone +33 (0) 775 8302 70. It has 28 dortoir places and is also open in the day for refreshments of drinks and light meals.

Bookings for some refuges (but not Refuge de Bellachat) 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 plan and prepare for your Tour de Mont Blanc walk.

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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