Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc

The COVID-19 pandemic kept us from traveling abroad for almost 2 years. During that time, I was just consuming all the travel videos I could to live vicariously through someone else and also find inspiration for future trips. Kraig Adams’ silent hiking videos really struck a chord with it’s stunning visuals and simple story telling. When he posted his video on hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc, I showed Yvonne and we knew we had to go.

As Yvonne finished up her second fellowship in 3 years, she interviewed and got a job in Baltimore, MD. Medical training does not afford much vacation time but I encouraged her to take 2 months off in between jobs and set her start date for Oct. Now we had a perfect opportunity to schedule a 2 week trip. The planning to hike half of the Tour du Mont Blanc began. Virgin Atlantic had a redemption bonus through Chase Rewards that allowed us to get 1.5x mile redemption. Since we had a bunch of Chase points saved up from the past two years, we jumped on that and booked our flight from Washington Dulles to Geneva, Switzerland.

We woke up in Chamonix with the kind of nervous energy that comes before something you've been planning for months. The weather wasn't cooperating — a thick fog had settled over the valley, and you couldn't see much beyond the buildings across the street. But we were in good spirits. This was it. Day one of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Before hitting the trail, I wanted to find a store that sold hiking poles. I'd done enough research to know that poles were going to be essential for the terrain ahead, especially with the weight we were carrying. But Chamonix in mid-September is firmly off-season, and store after store was either closed or didn't carry what I needed. We eventually gave up and decided to just go for it. In hindsight, this was a terrible decision.

A few hours into the hike, we hit our first real landmark — a suspension bridge stretched across a river gorge with a waterfall crashing below. It was the kind of scene that makes you stop and just take it in for a while. I pulled out the drone and spent some time capturing the bridge and the valley from above. Even through the fog, the scale of everything was incredible. This was the moment it started to feel real — we were actually doing this.

As the morning wore on, reality started to set in. Without poles and with a fully loaded backpack, every uphill section felt twice as hard as it should have. My shoulders were already aching and my knees were taking a beating on the descents. I kept telling myself it would get easier once my body adjusted, but deep down I knew I was just making things harder than they needed to be.

We took a much needed break at Refuge de Miage. If you've never been to a mountain refuge, imagine a small lodge tucked into the side of a mountain that serves simple, hearty food to hikers passing through. We ordered soup and sandwiches and just sat there, soaking in the quiet. The warmth of the food and the chance to take the pack off my back for a bit was exactly what I needed to reset mentally.

After lunch, we pushed on through another tough stretch — a long climb up a mountain and back down the other side. By the time we reached Les Contamines-Montjoie, I was running on fumes. I don't think I've ever been that physically drained while still having to keep moving. At that point I wasn't hiking anymore, I was just surviving.

The thing that kept us going was knowing we had a reservation at Refuge Nant Borrant and we couldn't be late. These mountain refuges don't hold your spot if you don't show up on time, and the last thing we wanted was to lose our bed for the night after everything we'd been through.

We made the last two hour stretch just in time for dinner. I remember sitting down at the communal table and not being able to believe we still had six more days of this. I'd hiked plenty before, but nothing had prepared me for the combination of distance, elevation, and the weight on my back. I have never been so tired in my life. But the food was warm, the refuge was cozy, and we'd made it through day one. That was enough.

I woke up more sore than I have ever been in my life. Every muscle from my shoulders down was screaming at me. But there was a silver lining — at the end of Day 1, we managed to pick up a pair of hiking poles. I cannot overstate how much of a difference this would make. Our goal for the day was to reach Les Chambres du Soleil, a 6.5 hour hike through the mountains. We packed up, stretched as much as our bodies would allow, and headed out.

The first ascent of the day was a grind. As we climbed higher, the trail started to change — patches of snow and ice appeared along the path, and the air got noticeably thinner. With the poles in hand though, it was a completely different experience from the day before. I actually felt like I could find a rhythm instead of just fighting to stay upright.

We took it slow and steady, stopping often to catch our breath and take in the scenery. It was humbling watching other hikers — many of them twice our age — pass us without breaking a sweat. There's something about the mountains that puts your ego in check. These people had clearly done this before, and we were very much the rookies.

The reward came at the end of the day. As we descended toward the valley, the clouds parted and the late afternoon light hit the mountainside in a way that made everything glow. It was one of those moments where you just stop and stare. After grinding through hours of trail, seeing that golden light spill across the valley made every aching muscle worth it.

We made it to Les Chambres du Soleil with enough time to clean up before dinner. Unlike the communal bunk rooms at most refuges, we had a private room for the night which felt like an absolute luxury after what our bodies had been through. Dinner was hearty and exactly what we needed. We didn't last long after the meal — I think we were both asleep within minutes of getting back to the room.

Day 3 started with an unexpected gift. At breakfast, the refuge owner asked if anyone wanted to take a shuttle to bypass the first two miles of the next stretch. Normally I'd want to earn every step, but those first miles were apparently just hiking alongside a busy road with nothing to see. We didn't need to be asked twice. Sometimes the smart move is knowing when to save your legs for the parts that matter.

Once we were back on the actual trail, we took our time with the ascent. Our bodies were starting to adapt — or maybe we were just getting better at pacing ourselves. The climb wound up through the mountains and eventually brought us back down into a valley, this time following a beautiful stream that cut through the rocks below. The sound of the water made the whole descent feel almost meditative.

We had reserved an Airbnb down in Courmayeur for the night, which meant we needed to catch a bus at the end of the trail. We arrived at the stop with plenty of time to spare and ended up chatting with two young students from Canada who were doing a similar route. It's one of the things I love about long distance hiking — you meet people from all over the world, all out there doing the same ridiculous thing.

Then the drama started. Someone had illegally parked right at the bus stop, leaving barely enough room for the bus to squeeze through. The driver tried to maneuver around it but eventually gave up and told everyone he couldn't continue the route. Just like that — stranded at a bus stop in the Italian Alps. We ended up calling a car to get us down into town. Not exactly how we planned it, but at that point we were getting pretty good at rolling with whatever the trail threw at us.

We checked into the Airbnb in Courmayeur and it felt like checking into a five-star hotel after two nights in mountain refuges. A real shower, a real bed, and actual privacy. For dinner we found a place that served raclette — melted cheese scraped over potatoes, cured meats, and pickles. After three days of hiking, I'm not sure anything has ever tasted that good. Courmayeur itself had the feel of a small Italian mountain town that knows exactly what it is — charming, unhurried, and surrounded by some of the most dramatic scenery in the Alps.

Rest day. Two words I had never been happier to hear. After three straight days of hiking, our bodies were begging for a break. We had planned this day off ahead of time, and I'm so glad we did — I honestly don't think we could have kept going without it.

We spent the day at QC Terme Pré Saint Didier, a thermal spa and wellness center tucked into the mountains just outside Courmayeur. Being able to sink into the warm baths and just let the heat work through every sore muscle was exactly what we needed. They had outdoor pools with views of the peaks around us, which felt surreal — soaking in steaming water while staring up at the same mountains we'd been grinding through all week.

We capped off the day with a one hour couples massage, and I don't think I've ever felt more relaxed in my life. Going from the most physically exhausted I've ever been to the most pampered in the span of 24 hours was quite the contrast. It was the perfect reset before the final stretch of our trip.

The next day we took a bus back to Chamonix and checked into our hotel. After days of refuges and Airbnbs, it was nice to have a proper home base again. We spent the afternoon just decompressing — wandering through town, grabbing coffee, and giving our legs a real rest. That evening, we met up with the Canadian students we'd befriended at the bus stop a few days earlier. It's funny how quickly you bond with people on the trail. Over dinner we swapped stories from the days we'd been apart and hatched a plan to do a day hike together the next morning to Lac Blanc.

The Lac Blanc hike was a completely different experience from the multi-day trek. We left the heavy packs at the hotel and brought only our poles and a light daypack. The difference was night and day. Without forty pounds on my back, I could actually enjoy the hiking instead of just enduring it. We took our time on the ascent, stopping at a couple of high alpine lakes along the way that were absolutely stunning — crystal clear water reflecting the peaks above.

This hike was also where we saw the most wildlife of the entire trip. A group of Alpine Ibex were perched on the rocks just off the trail, completely unbothered by the hikers passing below. Getting to photograph them up close with the mountains behind them was one of the highlights of the whole trip. There's something about seeing animals like that in their element — no fences, no zoo enclosures, just living their lives on the side of a mountain.

Lac Blanc itself did not disappoint. The lake sits in a rocky basin high above the valley with a panoramic view of Mont Blanc and the surrounding glaciers. We sat up there for a while, just taking it all in. It felt like the perfect way to close out the hiking portion of our trip — a reminder of why we came in the first place.

That evening we said our goodbyes to the Canadians and to Chamonix. The next morning we grabbed our bags, walked to the train station, and headed out. Standing on the platform, I took one last look at the mountains we'd spent the past week living in. The Tour du Mont Blanc had pushed us harder than anything we'd ever done, but it also gave us some of the most incredible experiences of our lives. I already knew we'd be back.