Solo hiking & camping
Tour du Mont Blanc in 2023
(Travel Guide)
Soloing hiking and wild camping the Tour du Mont Blanc was
truly the greatest and most wonderful
spiritual adventure of my life!
About Tour du Mont Blanc
The Tour du Mont Blanc or TMB is one of the most famous long-distance walks in Europe. It circles the Mont Blanc massif, the highest mountain in Western Europe, and covers a distance of at least 174 kilometres (110 mi) with 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of ascent/descent and passes through parts of Switzerland, Italy and France, and 14 epic mountain passes (depending on what route you take). The walk takes anywhere from 5-14 days spending on how fast or slow you wish to go.
My experience of Tour du Mont Blanc
Solo hiking and wild camping Tour du Mont Blanc THE most spectacular, most awesome experience of my life. It was truly out of this world! I loved it more than Everest Base Camp. My experience of Tour du Mont Blanc was like stepping into heaven on earth. A taste of God’s kingdom. It was like a dream – miracles, the magical, the supernatural and synchronicity fell before me like nothing I had ever experienced before.
The 11 nights I had on the mountain (half day at the start and finish), completely off grid, unreachable and largely in solitude, felt like 3-4 months. Past and future ceased to exist. In fact, it felt like nothing existed except me, the mountain and my God. What an honor to walk with my Creator through these landscapes!
I did this trip very spontaneously and essentially got off the plane, caught the bus to the trail and started walking. I had very little planning, no agenda, and was completely surrendered to the experience and where each day would lead me.
I will set out some guidance in this blog post but what I really want to emphasise is to not over complicate your planning for Tour du Mont Blanc. At the end of the day all you need is a place to sleep, food and water. Can you just TRUST that all you need will be provided for you. Just as the birds always have enough food and the flowers are cloaked in splendor.
STOP trying to control everything. Just LET GO, surrender and let what will be what will. This is where the magic unfolds and you will encounter true freedom.
I will share more blog posts with lots of photos as well as stories of my daily experiences and personal encounters along the way but please keep reading for the key practical information about the trail.
How to get there
The classic starting point is les Houches near Chamonix in France. Although you could easily start/finish at any point along the circuit. In my case, I flew into Geneva International Airport (from Australia) and caught Alphy bus from there to Chamonix where I dropped my suitcase (I always put my pack in a suitcase to keep it safe). I booked Alphy bus in advance and from my research it was one of the most low-cost shuttle bus options.
There is a Decathlon in Chamonix if you need to get a gas cannister or any last minute supplies. There is a decent supermarket here too.
When to go
The European Summer is where it’s at for this trail with the ideal time to walk being mid-June through to mid-September. I went in early July which was perfect. I encountered a very small amount of snow and LOADS of wildflowers. The weather was absolutely perfect! Not a drop of rain in fact.
Where to stay
Before/after the trip there are plenty of accommodation options at all price points in les Hauches or Chamonix. If you are after more budget options campgrounds are available. I stayed at Camping les Arolles and found the staff wonderful with good facilities and free wifi. Albeit it was an incredibly crowded campground when I passed through. Tent city! Luggage storage was also available here.
On the trail itself you can stay in refuges which would need to be booked in advance. I did this trip extremely spontaneously and didn’t book a single thing. Rather, I packed a tent and just trusted that each night I would have a place to pitch. And I did!! There are official camping grounds all the way along the trail and you can get away with no bookings.
I recommend the Knife Edge guidebook as it has a full listing of all refuges and camping options.
How hard is it?
Well, you can’t expect hiking over 174km with 10,000 metres of elevation to be easy – and it isn’t. In saying that I did all the harder high-altitude variants with no specific training and encountered no issues or muscle soreness. However, I am a runner and generally very fit. I run and strength train nearly every day and have previously trained for a marathon so my legs are well accustomed to long distances. If you are not used to long distances with a pack you would certainly benefit from doing several practice walks before your trip. Even if you are joining a tour who is taking care of your bags, getting used to walking long distances will make the trip all the more enjoyable.
Distances I covered ranged from 10-26km per day, with a full pack. The only section you get a ‘break’ from the serious ups and downs is between la Fouly and Champex. This is definitely a trip for the experienced walker.
Overall, I would rate this walk as CHALLENGING.
Water
Water is available at all the refuges whether you are staying there or not. I recommend carrying at least 1 litre at all times. The only place I found water to be an issue was from le Brevent through to les Hauche. You would be well placed to get at least 2 litres where all the paragliders take off (if walking anti-clockwise). You’ll know it when you see it!!
I didn’t filter or use tablets at all and had no issues.
There are opportunities to swim, so pack your swimmers. Lac Chesery is a swim not to be missed!!
Food – gluten free and vegetarian options
The supermarket in Chamonix is the best one on the trail. The one as Courmayeur may be good, however it was shut when I passed through. La Fouley and Champex were the other towns I passed through which had small supermarkets. Fresh food was minimal and gluten free options scarce. There was gluten free bread and gluten free biscuits. Refer picture below. These biscuits were SOOOO GOOOOODDDD!!!!!
Meals are available at refuges even if you aren’t staying there although I can’t comment on these as I didn’t dine in at all, preferring to maintain my solitude and avoid any risk of being gluten-ed (I have coeliac disease). The one meal I purchased during the walk was lunch in Courmayeur. I asked nearly every restaurant if they had gluten free pizza or pasta – they did not. I did however enjoy a ginormous gluten free mushroom risotto and the best tasking gelato I have had in my life.
I brought Radix gluten free & plant based dehydrated meals with me from Australia for dinners, gluten free wraps/crisp bread for lunch with peanut butter and gluten free oats for breakfast. I was so glad I had all this in my pack as I actually skipped all the early towns and didn’t top up on supplies until la Fouly.
I also bought cheese from a tiny farm I encountered on day 2 and again in Champex. SO GOOD!
Navigation & safety
Navigation wise, again I recommend the Knife Edge guidebook as it describes the trail and contains maps within. They also provide itineraries for 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 days. While the walk is generally well marked, I also had the PRO version of the AllTrails map which works without data and to be honest this saved me a couple of times. Particularly, given I was taking variants constantly and skipping towns.
Safety wise, I hiked solo and wild camped the whole way and encountered no issues. I felt very safe and found everyone on the trail to be friendly.
I had no data on my phone and was off grid the whole time. You could however get a local data card and would likely have reception the majority of the time.
The Information Centre at la Fouley did have free wifi available and was a good spot to recharge devices if need be.
Packing guide
Essentials only!! I have done a YouTube video on packing for the TMB. I wild camped right through so it may be a little different if you are staying in refuges, but you’ll get the gist. Remember, less is more when you have to carry it that far!!
My one EPIC fail for this trip was to not take enough sunscreen. The trail is very exposed, and the days are long and hot in summer, with sunscreen being hard to come by or very expensive (compared to Australia) – so take a decent sized bottle!
I had a 58L pack which was perfect for a trip this length (camping that is! If you are in refuges 30-40L should be enough).
Cash wise, I did carry about 50 EURO which was useful at little dairy farm and buying fruit at a market in Courmayeur. Otherwise, credit card is accepted in the towns and at refuges. Oh, the campground in Chamonix only accepted cash.
Drop and questions below and if his post has been helpful please let me know in a comment!
Would love for you to follow me on Instagram and Facebook, and SUBSCRIBE at the bottom of the Homepage. I share a LOT more about this trip on Facebook.
Before you begin the journey, you own the journey.
Once you have begun, the journey owns you.
Thank you! Very informative! I start in 3 week’s time!
You’re welcome John! Enjoy the trip!! Sure wishing I was back in the Alps this season 🙂
Hi there, I’m Ana from NZ, and I’m getting ready to spontaneously walk the Tour Du Mont Blanc next week. I am finding your thoughts and experiences super helpful for my prep : Thank you
Oh amazing to hear Ana! It’s truly the most wonderful experience of my life thus far. All the best with your trip, I hope you enjoy it and feel free to follow me on FB to see more of my journey on the TMB!!
Thanks for this useful article! Did you have any issues with non-English speaking places? Was there anywhere you had to use Francs instead of Euros?
I read that sometimes you have to take transportation off the trail to a village below or to a campground off trail to be able to camp. Did you always wild camp or were you able to find designated paid campsites each night?
Hi Kat, awesome to hear this was useful! Euros were okay right through, in Switzerland where I bought some groceries I used by credit card, and at another place I used Euros and they gave me change in Francs.
I wild camped the whole way. There are paid camps right through, these are all detailed in the guide book I recommended, it also had the details of buses to skip portions or to get to the camps.
Language wise, I didn’t really interact with people lol. I know some basic Italian, however was reminded how bad that was when I attempted to communicate when passing through Courmayeur in Italy, hah. You’ll be okay with English.
Enjoy the long walk, it’s the best!!!