Ten Days Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc

In the summer of 2022, we hiked the 170 km (105 mile) Tour du Mont Blanc on a 10-day self-guided route through three countries: France, Italy, and Switzerland. We hope you enjoy a glimpse into our amazing experience!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:25 Day 0 - Arrive in Chamonix
02:07 Day 1 - Planpraz to Les Houches
05:09 Day 2 - Les Houches to Refuge Nant Borrant
07:05 Day 3 - Refuge Nant Borrant - Les Chapieux
10:50 Day 4 - Les Chapieux to Courmayeur
14:30 Day 5 - Courmayeur to Rifugio Elena
17:46 Day 6 - Rifugio Elena to Ferret
19:40 Day 7 - Ferret to Champex Lac
22:22 Day 8 - Champex Lac to Trient
24:45 Day 9 - Trient to Tre le Champ
29:24 Day 10 - Tre le Champ to Planpraz

[@Martycycleman]

Cheers Andy, good video. Yes the weight, something to seriously consider. Looks amazing😊

[@jingye3988]

Thanks for the video. Amazing hike!

[@djfoxx8540]

Gr8 compilation!!! Planning every shot and putting them together after the trip. Beautiful views!!!

[@davidkissinger-t4r]

Wow - great job putting that together, you two! It brought back many memories. We didn’t get to see Lac Blanc (as Jack had a sinus block headache, and a nosebleed when it resolved with descending), so I enjoyed your videos of it. We did go over Fenêtre D’Arpete with decent weather, so I guess there will always be trades-off and no one’s experience will be the same on a journey so long. Best wishes to you. Jack and I (and 10 others) are backpacking the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River in Yosemite in 2 days. (It’s a mere 30 miles/4 days! 😂😂). 👍

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Thanks for watching! That was the great thing about this entire hike. There are so many variants, and at the end of the day, missing out on one thing just means you'll have to visit again sometime in the future! Also have a great time backpacking in Yosemite!

[@maruska8899]

Thanks for your beautifully filmed TMB video. I really appreciate the narration including places you stayed and liked as I'll be heading there next summer. Looking forward to it.

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Thanks for watching! If you have questions about any of the places I mentioned, let me know. You’re going to have a great hike next summer!

[@stuartdalrymple3693]

Great Video, we have booked up for June 2025, Question did you carry clothing for the week in your back pack or have extra luggage taken to different points.

[@妈妈咪呀-t1g]

amazing！

[@reneerogers7618]

Nice soothing voice. Happy to hear you both thoroughly enjoyed your serene surroundings. Beautiful footage. Thanks for sharing vocally what you did on this trek.

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@KhurshidsChannel]

Amazing video. Thanks for sharing. Subbed & 👍 255

[@21stG]

Nice trip

[@cvaillancourt4803]

Great video. Question: what clothes did you pack and would you change anything? We are going early July this summer. So excited!!

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

For our tops, we each brought a few base layers, a mid-layer, a down jacket, and a rain jacket. For bottoms, we brought a couple pairs of shorts and one pair of hiking pants. The temperature and weather varied throughout the hike, so we ended up using everything we brought. I wouldn't change anything we packed. Keep in mind our trek was in September, which is when it starts getting a bit colder.

[@sifincabdulkarim6608]

I absolutely loved your videos ! It’s soooo beautiful. Especially the intro shorts. I could rewatch it so many times. Could you share the camera gear you are using? What is the backpack that you carried for TMB ?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Certainly! Here's the camera gear we brought with us: - Camera: Sony A6400 - Lens: Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 - Lens filter: K&F Concept 67mm Variable ND2-ND400 ND Lens Filter - Camera-mounted microphone: Rode VideoMicro - Tripod: SIRUI Carbon Fiber Travel 5C Tripod - Peak Design Capture Camera Clip V3 (for clipping the camera to my pack) And the backpacks we used were the Men's and Women's versions of the REI Traverse 32L

[@sifincabdulkarim6608]

Amazing! Thank you soo much@@ashleyandrynesitar1690. Looking forward to watching more of your videos :)

[@nathanherring5066]

Great viewing, Ashley & Ryne😎. I'm hitting the TMB next July. Did you have a dedicated training regime leading up to the start?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Thanks for watching! Our training mostly consisted of hiking local trails on weekends in the months leading up to our trek. We made sure to choose hikes with 3k feet of elevation gain or more, just to make sure we were prepared to handle the ascents and descents of the TMB. We also made sure to carry our packs with weight on these hikes. Also, some upper body exercises are helpful for being able to carry a pack every day for 1-2 weeks. Have a great trip next summer!

[@amyzynda3751]

Thanks for this! I'm hiking the TMB next July and I'm watching everything I can about it. Did you guys have any issues with the altitude (beyond being a little short of breath)?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

No real issues with the altitude! We did this trek in early September (quite late in the season), so we really didn't encounter any snow/ice at any of the cols/passes at higher elevations. Depending on how the winter season is before your hike, I'd imagine you may run into some snow/ice patches on certain routes. So you may want to do a bit of research on the trail conditions before you go, and be prepared to bring micro spikes if necessary. Have a great trip!

[@brianardon1370]

Great video guys! Did you all use a company to help with reservations and such?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Yes, we went with Pygmy Elephant's self-guided tour. Would definitely recommend!

[@meranbilal9922]

what camera did you use? :)

[@ShaneorDanielleCameron]

What time of year did you do this hike?

[@me-lg1yw]

Your day 1 down to Les Houches is most people’s final day. Given it’s long and steep descent, would you recommend doing it on day one or on the last day? Thanks

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

There are pros and cons to each. If you do it on the last day, your legs will be conditioned to the long mileage, and the descent won't seem as challenging. However, we really enjoyed ending at Chamonix

[@miltonfernando8383]

Hi what did u use for weather forecast along your route?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

We used an app called MeteoSwiss. It was pretty accurate and allowed us to dress properly for the day

[@rnilu86]

Beautiful. Which month did you go there? Did you use any GPS to make sure you are following the correct path?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Thank you! We hiked the trail in late August - early September 2022. Although the trail is fairly well marked, I highly recommend using a GPS. We used the Gaia GPS app.

[@ryanc4748]

Would you recommend taking a down jacket for this time of year? Planning to do the same month

[@ashleyhemstreet8397]

Yes, we would definitely recommend bringing a down jacket this time of year. The weather can change quickly and can (and did!) get quite cold - even snow this time of year, so it’s best to be prepared 🙂

[@davidelias8569]

Great work capturing your adventure! My wife and I are planning this hike for 2025. But we are trying to figure exactly when to hike during the summer. From what I know, conditions can vary from June to August. Your conditions seemed pretty ideal. So, when exactly did you hike the TMB during summer?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Thanks! We definitely lucked out it with such great conditions. We hiked from August 30 to September 9.

[@lurenecv7812]

Absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing your experience. How many miles each day you hiked?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

It varied day to day, but we averaged around 10 miles per day

[@hahahamdy]

Nice trip 😍 is it recommended for solo hikers?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Yes! There were many solo hikers on this trail

[@malfaris82]

nice details of the trip, did you keep your luggage at the first hotel. what lens used seem good zoom

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

Thanks! We left our luggage at our first hotel in Chamonix (we also stayed a night in the same hotel at the end of our trip). And I used the Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 (with an ND filter) on my Sony A6400. I was very happy with the variety of shots I was able to capture with it.

[@malfaris82]

@@ashleyandrynesitar1690thank you that’s very helpful, I will do the same , I liked the place you stayed add I will appreciate if you have the name

[@ashleyhemstreet8397]

Our hotel in Chamonix was Hôtel de L’Arve

[@malfaris82]

@@ashleyhemstreet8397 thanks a lot friend.

[@chrisstreeter5423]

What back packs did you use?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

We used the Men's and Women's versions of the REI Traverse 32L, and thought it was the perfect size for our trek (we didn't go ultralight, but we tried our best to only bring the essentials in terms of clothing and things for the huts we stayed at). It comfortably held everything we needed, including all of the camera gear.

[@djfoxx8540]

Quick question, did you guys used the luggage xfer or packed everything in your backpack? We are doing the same itinerary in August next. We opted for luggage xfer. Trying to see what we should take with us on hike.

[@ashleyhemstreet8397]

We did not use the luggage transfer and carried everything with us. If you’re using a luggage transfer, you can definitely get by with a smaller backpack than what we used.

[@Payantd]

How did you book the trip?

[@ashleyandrynesitar1690]

We booked a self-guided tour with Pygmy Elephant, which it made it much easier to get all of our accommodations since so many book up quickly. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[@djfoxx8540]

​@@ashleyandrynesitar1690we planned our trip with pygmy self guided as well for next August. Any advice or suggestions before and during the hike? Would you be able to share your packing list and gears?

[@ShaneorDanielleCameron]

What time of year did you do this hike?