You are dreaming about an incredible Tour du Mont Blanc. The roof of Europe is calling for you and you wish to discover the highest massif of the Alps from every angle, alongside an unforgettable adventure of several days.
You’ve made your decision, but you wonder if your level is good enough ?
No panic here, we assure you that you can do it, as long as you know what to expect !
It is important in the beginning to visualize your Tour du Mont Blanc and its specificity in order to understand the efforts you have to prepare for. We provide you a few numbers about your hike around the massif to have a first look :
- A total distance of 170km (106 Miles)
- Go through 3 countries (France, Italy, Swiss)
- A hike in medium mountain
- 7 to 10 days of hike for a complete tour
- 5 to 6 hours of daily walking
- 2 ways to go : clockwise or anticlockwise with a similar difficulty
In summary, the Tour du Mont Blanc is a hike that you have to prepare but which isn’t insurmountable for hikers with a low to mid level.
You’ll have to prepare your route, and test your equipment before you start. (Don’t use your brand new hiking shoes you just bought !). To pack your bag with the most efficiency, you can read our article about the list of thing you have to take for your Tour du Mont Blanc.
The main difficulty of the Tour du Mont Blanc is its length. On average 7 to 10 days are needed to do a good tour of the massif, with daily hiking times that may seem long when you are not use to.
In seven days, the itinerary followed offers stages of about 5 hours of hike on easy paths, and include sometimes shortcut by bus on certain portions of the valley.
In ten days, the Tour du Mont Blanc is done in stages of about 6 hours of walk, and some of them have an important vertical drop (between +600 m and +1700 m), it is a little more of a challenge !
During your preparation, your number one priority becomes to improve your stamina to face the long effort upcoming, in order to fully appreciate the hike with less frequent stops (nonetheless it is a really good occasion to take gorgeous pics).
As an example you can start walking more and more often and longer, and do 2 or 3 long hike (about 4-5 hours) to get used to it.
You’d like to start slowly ? discover our classic Tour du Mont Blanc in seven days
You feel ready ? Mont Blanc is waiting for you with the complete tour in ten days !
For your Tour du Mont Blanc you may choose between several types of housing which can be different every night ! You can choose the comfort you want, and adapt your stages regarding the place you want to stay at !
The itinerary of the Tour du Mont Blanc is well deserved in refuges, allowing hikers to prepare their stages before going. The most current solution is to spend the night in dorms. You can, in this case, enjoy the evening by speaking with other hikers from around the world, around a traditional hot meal.
Discover our Tour du Mont Blanc in dorms in pics.
The Tour du Mont Blanc is in the first place an enjoyable adventure, and if you are more at ease with comfortable housing, it is possible to spend your whole holidays in the Alps in very comfy and individual rooms. It will be easier to rest, and to restore your stamina every day.
By choosing this type of formula, you will stay in the most comfortable refuges, but also in hotels and lodging, to enjoy modern facilities.
Cairn Trekking offers you a formula all comfort around the Mont Blanc in seven days.
Bivouacking in the Alps allows you to stay at the closest of nature. In a tent and foreseeing your meal, you’ll live by the rhythm of the mountain. Your comfort will depend on the quality of your equipment, and of its weight.
Be careful though, bivouacking is not allowed in Swiss and regulated in Italy. To avoid any bad surprise, we can accompany you in the adventure with our Tour du Mont Blanc in bivouac.
If you are not in the alps for too long, and want to do several hikes, or want to come back next year, you have the opportunity to do your Tour du Mont Blanc in two times. You will have the opportunity to go from Chamonix to Courmayer (or the other way) and complete your tour in a next hike.
Some of the valley walks may also be shorten ! You can travel by bus on certain stages, allowing you to rest, or enjoy a particular destination (village or city). In certain stages you can also use the cable-car to avoid slopes that seems hard to ascend, and enjoy the views with less effort.
You fear that the weight of your backpack may slow you down ? There are also solutions. You can reduce the weight of your backpack with our tips to do the most efficient packing, or you can choose to have your luggage carried.
With the second option, you will carry in your backpack only what you need for your daily hike : water, jacket, dry socks, meal… and leave in your luggage, clothes, hygiene set, and other heavy equipment.
Your luggage will be taken from place to place everyday, and you’ll need to take only the essential for the day, allowing you to leave lighter every morning.
Ready for the adventure ? Choose our formula to be free of weight on your
You may have noticed, the bulk of a Tour du Mont Blanc is above all to enjoy your adventure.
The difficulty is not automatically seeked for, and the pleasure of hiking is the number one priority.
The route, it’s lenght and duration, its difficulty, everything is adaptable regarding your desire and your level.
Your Tour du Mont Blanc will be unique and will depend on your choice. You can choose your own group or be grouped by your mountain guide with people who are just like you, go with our without your luggage… The choice is all yours.
Many stages are possible, so why don’t you take again later another Tour du Mont Blanc ?
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