Walk the Tour of Mont Blanc with a Cicerone guidebook

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Updates
• Reviews
• Further Reading

Were it to stand alone with no near neighbour to lend it scale, the great snow- and ice-crusted dome of Mont Blanc would still lay claim to the title of Monarch of the Alps. At 4807m (15,771ft) the summit stands a good 3700m (12,000ft) above Chamonix, and is 3km higher than the nearest habitation on the Italian flank. On blue-sky days it dazzles in the sunshine or floats on a raft of cloud, commanding one’s attention with its dominating height, for it has a regal presence equal both to its appearance and its stature. That presence is not always benign, of course, for the mountain also dictates the weather and controls the climate of its surrounding valleys. But catch it in a benevolent mood, and those valleys bask in its glory.

Mont Blanc does not stand alone, however, and the large number of attendant peaks and aiguilles, savage rock walls, ridges and tumbling glaciers, rather than detract from its grandeur, simply add to it with their own individuality – courtiers whose impressive company would grace any massif anywhere in the world. The Grandes Jorasses, Aiguille Noire, the Verte and Drus, Aiguille du Midi, Mont Maudit and Mont Dolent, on which the borders of three countries meet, each of these (and there are many more) would stand out in any mountain crowd. Here they attend court, subdued only by altitude.

Mont Blanc then is more than just the highest mountain in Europe west of the Caucasus. Indeed, it’s more than a big mountain massif, it’s a mountain range, compact and complete in itself. According to Roger Frison-Roche, this beautiful 25km-long wall of rock, snow and ice has some 400 summits and more than 40 glaciers that scour the heartland and add lustre to every scene. Carrying the frontiers of three countries, France, Italy and Switzerland, it is moated by seven valleys – those of the Arve, Montjoie, des Glaciers, Veni, the two Vals Ferret (one Italian, the other Swiss), and the Vallée du Trient – valleys that define the limits of the range, and through which winds the route of the Tour of Mont Blanc (TMB), a trekker’s route that revels in some of the most exquisite mountain scenery of all.

The Tour of Mont Blanc

Over a period of 10 to 12 days the TMB entices walkers on a circuit of this magnificent mountain block, making a journey of around 170km (105 miles), with an accumulated height gain and loss of something like 10,000m (32,800ft). Depending on the precise route taken (for there are variations), there are 10 or 11 passes to cross as the tour progresses from one valley to the next. Each of these valleys enjoys unforgettable views, and each has its own individual character – the bustling, tourist-centred Vallée de l’Arve (the Chamonix valley), the sparsely inhabited Vallée des Glaciers, the pastoral Swiss Val Ferret, to name but three.

That the TMB is the most popular long walk in Europe is not in doubt. In excess of 10,000 people embark on this circuit each summer. Why? Well, everyone’s heard of Mont Blanc, and anyone with more than a passing interest in mountains will know of its stunning scenery. Beyond this, the TMB’s reputation as one of the great walks of the world has long been established. Longer, in fact, than any other alpine route.

The first pedestrian tour around Mont Blanc took place as long ago as 1767, when Horace Bénédict de Saussure and friends set out from Chamonix with an entourage of guides, porters and mules to explore the range by way of the Col du Bonhomme, Col de la Seigne, Courmayeur and the Grand St Bernard Pass. Saussure was imbued with a love of mountains in general and Mont Blanc in particular, and in all he made three full tours of the range, sleeping in beds where available, but otherwise accepting with equanimity the hay of a simple alp hut or chalet. As a scientist he travelled to expand his knowledge of the range and its structure, taking time to meditate on the geology, but also to eulogize its beauty.

Sixty years later JD Forbes, the Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh, succeeded Saussure by combining scientific observation with a true love of mountains, and made his own tour of Mont Blanc in 1839, concluding that ‘the most successful of Alpine travellers will, if disposed to be candid, admit that the happiest, if not the proudest, moments of their experiences, had been spent on some of the more majestic passes of the Alps, or on some summits not of the highest class.’

Such sentiments have been shared by many tens of thousands who have followed in his footsteps.

The TMB became increasingly popular during the mid-Victorian age, when it was almost invariably experienced on the back of a mule, but the growth of outdoor activities in the 20th century established the route as the ultimate long mountain walk. And it’s not hard to see why.