It was meant to be a catchup over dinner with two other local Queenstowner’s - Graham and Gabrielle Smolenski - and a pleasant dinner it was in Chamonix.
The subject of discussion was -’the walk that they have planned around Mont Blanc’
Why don’t you join us? and Why not? perhaps after the rain.
So join we did for the first day. We picked them up at the Hotel Heliotrope and drove to Le Tour and walked uphill to the Col de Balme, where we bade then good bye and - maybe see you later!
After a day of storm and rain and reservations we left for La Foulie by train and bus. The train from Saint Gervais to Martigny and then bus to La Foulie.
When I wandered into the hotel in La Foulie with the current edition of the New York Times International Grahams eyes lite up - You came? but yes of course.
I had brought my tramping boots to Europe for a walk and this ended up being the one.
A quiet dinner with two kiwis, a couple of Australians, a Swiss Aussie and a German Australian that Graham and Gabrielle had already met. They were to be the companions at dinner and drinking for each night.
Next morning departure La Foulie to Grand Col Ferret to Elena Hut.
Now these aren’t huts as we know in New Zealand but small hotels in the mountains. This one (the night time photo) slept 80 pax in shared bunk rooms and private rooms as well. We were on the budget version and carried all our own clothing and lunch food - but Graham and Gabrielle had booked a supported trip and each day the baggage man arrived after 0800 to take the ‘no more than 10kgs’ extra luggage onto the next destination - all by van as each hut had some access by 4x4.
Our packs were about 4kgs total - but that was enough with the clothing for the night, a rain coat and the clothes for daily use. A little lunch things bought before leaving and thats’ it.
But there is no worry about missing lunch - there is always a refuge to buy a coffee, une tarte, or omelette.
So to the Grand Col Ferret.
A nice walk uphill on a small track. We are passed by a couple with bikes as we depart the top but their progress was only just the same as ours at they spend as much time off the bike as on.
9 - to 4.36. No it was not that time but approx anyway.
Not enough for the day - after many days biking my legs are fine, so I scamper over the left over moraine to the base of a receding glacier. It takes a bit to scramble up the last few hundred meters over quiet steep exposed rock and glacial rubble to get near the tongue. Near only but not there, as it is a bit exposed, and a slip would see me in the freezing waters of.the glacial stream.
Pleasant evening with laughter and drinking and new companions from Germany.
Elena hut / Bonati hut / Bertone Hut / Courmayer / Maison Vieille
44,000 steps as measured on a pedometer - makes this the longest day of the trip.
It is also a day of down, then up to up Bonati and then up the valley (actually off the correct track) but Graham and I of course knew where we were going and we turned at the valley head to regain the ‘correct’ track and cross the first col for the day.
We have enjoyed crossing paths with the 700 runners who are competing in the the 330kms around the Courmayer mountains ultra marathon. We see only about 50 of the 700 eunners - some running freely - others in this last 50kms suffering the effects of the previous 300kms or so,
Another climb leads to the next col with Courmayer down the valley ahead, but the track ascends very steeply in the heat of the day up to the the days high point.
We stop for lunch with fantastic views of the Mont Blanc massif from the Italian side. The Grandes Jorasses dominates the skyline. This descending ridge then leads through high open meadows through grazing herds of sheep and goats and a couple donkeys.
A steep decent down to the Bertone Hut and a much welcomed hot chocolate.
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