After a wonderful week in Puglia, we headed to the opposite, Northwest corner of Italy for the second week of our trip. I chose Mont Blanc as it was an area I have always heard about as being beautiful and well set up for trekkers and hut-to-hut hiking. I planned our itinerary based off one I found online, and found a company to courier our suitcases from hotel to hotel.
We flew from Bari to Milan and rented a car in Milan and drove the 3 hours to Courmayer, Italy where we began our trek. Courmayer was a delightful mountain town. The following morning we hopped on a bus to the place where we planned to begin the trail.
The first mile we did, to Rifugio Bonatti, was very steep and made us wonder what we had gotten ourselves into. After we got up to the Refugio, the trail flattened out and was beautiful.
Unfortunately, the trail then went back down, which meant we soon had to go back up--this time to Refugio Elena, where we ate lunch
The, further up.... to the summit of the Grand Col Ferrett at 8323 feet. The view from the top was beautiful--and it was also quite cold and windy--what a change from the beaches in Puglia! We even pulled out hats and gloves!
The remainder of the day was a gentle downslope into Switzerland, where were introduced to Swiss prices at the Refugio Alp de Peule ($20 for 4 cokes). We ended in the town of Ferrett, where we waited for a bus to take us to our hotel for the night in Lac Champex. We were exhausted by the time we arrived, having hiked 12.88 miles and gained 4245 feet in elevation. The hotel restaurant was expensive and so we bought the kids dinner from the grocery store and then put them to bed before eating ourselves and crawling into bed with sore legs and feet!
Our next day was grey and a bit misty, but we pulled out our rain gear and hit the trail a little after 8. We met a group of women from Maryland who were doing the same route as us the day before, so we started off walking with them in the morning. We had two route choices, one that was 4000 foot elevation gain and 10 miles or the more gentle choice with only 2700 feet elevation gain, though still 10 miles. Considering the weather and our exhaustion we opted for the easier route, which took us on a ridge over looking the Swiss valley of Martigny. Our lunch stop was the beautiful Refugio Bovine--a working cow farm with some of the most beautiful looking cows we have ever seen. We enjoyed a delicious tart from their kitchen and continued on to the town of Trient, our stopping point for the night. Unfortunately, all hotels had been booked in that town (we booked late) and so we stayed a few miles down the road in Chatelard. Because it was Sunday, they bus was not running, so the inn owner came to pick us up in her car (what service!). Though the hotel was nothing special, the service was amazing, and after a long day in the cold drizzle, a warm shower was a real treat! Totals: 10.34 miles, 2730 elevation gain
The following morning we caught the bus back to Trient and began hiking again. This time, we had two summits, first the Cold de Balm, a beautiful refugio where we had lunch and had our first view of Mt. Blanc, and then the Aiguilette de Posettes.
At the Refugio we crossed into France, and were greeted with an amazing view over the Chamonix valley. Ski lifts dotted the trail the rest of the time, and more people were hiking as well, having taken day hikes up from Chamonix.
Our descent was long and steep into Argentiere, where we spent the night. It was nice to have French prices and we enjoyed a delicicious dinner before falling asleep. Totals: 9.87 miles, 3619 feet elevation gain.
Our final hiking day was from Argentiere to Chamonix, via Refugio Lac Blanc. Our hike was short, but steeper, with an election gain of nearly 4000 feet. This section of the trail was so steep that in some sections, ladders were bolted to rocks for hikers to climb up. With my fear of heights, I did not like those sections too much, but they were fun for the kids. At the top, Lac Blanc had fresh snow. We had lunch at the Refugio there--Ethan claimed it was the best soup he has had in his life--and then we decided to treat ourselves with a gondola ride down to Chamonix to end our trek. Totals: 6.27 miles, total elevation gain 3881 feet.
Chamonix was a very busy bustling city--the most people we had seen the entire trip, including Puglia, but very picturesque. Because we took the gondola, we had the afternoon to explore and shop, which was a treat. The city sits in the shadow of Mont Blanc, which makes it so beautiful.
The following day, we caught an 8am bus from Chamonix back to Courmayer--via a tunnel through Mt. Blanc! On the bus we met some professional runners who were running the trail over 5 days.....amazing athletes! We collected our car, did some shopping and headed to our last destination, a night in Piedmont at an agriturismo to relax. On the way, we stopped for an Italian lunch at a beautiful restaurant that overlooked the city of Turin. I am not sure if the view or the price was better--three courses and drinks for only 10 Euros per person! Our agriturismo was great, and we enjoyed relaxing, and swimming, and one last Italian dinner.
We had time the next day, as our flight to Paris was at 9pm, so we headed into the hills of Piedmont to wine taste. The area is famous for its Barbera wines. We went to a great winery recommended by our hotel, and tried a few samples.
After we got lunch in a nearby town and then drove to Lake Maggiore--which is quite close to the Milan airport--to walk around and have some gelato before leaving Italy and checking into our airport hotel in Paris after midnight. The following morning was time to fly home, sadly, but what an amazing trip!
Overall, the hiking was very hard--each day we were exhausted--but it was so beautiful--and really helped us feel like we were able to get away from it all. I would love to do the whole route one day (not sure if my kids would though! 🤣)
