Tour du Mont Blanc (Mont Blanc Circuit)
July 4 - July 20, 2014
Part Two - Tour du Mont Blanc - Chamonix, France to Courmayeur, Italy
Page Six - Hike 4 - Roman Road to Les Chapieux, France
This hike was one of two hikes where we ascended 5,000 ft. We started on
an old Roman road up to the Plan des Dames (Plane of the Ladies), then
ascended further to the Col du Bonhomme (Bonhomme Pass). Shown is a
pretty waterfall through a gorge near the start of the hike.
Stuffed chamois peering at us from a farmhouse
More cows grazing. With their huge cowbells hanging from their necks,
you can hear the cows grazing before you eventually see them.
Heading up the long valley after passing the grazing cows
Part of our hiking group with farmhouses below.
Looking back at hikers coming up.
We also passed grazing sheep a number of times on the tour.
As we got higher and closer to Col du Bonhomme, the weather
became worse.
We passed Col du Bonhomme (Bonhomme Pass), traversed
Croix du Bonhomme,
& started our long descent.
It was snowing and quite cold at the Pass and beyond.
Looking back at the snow covered area.
A welcome sight as we descended was this Refuge hut,
Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme, where we ate lunch
and tried to warm up.
Continuing our descent to Les Chapieux, here is one of the stream crossings.
Stephane is helping Sandy (from New Jersey) cross.
After experiencing "winter" at the Pass, the weather started getting
a lot better, and we actually started seeing some blue sky.
On our way down, we came across a hut man carrying bananas & other
stuff up to the Refuge where we had eaten our packed lunch and some of us
purchased hot chocolate from the Refuge. Each day of the guided tour, the
guides and the driver who was transporting our luggage daily by van to the next
night's lodging, laid out a lunch spread for us to select from. We had a large
selection of meats, salad, fruits, chocolate, bread, etc.
We took as
much as we wanted for lunch and carried our pack lunches in our pack.
Stephane talking to the hut man, Tristan.
Stephane suggested we take a higher & somewhat longer trail
to avoid a standard section of the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB)
trail that was quite muddy from all the rain. Since other TMB hikers
were on the lower trail, we had this trail to ourselves.
Shown here is a shepherd's home.
The valley below was our destination for the day where
Les Chapieux, France is located.
Showing another view of the valley, with mountain roads.
Stephane and Jeff descending on the trail.
We crossed this stream on a bridge near Les Chapieux.
Auberge de la Nova in Les Chapieux, where we spent the night.
This place was one of two places where we did not have a shower
or toilet in our room. At all of the other lodging, we had a private
bathroom. We wanted to select a tour company where we did not
have to stay in mountain huts or refuges in shared dorms.
Link to Page 7 - Hike 5 - Vallee des Glaciers to Courmayeur, Italy
Pat's Home Page