TMB – Day 1
The Bellevue gondola is a popular option for starting day 1. It bypasses most of the climb, taking you from 3300 feet of elevation up to 5900 feet. From the top you have a couple of route options to choose, the primary route is the easiest option. It immediately starts downhill toward the Montjoie Valley, where it continues along the valley floor into the town of Les Contamines. While the high route tops at 6900 feet of elevation, crossing Col de Tricot at its highest point. It includes a significant climb followed by miles of very steep descent. We decided to take the high route, thinking a day of downhill would be a piece of cake. It was not.
I’ll post the main route at the bottom of this page. But the route below is the one we took. Note the sustained 30%+ grade decline and the longer second decline reaching over 20% grade. My quads burned from the descent on this hike. Also note this route is mapped from the top of the Bellevue Gondola to our hotel in Les Contamines. Adjust as needed.
The Bellevue Gondola opens at 7:30am in summer months. The weather was expected to be very hot, so we decided we would try to catch the first gondola up to hike as far as we could before that days heat catches us. We made it to the gondola about 15 minutes before opening to find a disorganized line of hikers waiting outside the closed building. This seemed like a popular shortcut.
When the doors eventually opened a crowd of hikers funneled in the door and up the stairs. Following the flow, we somehow managed to get on the first gondola, and were packed in like a rush hour subway before heading off. 5 minutes later we reached the top, the gondola unloaded and people seemed to quickly disappear down various trails. In minutes we were alone on the trail.
From the gondola, the trail starts out very easy. A single track winds through the forest with snow capped Aiguille de Bionnassay looming overhead. Italy sits on the other side of that ridgeline, but it would take us 3 more days to get to a mountain pass low enough to cross.
The route continues along a single track with a sharp drop to the right. The sound of rushing water increases as you close in on the snowmelt from Glacier Bionnassay. Until you reach the crossing, a cable suspended footbridge crossing above a torrent falling hundreds of feet over boulders into the trees below.
The footbridge bridge was a major motivation for taking the high route. The low route would have had us descend into the valley before crossing this river on a much less interesting bridge.
Crossing our first alpine col (mountain pass) was another motivator. Immediately after the bridge the ascent toward Col de Tricot starts as the forest quickly gives way to alpine meadows.
The sun caught up with us as we climbed through the meadows. The cool air would rapidly warm and the remainder of the day would be hot.
After a long, slow climb we finally reached Col Tricot. A small crowd had gathered there to rest before beginning the miles of steep switchbacks down to Refuge de Miage.
From the top of Col Tricot you can see Refuge de Miage down below and the subsequent climb we would need to finish beyond that. But in spite of appearing just ahead, the descent from Col Tricot seemed to take a long time. We made good time going down the steep switchbacks, but they were relentless. The grade was 30%+ for more than a mile, putting a lot of strain on our feet and legs.
Eventually we found our way to the refuge, got a table in the shade, and ordered a delicious, well-earned lunch.
Omelettes were on the menu that day. The high altitude refuges usually have limited menus due to the difficulty of transporting food. But the portions here were good and very filling, well suited to serving hungry hikers. It is important to note that they, as with most alpine refuges, only take cash. Fortunately I had packed a small amount of Euros but it took quite a bit of frantic digging through the backpack to find them.
After Refuge de Miage the climbing resumes. The is another 500 feet of ascent for 1/2 mile where the hill tops at a second refuge, Refuge du Truc, before descending for another 2.5 miles into the Montjoie Valley. The second refuge was much less crowded and appreared to be serving food as well.
The descent from there was also steep. Not as steep as the descent from Col Tricot, but it was much longer. As we reached the valley my legs had finally had enough and a painful cramp started to form in my left quad. The remaining mile through the valley to our hotel involved a slow limp along a shaded river trail with a frequent stopping to massage out the cramp.
Our hike for the day ended at Hôtel La Chemenaz. In our exhaustion we neglected to take photos of the hotel. And we were too hot and tired to explore the nearby town further. But across the parking lot from the hotel is a small grocery store where we loaded up on cold drinks, ice cream bars, fruit and sausages.
An interesting thing to note here is that the hotel did not allow hikers to wear their shoes indoors, this includes the lobby. They have a room downstairs where you deposit shoes for your stay, with shelves of various sized sandals and crocs that you can borrow. We found that many hotels along the route have a similar rule, this was just our first time encountering it. We had all packed crocs though, and I highly recommend anyone taking this hike to do the same. It is a much better option than partaking in the community footwear shared by tired hikers.
For reference, I put a map of the primary (easier) route of the TMB below. We ran into a few other hikers at the hotel that we had recognized from the night before. They reported an easy day of hiking, arriving a couple of hours before us. I understand this route is less scenic, but it is also great way to get your legs warmed up for the days ahead.
Previous: Day 0: Les Houches
Next: Day 2: Les Contamines to Les Chapieux (TBD)
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