What to know before you walk the Tour du Mont Blanc

The circuit in numbers

The Tour du Mont Blanc circles the Mont Blanc massif through France, Italy and Switzerland. It is roughly 164 kilometres with more than 10,000 metres of ascent, and most people walk it in eleven days.

Nothing on the route is technical. There is no scrambling, no rope, no exposure that a confident walker cannot handle. What the trail asks for is endurance: most days climb between 700 and 1,300 metres, and you get up and do it again the next morning.

Which direction?

The standard direction is anticlockwise, starting from Les Houches and heading first down the Montjoie valley towards Les Contamines. Walk it this way and the massif opens up on your left as you cross the Col de la Seigne into Italy, which is the view everybody photographs.

A minority walk it clockwise, which gives you the massif head-on rather than over your shoulder. Both work. Anticlockwise is busier, better supported, and easier to book.

When to go

Late June through mid-September. That is when the refuges are open and the high cols are clear of snow.

July and August are the warmest and by far the busiest. Early July can still hold snow on the highest passes. September gives you quieter trails, sharper light and more stable air, but shorter days and a real chance of an early cold snap.

Am I fit enough?

The honest test: can you walk 15 to 20 kilometres over hilly ground carrying 7 to 8 kilos, and get up and do something similar the next day?

If yes, a four-day section is realistic. The full circuit needs that repeated for a week and a half. If no, that is a completely normal place to start, and three to four months of specific hill training will change the answer.

The element people under-train is descent. The TMB descends every metre it climbs, and the closing day drops more than 1,600 metres in one go. Sore quads end more tours than tired lungs do. Train downhill, and use poles.

Where you sleep

In mountain refuges, mostly in dormitories: bunks or mattress platforms shared with anywhere from six to twenty people. Bathrooms are shared, showers are sometimes coin-operated and occasionally absent.

You need a sleeping bag liner, which most refuges require. You do not need a sleeping bag. Bring earplugs.

In exchange you get a hot three-course dinner, a bed at 2,000 metres, and a sunrise you would otherwise have to camp for.

Book early

This is the practical constraint that catches people out. Refuges on the TMB fill up in January for July. If you are planning to book the beds yourself, start in the winter. If you would rather not, that is precisely what we do for you.