Tour du Mont Blanc

The passes are reliably clear of snow only in high summer. July and August are the busiest weeks on the trail — if you can, walk in late June or the first half of September for the same weather with fewer people.

Most refuges take bookings through the official montourdumontblanc.com platform, and availability for the next summer opens in autumn — the popular huts are gone within days. Reserve every night — Les Contamines, Les Chapieux, Courmayeur, Rifugio Bonatti, La Fouly, Trient — before committing to dates, not after.

The route runs refuge-to-refuge with village guesthouses in between, so a tent, stove and sleeping mat are dead weight. A light sleeping-bag liner and a small pack make the long ascents far more pleasant.

Reserve demi-pension — dinner, bed and breakfast — at every refuge and your food logistics mostly disappear. Most huts will also sell you a packed lunch for the next day, so all you actually carry is snacks and water. It costs more than self-catering, but it saves a kilo or two of food weight on every single climb.

The classic anti-clockwise loop starts and finishes in the Chamonix valley at Les Houches, which is easy to reach from Geneva. Finishing back in Chamonix means no point-to-point transfer logistics at the end.

The loop has a few dull road stretches, and locals don’t walk them either. Les Contamines has historically run a free summer shuttle to Notre-Dame de la Gorge, and buses and cable cars around Chamonix, Courmayeur and the Val Ferret let you trim road walking or shorten a stage. Skipping pavement isn’t cheating — it buys you energy for the passes.

Mountain weather here changes fast, and the daily ascents are long. The loop touches valley towns and cable cars at several points — there’s no shame in shortening a hard stage or sitting out a storm in Courmayeur or La Fouly.

Even in August you can meet snow patches, cold wind and strong sun in the same day. Waterproofs, warm layers, sun protection and poles for the long descents cover most of what the TMB throws at you.

Day 3 ends in Courmayeur, the Italian town at the loop’s halfway feel — a good place for a rest day, a resupply and a proper meal before the quieter Swiss stages.

The TMB crosses France, Italy and Switzerland in a single circuit, and refuges in the remote sections — Les Chapieux is the classic example — take cash only. Carry euros and some Swiss francs; ATMs exist in Chamonix, Les Contamines, Courmayeur, La Fouly and Champex-Lac. And remember the equivalent of two Everests of ascent is spread over the week, so pace the early days.

From Champex-Lac to Trient you have two options: the Fenêtre d’Arpette (2,665 m) is the wildest, most dramatic day on the whole loop, but it’s steep, rough and no place to be in rain, snow or storms. The Bovine path is the gentler default with big Rhône valley views. Decide the evening before based on the forecast — and if you take the Fenêtre, start early enough to be over the pass by midday.