TMB Day 7: Les Contamines - Mont Joie to Les Houches - June 2023

The last day had finally arrived. We awoke well-rested with our eyes on the finish line. The night prior we had to make a logistical decision given there were two options: the traditional route or the Col du Tricot. We were undecided on which to choose, so we left it to chance and flipped a coin. Thankfully the coin landed on the traditional route, considering it was very foggy in the morning and the Col du Tricot would not have offered much in the way of views.

Logistics

We hiked following the AllTrails TMB Loop from mile marker 10.7 to the official start/end sign in Les Houches where we had finished our Day 1 hike. We accumulated 2,800 feet of vertical gain over roughly 11 miles. Our moving time was 4 hours. Given the morning was foggy and we knew we had a long day, our total time for this hike was around 5 hours, landing us in Les Houches ahead of lunch time.

Hiking

Before setting off for the morning’s hike, we were able to eat a quick breakfast that had been set up for us the night prior. That was a big boost in mood considering we knew we wouldn’t be stopping much along the route and getting some early food and coffee was very much appreciated. From there, we walked out of the hotel, onto the trail and proceeded to follow the river through town as we had the day prior.

Our final morning on the TMB looking back on where he had been the day prior before embarking on the remaining miles.

As we hiked along the river, we could see first hand both the flow rate increase, as well as, the damage from the storm the night prior. It was interesting to see how the trail and surrounding area had changed so quickly. Given it was very foggy and wet, we didn’t take as breaks or stop, so the first part of this day flew by quickly.

We ended up hitting a landmark in the middle of our one and only ascent for the day as we approached a quaint alpine town by the name of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains. It was nice to have some road walking in between our ascent sections, and during this time we were able to watch locals go about their morning, attending to their livestock.

Our approach to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains as part of the last ascent of the TMB.

The fog continued as we pushed forward anxiously concluding the last vertical gain for the trip. It almost turned into a challenge to conclude this section given how much of our time had been spent climbing all week. Upon reaching the train station and gondola overlook, we reflected on finishing our ascent for the day and the remaining few miles required to finish the loop. We took a few moments to take it all in, eat a quick snack, and hope the descent was not like some of the more challenging ones of the past.

The Tramway du Mont Blanc which offered shuttle for those uninterested in ascending or descending to or from Les Houches.

We were welcomed with a pleasant surprise as we started our initial descent. It was certainly steep, but the trail was wide and easier to navigate than much of what we had grown accustomed to over the last week. This really lifted our spirits as at this point the only thing on our minds was avoiding injury falling down the descent. To add to our luck, as we continued on, the fog started to lift from the air around us and the cloud cover was not as intense as we had experienced earlier that morning. Before we knew it, we were walking on roads on the outskirts of Les Houches and we all could breathe a sigh of relief knowing the major descent was over and the remainder would be smooth from here!

As we walked the main road through Les Houches toward the finish line, a lot of emotions started to set in. It had been a challenging week for each of us, and this hike symbolized so many of the things that I love: hiking, mountains, culture, community, leadership, personal challenge, etc. I wasn’t sure how I would feel or what my response would be upon reaching the finish line, but it was nice to have some time ahead of the conclusion to compartmentalize all that we had accomplished in roughly 50 hours of hiking that week!

The time had finally come and the sign was in view. We decided to walk through the finish line together and were fortunate to have someone close to grab our picture together. It was a surreal moment considering how much we had experienced from the time we had first seen this sign to the moment we shared that morning. There’s only one way to earn these feelings and that’s perseverance over time. It was fitting that the sun came out at that moment to shine on us, as if to recognize the conclusion of our journey. I was elated to have completed a lifelong goal of mine, especially to be able to do so with my closest friends.

Completing the Tour du Mont Blanc. A life milestone and a moment I will never forget.

Conclusion

After taking time to let the reality of our week sink in, we decided it was time to eat. Not many places were open considering it was still relatively early, so we bought sandwiches at La Fromagerie de la Fruitière and found beverages at Le Spot. From there, we coordinated pickup of our luggage with our travel service, changed our bus tickets back to Geneva and ultimately arrived 4 hours early at our final destination for the day, the Meininger Hotel in Geneva (Centre Charmilles).

That night we met up with a friend who had flown in to see us from Frankfurt, Germany and we decided to commemorate the week’s accomplishment with an incredible dinner at La Pontinière and a few stops afterwards in old town Geneva to continue the celebration!

Celebratory dinner at La Pontinie, Geneva.

Photos

Photos shown here were taken with my phone at the time, the iPhone 12 Pro.