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We are going to do th Tour de Mont Blanc this year. Would be very grateful for any advice.
Better get cracking, not much time left.
I did it this this summer self supported over 8 days. It was brilliant, make sure you're good at pushing up hills though!
Lots of advise on this forum, anything you specifically want to know?
I did it a while back. Great trip.
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Done it a number of times. Also many other TransAlp self trips across that area. Drop me an email if you want any imfo, maps, etc.
Its a great trip
C
Cheers for the helpful replies 🙂
Most interested in route advice. We aren't in any hurry and want to take lots of photos. Don't mind using lifts, trains or climbing on the road. Any must not miss sections and any best avoided sections?
Also did you guys go supported or unsupported? We are going to stay in huts.
I will sit back and watch Tom's video.
Timid a lot of people stay in towns / villages, more choice of hotels / facilities and allows any support vehicle to meet up. There will be a bit of road climbing (eg from below Champex du Lac up to Col Ferret). Tony/Jedi from UK Bike Skills did it (again) in 2015 and put up a lot of photos on his fb (we saw his group roll into St Gervais on their final leg as we where riding in Les Houches/Chamonix that day also).
To whet your appetite here is a photo from Val du Ferret which is lovely, mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, summer pastures, small chapel (we did a day around the area from Verbier driving up to Champex then towards the Col)
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@NewRetro - saw your video a while back, 2.5 days Chapeau one hundred times over
We've gone back in time and put an article in the current issue of Singletrack for you. Have you seen the magazine? 🙂
Awkward...
To be honest I don't always read it 😳
However I will definitely read that feature. Any chance of a searchable index of articles? Because I would find it really useful to be able to search potential holiday destinations.
😳
Ha ha I downloaded it but have only glanced at the first few pages (mostly nice photo ads)
Cheeky thread resurrection: a friend has persuaded me to give this a go.
One question: if I fly into Geneva airport with a bike inside a bike bag, what do people do with their bike bag for the ~4 days or so until they return?
Thanks!
(More serious problem is that my superior weight-to-power ratio may need to be looked at....).
Fly in with a cardboard box and then bin in. You'll need to source another from a shop for the return flight. That's what I always do with these types of trips.
We skipped the Aiguille Rouge section but maybe someone with better local knowledge knows better, there wasn't too much info about when I did it.
There are reasons for going clock or anti clock but personally I think clockwise wins as most walkers are going the other way and will see you.
It's worth taking a good look at the map as there are a few points where the walking route follows paths that are unrideable as climbs but can be bypassed by landy tracks. The col de la Balme from le Tour for example. We also had to take alternative routes at other points due to poor weather so be ready for that.
Oh and Bovine. Just grin and bear it, it's over pretty soon and under no circumstances be tempted by the Col de la Fenetre. That way madness lies...
Check and avoid the UTMB dates!
(More serious problem is that my superior weight-to-power ratio may need to be looked at....).
🙂
Proper bike bag maybe too big for left luggage but worth asking. Based on cost and transfers to/from Chamonix it may be cheaper to rent a car and leave it in the boot.
Any tips for a safe place to park a car?
we went chamonix/swiis/italy/chamonix
Any of the larger, busier car parks in Cham should be fine, just take the usual precautions.