TMB Day 10: Chalet Val Ferret > Courmayeur

I’m staying in Courmayeur again tonight so for today’s walk I decided to go in the reverse direction: I took the bus out to the last stop at Chalet Val Ferret and walked back, hoping I’d get the best of the views in this direction.

*The way I’m not going…will head this way to the end of the valley tomorrow*

A steep mile climbing to elevation right off the bat then I reached the “balcony” portion of the trail and it was a rolling incline with forever views.

*Me catching my breath. You can see the road below from where I climbed and way down the valley to where I’m headed*

*Not many panoramic vistas of the trail*, *this one shows the variety of landscape seen all day*

@ 2.75 miles I stopped for 2nd breakfast at a magnificent viewpoint looking down over the valley, hoping the sun would break through the clouds to amp up my photography 😉 After 10 minutes I grew pretty chilled so onwards it was!

@ 3.5 miles I reached the iconic Bonatti rifugio, amazingly situated across from Les Grandes Jorasses & glaciers. Too early to stop but I could smell the spaghetti sauce cooking!

The clouds remained stubbornly low, even misting a light rain on the other side of the narrow valley at times. Just a few drops on my side….

Several small creek crossings and in and out of forest, trail now is a rolling decline

*Meeting SO many people including bikers and dogs with my going in the clockwise direction. I’m running out of Buongiorno’s*!

@ 6.4 miles the views are slowly evolving, I’m getting closer to Mount Blanc

@ 8.3 miles & 4h20m I stopped for my 2nd break at Rifugio Bertone. It’s perched on a precipice high above Courmayeur with excellent views of Mont Blanc (if the clouds are cooperating). Like all the other refuges they have a bar & restaurant open to all hikers at lunchtime, and just their overnight guests at dinner. I still had a PB&J sandwich leftover from 2nd breakfast so I had a fortifying beer while enjoying the view and girding my loins (actually knees) for the steep 2500’ drop down to town.

With 20 minutes left to go the TMB turned into a paved road that goes down thru the outskirts of Courmayeur, passing by traditional chalets and enormous holiday homes and condos before ending right at the town center and 2 minutes more to my hotel.