Imagine it, three countries in 5 days, staying in refuges, camping, alpine climbs, sun, rain, fog and snow! 85km in 5 days, 1,200m ascents and descents, all on foot while carrying everything you need to survive. Physically and mentally taxing, frustrating and occasionally painful. This is, the entirely wonderful TMB! 14 students and staff from Magherafelt Campus embarked on the TMB in June 2013. This is our story....
Day 1
6:50 am flight from Dublin to Geneva landed at 10:00 am Swiss time and any delusions we had of an easy 5 day stroll in the hills quickly evaporated as we travelled into the heart of the majestic Chamonix valley.
Arriving at our base camp in Tré-le-Champ, it seemed like we had stumbled onto the set of The Hobbit. Time has stood still at the wonderful Auberge la Boerne, but the welcome was great and the facilities were all that we needed. The lads all got stuck in, so camp was quickly established and we prepared for the adventure ahead.
Day 2
We made an early start as we had been warned by trekkers that our route from Tré-le-Champ to Col de la Forclaz could be difficult with snowfields covering much of the trail. The high point of the days walk was at Col-de-Balme. Located on the French-Swiss border at an altitude of 2191m there has been a refuge there since 1877. After the 791m climb from Tré-le-Champ we had hoped for some food, but the late arrival of summer meant that the refuge was still under winter shutdown. So it was a quick snack and move on.
The climb had brought us from green fields to snow fields and if we thought the ascent was difficult, the descent was something altogether more challenging. 4km down a virtually unbroken snowfield fell away sharply below us. We were forced to zigzag our way down digging our heels in to get a grip on the snow. Progress was slow, but we made it safely down below the snowline with only a few wet backsides for our trouble. Photos show the view from the top and the view from the bottom.Once we reached Le Peuty (1,326m) we took a break before the last climb to Col de la Forclaz.
Day 3
Col de la Forclaz to Champex was to prove to be a challenging and exhausting day. Cloud shrouded the mountains and we walked off into the gloom. This section of the trail had been closed until three days before we arrived and the spring maintenance teams had not been in to clear the trail of winter damage. Fallen trees, flooded streams and snow-bridges blocked our path and all had to be negotiated. The students declared this the ‘Bear Grylls’ day. Champex was reached much later than planned, but we found a campsite and set up for the night.
Day 4
Champex to La Fouly took us down through the forest into the Val de Feret and civilisation. The trail followed a main road through a couple of small villages before heading back up hill towards La Fouly. Once again we had flooded streams and old avalanche debris to contend with. Winter avalanches had blocked the train and filled up river gorges, making progress tricky! The climb was long, but the scenery was stunning. 1,000 metre sheer cliffs with waterfalls on one side and the Ferret River on the other. By the time we reached La Fouly nobody was under any misapprehension alpine trekking can be tough. Nobody needed rocked to sleep that night!
Day 5
Day 5, country 3! We reached Italy and the daunting climb to Refugio Bertone. Refugio Bertone is run by Italy’s most famous retired climber. He said that he retired before he joined the rest of the great climbers he had known! It is perched precariously 2,000 metres above sea level on the side of the mountain. Fortunately the south facing slope was clear of snow which made the assent passable. This climb just kept rising and rising with false summits, greeted by cries of ‘I thought this was it!’, but eventually we did reach it and boy was it worth it. The views were simply breathtaking. Again, we slept well.
Day 6
This was our final trekking day and our final descent down into Courmayeur. Trekking downhill proved to be just as tough as climbing up hill. Knees and ankles take a pounding as the weight of you and your rucksack push you down the mountain. We arrived safely in Courmayeur by lunchtime and the northern loop of the Tour du Mont Blanc was complete. All was left was for us to catch a bus through the Mont Blanc Tunnel back to Chamonix in France and a well earned rest. Blisters aplenty, swollen ankles, twisted knees, sunburn and at least one broken toe...and it was brilliant, Veni, vidi, vici!!
Particular thanks got to : Jenny McKay, Stephen McCartney and Tony Madden for their wholehearted support of this ambitious venture.
The students will use this trek as a major part of their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.
