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The TMB is a mountain bike dream for anyone who loves the high mountains: on this tour, specially adapted for the E-MTB, you will be on spectacular trails around Europe's highest mountain. From Chamonix, you first head into the Valais, and from there via the Val Ferret to the south side of Mont Blanc in the Aosta Valley. Over the Cormet de Roselend, the route then leads into the beautiful MTB area of the Beaufortain. The tour is as dreamlike as it is challenging: it goes over several high alpine passes around the gigantic massif of rock, ice and snow, through mountain forests and over idyllic alpine pastures and mountain meadows. Our route minimises the wear and tear of our E-MTBs and maximises the time on spectacular, partly flowing and partly challenging mountain trails. You can expect 6 days of pure E-MTB bliss.
Itinerary start: Rendezvous on the first day is at 12:30am on the carpark of the Flégère cable car (located in Praz de Chamonix, chemin de l'école). The SNCF Praz train station is located 50m away.
We will leave directly from the parking. Please arrive in your cycle clothing (plan to have had lunch).
(Important: be on time for the meeting and ready to go because we must not miss the last skip of the Balme / Vallorcine cable car!... )
Departure at the foot of the majestic Mont Blanc. We enter the steep valley that leads to the village of Le Tour, passing at the foot of the Argentière glacier moraine. From our balcony path in the forest, we can sometimes see the Aiguilles Rouges massif appearing some 2000 meters higher.
Arrived at the hamlet of Le Tour, we take the Balme cable car which takes us to the Balme pass, some 1200 meters higher... A short but intense effort allows us to reach the small Croix de Fer pass which offers us a magnificent descent through the mountain pastures first, then a forest of larches and spruces. Night in a gîte.
Heading for the Trient glacier via a small tarmac road closed to vehicles. A short portage (avoidable by road) and we are at the foot of the impressive glacier. A playful descent towards the Rhône valley. We go back up to the superb little Val d'Arpette before reaching the cute little lake of Champex. An atmosphere worthy of the most beautiful postcards of the Mont Blanc massif.... And it's not over yet! A superb technical descent through the forest to reach the Val Ferret. We go up the latter via a balcony path along the banks of the Dranse. Some nice views of the small bell tower of Portalet. Arrival at La Fouly (1600 m), a small resort at the foot of the Tour Noir and the Grande Lui, and installation in a gîte for a typical meal and a good night's sleep.
This morning we leave La Fouly and head for the hamlet of Ferret through the alpine pastures, under the imposing mass of Mont Dolent. From Ferret, we go up a track that leads to the Peule mountain pasture. From the Peule, we follow the path of the Mont Blanc tour to reach the great Col Ferret, the border between Switzerland and Italy guarded by the magnificent Aiguille du Triolet. A demanding climb but entirely feasible on our EMTBs! Then it's the beautiful technical descent to the Helena refuge, before starting a long, more rolling descent to Courmayeur. The torn shape of the mythical Grandes Jorasses appears... A few steps away and a good climb from the small town, we happily reach the refuge for our night in Italian territory!
From our "eagle's nest", we start the day on a beautiful little path and then begin a long ascent to the Col de la Seigne. Road, track and narrow path follow one another to reach the only hike-a-bike portion of our journey which leads to the Seigne pass. All along our climb, we had a breathtaking view of the glaciers...
At the finish line, the superb panorama of the aiguille de Tré la Tête and its surrounding sharp peaks quickly make us forget our efforts...
From the Seigne pass, a sumptuous single track descent to the Chapieux valley and the town of glaciers, named after the summit "l'aiguille des glaciers" which dominates it. A few kilometres on the road to Cormet de Roselend, then we set off on the tour of the magnificent Lac de Roselend: gaining altitude on a mountain pasture track, then a narrow balcony path above the lake, before skirting the banks of the lake to fall not far from the Roselend dam. We leave the lake of Roselend and its emerald waters to climb to the col du pré (1703 m) and attack our final descent to the cute little village of Beaufort. Small, but lively in summer and winter!
Night in a hotel in Beaufort.
Goal of this morning: the col du Joly! From Beaufort and by small roads and forest tracks, we leave for the ascent of this pass which flirts with the 2000m of altitude and which gratifies us with a splendid view on the Mont Blanc, the valleys of Contamines and Megève, and on the Beaufortain which we are about to leave. Descent to Les Contamines through the mountain pastures and the forest. We pass a nice Roman bridge, before gaining altitude in the undergrowth to take a new single track that leads us to Contamines for a well deserved rest.
Night in a gîte in Contamines Montjoie.
Beautiful paths alternating between valley floor and balcony await us before reaching the foot of the Col de Voza. "The foot" because a good climb on a small steep tarmac road awaits us... But our sheep will help us to pass this "wall". On arrival, what a view! We dominate the whole white valley... A nice descent in the undergrowth towards Les Houches, passing in front of the Bossons glacier, and here are the first houses of Chamonix... Back home!
Itinerary end: The trip ends on the carpark of the Flégère cable car around 1-2 pm. On request we can book extra nights for you in Chamonix as well as transfers to Geneva airport.
Distances and altitude gain are an indication only and may vary.
Average tour rating:
