The TMB is one of Europe's most popular long distance walks and circles the highest mountain in Western Europe and many of its satellite peaks covering a distance of approx 180km with 10km of ascent passing through Switzerland, Italy and France.
It is considered one of the classic long distance walking trails and is walked in clockwise direction over 10 days.
The Tour is a little less challenging than the Chamonix to Zermatt Walkers' Haute Route - the highest passes are a bit lower with less demanding ascents; however, the TMB is a step up in difficulty from that classic UK long distance walk, the West Highland Way, whereby although the stages are shorter in distance there is nevertheless much more climbing on this very challenging excursion.
Although demanding in parts, the trail is well within the capabilities of any fit mountain walker, involving generally moderate hiking through delightful alpine villages and picturesque valleys. The circuit
circum-navigates the Mont Blanc massif via a series of high passes, each one of these opens up a new vista into the seven major valleys which drain the spectacular glaciers of the range.
Mont Blanc (4807m) is the highest mountain in the range and its huge mass totally dominates the view throughout the walk. However, we also see other famous alpine peaks including the Chamonix Needles, the Dru, the Grepon and the Grands Charmoz - steep pinnacles of rock which attracted many of the early British alpinists. Our trek includes a spectacular traverse of the ‘Grand Balcon’ - a delightful elevated terrace on the opposite side of the valley to the Mont Blanc Massif with classic panoramic views of the range including the much-photographed reflection in the waters of Lac Blanc.
On the final day we make our ascent of the Brevent (2312m), before descending back to the Chamonix Valley where we can celebrate our successful circum-navigation of this classic Alpine peak. This holiday is a must do on the wish list of all serious mountain walkers and ranks as one of the finest mountain walks in Western Europe.
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