Tour du Mont Blanc

A loop of about 170 km around the Mont Blanc massif, crossing France, Italy and Switzerland. It is the best known long walk in the Alps: a circuit of huts and mountain villages that never climbs the mountain but keeps it in view from every side, over cols that were trading and smuggling passes long before they were a trail. Walked anticlockwise from Les Houches, as the stages and hut bookings are numbered. [Route details] Loop · start and finish at Les Houches, Chamonix valley 165.9 km · 980 m to 2,536 m at the Grand Col Ferret Usually 10 to 11 days [Round the loop] - Les Contamines (17 km), Les Chapieux (34 km) — the French side - Col de la Seigne into Italy, Courmayeur (66 km) - Grand Col Ferret into Switzerland, La Fouly (97 km), Champex (112 km) - Col de Balme back into France, Argentière (143 km) [Good to know] - The season runs roughly late June to mid September; huts and refuges fill months ahead. - This is the main itinerary only. The seven marked variants — Col de Tricot, Col des Fours, Fenêtre d'Arpette, Tête Bernarda, Les Grands, Le Tour, Vallorcine — are separate routes and are not included. - Elevation is sampled from a terrain model, not recorded on the ground.