Tour du Mont Blanc
Stage 11. Chamonix - Les Houches
Thursday 22nd August 2019
Stage 11. Schedule via Planpraz Cable Car and Brévent
| |
From |
To |
Distance Km |
Time Hrs |
Ascent m |
Descent m |
| 11-1 |
Junction above Planpraz (2,100) |
Col du Brévent (2,100m) |
1.5 |
|
270 |
|
| 11-2 |
Col du Brévent (2,100m) |
Le Brévent (2,525m) |
1.0 |
|
180 |
|
| 11-3 |
Le Bréventt (2,525m) |
Refuge de Bel Lachet (2,525m) |
2.0 |
|
|
395 |
| 11-4 |
Refuge de Bel Lachet (2,525m) |
Les Houches (900m) |
6.0 |
|
|
1,150 |
| |
Junction above Planpraz (2,100) |
Les Houches (900m) |
10.5 |
6H30 |
450 |
1,545 |
Garmin GPS Actual Data
Chamonix to Les Houches via the Valley Route
| Distance |
Time |
Elevation in meters |
Km |
Elapsed
Hrs-Mins |
Gain |
Loss |
Min |
Max |
| 8.24 |
2H14 |
188 |
228 |
979 |
1,069 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| For the last day the group split into two. Rob, Bob, Martin, Freddy and Evi decided to do the Brévent route, which entailed taking the Planpraz cable car, climbing up to Col du Brévent and then walking down to Les Houches. No Garmin data is available for this leg, but it roughly entailed 600 m of climbing over 18km of walking; the down section is supposed to be one of the hardest on the TMB and involves 1,600m of descent taking three and a half hours. This group emerged near the train station in Les Houches and they took the train back to Chamonix. The second group comprising Jim, Lesley, Kath and myself did not want to go high after the previous day's excursions, and opted for the more gentle walk along the valley floor to Les Houches as a relaxing grand finale to the TMB. We took the bus back to Chamonix from the centre of Les Houches after posing under the official Start/Finish post. |
We went to the roundabout at the end of the main street in
Chamonix and took Chemin de la Croix des Pecles towards Les Houches
.
.
The climbing wall at Lac de Gaillands
Parents introduce their children to climbing at a very early age when they have no fear
.
Promenade d'Arve
.
.
.
Coming into Les Houches
The railway station at les Houches
The church at Les Houches
.
Life does not get much better! A pleasant walk along the valley in
the sunshine followed by a stop at the local patiserie
| At Les Houches we got talking to a 23-yer-old chap from London named Tom who had just finished the TMB. His rucksack was amazing. When he started the TMB he was carrying camping gear and 76 foil wrapped meals as he was not sure where he could get food! Initially his rucksack was 50 lbs, but at the end it had reduced to 40 lbs. He started from Les Houches at 4 pm and walked up to Col de Vosa where he camped for the night. I tried his rucksack for size but could not lift it! He helped me on with it so I could appreciate its weight..... it was incredible and I had to lean forward just to keep balance! The innocence of youth! |
Tom's rucksack
.
Fini! We did it!
|
