Tour du Mont Blanc

Stage 5. Courmayeur - Rifugio Bonatti

Friday 16th August 2019

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There are three basic routes between Courmayeur and Refugio Bonatti:

	Easiest	The Armina route	11 km 1,020 m ascent 2,022 m high point
	Next in Difficulty	The Val Sapin route	13km 1,550 m ascent 2,521 m high point
	Most Difficult	The Mont de la Saxe route	14 km 1,720 m of ascent 2,584 m high point

Stage 5. Schedule - Monte de la Saxe route

	From	To	Distance Km	Time Hrs	Ascent m	Descent m
5-1	Courmayeur (1,220m)	Val Sapin (1,350m)	1.5		130
5-2	Val Sapin (1,350m)	Rifugio Bertone (1,980m)	2.0		640
5-3	Rifugio Bertone (1,980m)	Tête de la Tronche (2,584m)	4.0		650
5-4	Tête de la Tronche (2,584m)	Col Sapin (2,435m)	0.5			155
5-5	Col Sapin (2,435m)	Torrent d'Armina (2,260m)	1.0			180
5-6	Torrent d'Armina (2,260m)	Pas entre deux Sauts (2,521m)	1.5		270
5-6	Pas entre deux Sauts (2,521m)	Rifugio Bonatti (2,022m)	3.5			510
	Courmayeur (1,220m)	Rifugio Bonatti (2,022m)	14.0	7H00	1,690	845

 

Garmin GPS Actual Data
Courmayeur to Refugio Bonatti via The Armina Route

Distance	Time	Elevation in meters
Km	Elapsed Hrs-Mins	Gain	Loss	Min	Max
13.83	6H24	1,077	289	1,227	2058

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Group photo as we hit the trail from Courmayeur
L to R: Kath, Lesley, Evi, Freddy, Martin, Mick, Bob and Jim with Rob in the front row

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Rifugio Bertone 1 Hr 30 min; Testa Bernada 3 Hrs

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Lesley, Kath and Bob

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Refugio Bertone comes into view

Grandes Jorasses

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Looking down to the entrance of the Mont Blanc tunnel

Blue beetles

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L to R: Lesley, Mick, Jim, Kath, Evi, Freddy & Martin

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Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris)

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Approaching Rifugio Bonatti

Rifugio Bonatti

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L to R: Evi, Freddy, Martin, Lesley and Mick

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At least they are geared up for phone charging

Our room, sleeping 8, for the night

Other sleeping accommodation in the refuge

The boot room