Tour du Mont Blanc

September 2025

France, Italy & Switzerland

– Counterclockwise from Les Houches –

About The Tour du Mont Blanc

The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is a 165-kilometer trail around the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps. The most common starting point is in Les Houches, France, where I am beginning this hike. This adventure is renowned for being quite physically challenging for its relatively short distance. Hikers gain and lose 34,777 vertical feet while trekking on the slopes of Mont Blanc, crossing over high passes, and dropping into the valleys and villages below. The TMB’s most common starting point is Les Houches, and most hikers follow the route counterclockwise, hiking from France into Italy, then north into Switzerland, before returning to France.

One of the unique parts of the TMB is the network of refuges (or alpine huts) where hikers can stay along the route. Many of these huts book up 6 months in advance, so hikers planning a trek on the TMB must remain flexible and consider other accommodations to supplement the mountain refuges. Although camping is allowed on the TMB, there are very strict rules in place, so I decided to stick to a combination of refuges and small inns in the villages on my 9-day adventure.

Stay tuned as I post my daily trail journal from the TMB – along with my packing list and some additional random thoughts about this extraordinary hike around Mont Blanc.

Trail Journal

Resources