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Today was our last big climb - up to Col de Balme, which is the pass on the border between Switzerland and France. We ate an early breakfast and were out on the road by 7:30 A.M. There wasn't any pressing reason to start so early, we only had 13 km to go today, but I had a lot of energy to do the hike up to Col de Balme. Outside the town of Trient, the trail enters the forest and begins a series of switchbacks. We met some cyclists coming down from the pass, but the trail was too narrow and root-filled for riding, so they were walking their bicycles. There is supposed to be a TMB route for cyclists, but I don't think it is well defined yet. Most of the time when we passed bike riders on the Tour du Mont Blanc, they were pushing their bikes, sometimes up steep rocky paths. When we exited the forest, we could look up the treeless slope and see the Refugio du Col de Balme at the top of the pass. With an energetic push, we made it to the top and it wasn't even midmorning yet. From Col de Balme, we had wonderful views to the west of the Chamonix Valley and Mont Blanc. The day was sunny and clear (another ideal day of weather!), so we enjoyed the scenery for a while - I think we spent an hour at Col de Balme, taking pictures and talking with the San Diego Group. It was nice to see Mont Blanc again, it suddenly seemed that a successful finish to our TMB hike was inevitable. The San Diego Group was headed downslope to the town of le Tour, but we followed the official TMB route over to Aiguillette de Posettes. This is a rocky outcrop that stands at the very eastern end of the Chamonix Valley. Aiguillette de Posettes is only 200 meters higher than Col de Balme, but I found it hard to walk up to its summit. I think I was so excited by our hike up to Col de Balme that I burned off all my breakfast calories and simply ran out of energy. Aiguillette de Posettes offers more splendid panoramic views of the Mont Blanc massif. We sat at the summit for a while, admiring the mountains and eating some lunch. It is a long descent down to Tre-le-Champ. Many wooden steps and switchbacks. Eventually we entered into the forest again, and continued our hike down. Fortunately, my knee did not bother me at all during this hike or afterwards. At the base of the hill, we walked into the tiny village of Tre-le-Champ, where we had reservations at the Auberge la Boerne; it was still only early in the afternoon. The Auberge la Boerne was a dismal place to stay, it was by far the worst refugio on our tour. The building is a couple hundred years old, so it is historically relevant, but it is dark and cramped with poor facilites. The wi-fi never worked. There are low beams in many of the hallways and rooms, I cracked my skull multiple times against unexpectedly low wooden beams (the managers don't bother to warn you about the low clearance, anyone taller than 5'10" is going to get a bump on their head.) Dinner had assigned seating; we were placed at a table with people who spoke nothing but French. I did not enjoy our stay at Auberge la Boerne. Panorama Photos
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Click on any thumbnail to begin the slide show at that photograph TMB Stage 10
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