Day 11 & 12 Hiking, Chamonix, France, and the end of the trail

Trail leaving Refuge de la Flegere

We are done: we walked well over 180K and climbed almost 10,000M; our knees, feet, endurance and the weather held out and we finished today in sunshine at Les Houches, the same village as we started.

The last two days have been challenging as we climbed 1860M and descended 2080M most of it up, around, and down rocky cliffs. Our route card said it was "one of the most exciting stages" and "true high mountain hiking". It was a test of our abilities as we had to go up ladders bolted to the cliff face, use metal steps driven into the rock, and hold onto chains on steep edges. It was always safe, just a bit daunting. Turning around was not an option. And, perhaps, this section is why most people do the TMB counterclockwise as otherwise we would be climbing down ladders and going down cliff faces diagonally. Feels better to go up. 

La Flegere

Last night we were in Refuge de la Flegere, our last mountain "hut",and  this one really quite basic. We had a co-ed room with a young couple from Calgary and a Irish man. The food was good: pasta, potatoes, cold cuts, and a choice of desert. Did we mention cheese with every course and one dessert option was cream cheese with black berry jam. Everyone was in bed by about 9:30 pm and all awake by 6 am. The floors and doors creaked! We could hear people talking (loudly) in the bathroom next door. So, we had an earlier start than usual.

It was a long long way down to the valley below

Today we climbed, for the first half of the day, on some of the most spectacular trails so far. We had unobstructed views of Mt. Blanc and managed some of the most exposure we have experienced on this trip, making our way to Col du Brevard and then over to Brevard where we could have taken a cable car to Chamonix. Instead we preserved and walked down, all 1570M (about the same elevation loss as going down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon) and that after over 700 M up. We are tired and pleased with completing the full Tour on the official routes! 

After finishing our hike in Les Houches, the starting place, we took a bus to Chamonex to our hotel with easy access to travel to Geneva tomorrow. We had a lovely dinner to celebrate tonight.