Photo: Getty Images
For type A overachievers who happen to enjoy hiking, there often comes a point when it feels necessary to conquer something. Walking in beautiful mountains in some far-flung part of the world is great, but summiting one? That’s an accomplishment.
When that urge strikes, many of us tackle Kilimanjaro, widely considered the easiest of the Seven Summits. Count me among them. I made the trek for a round-number birthday, and while reaching the top was a deeply satisfying, life-changing accomplishment that I wouldn’t trade for anything, much of that trip was deeply uncomfortable (to put it kindly). I decided a few days in that I could happily live the rest of my life without ever again camping in snow.
And that’s when the idea of the Tour du Mont Blanc took root for me. The iconic hiking route involves Europe’s highest peak but goes around it rather than up to the top. While a summit will always be a summit, there’s something appealingly badass about circumnavigating a famous massif.
Plus, there’s something unquestionably enjoyable about any trip that takes you through gorgeous wildflower-strewn Alpine backcountry by day and a series of charming European mountain towns by evening. Towns mean inns (or even four-star hotels), and inns mean proper showers and beds. And meals in proper restaurants. Not only are the food and wine delectable; burning all those calories on the trail lets you enjoy with abandon.
And you do burn a lot of calories. The Tour du Mont Blanc never goes much above 8,000 feet, but it’s no little walk in the woods. Each day’s leg covers more than 10 miles and sees a major elevation gain and loss (up to 4,200 feet in one day) as it traverses a high Alpine pass. Stunning scenery and the bucolic clatter of cowbells are welcome distraction, but it’s hard. Admonishments to train should be taken very seriously.
Part of the mystique of the route is that it takes hikers through three cultures and three cuisines (France, Italy and Switzerland). But the guides who have spent their lives walking it see things differently. “Chamonix [France] has more in common with Courmayeur [Italy] than with Paris," said the leader of my trip. "Politically, mountains are often national borders, but the opposite is true. Mountains bring people together.” French remains the lingua franca, the cuisine stays simple and hearty (though the wines did show national allegiances, and pasta made a brief appearance in Italy), and the Alpine cheese remains a necessary indulgence. Most of all, the warm hospitality and on-the-trail camaraderie transcend borders.
As with any adventure trip, there are various ways to do it, from DIY to whatever the hiking-boot equivalent of white-glove would be called. Actually, there are more ways to do this one than most: There’s no one Tour du Mont Blanc but a massive system of trails that connect in various ways and wind their way around the mountain. Guides say each year’s official TMB route is chosen based hoteliers' lobbying, so any way you make it around counts.
High-end operators like Mountain Travel Sobek enhance the experience in all sorts of ways, such as arranging for one fee to cover virtually everything, transporting guests’ luggage, choosing the best hotels in the region (and getting very favorable group rates), providing outstanding make-your-own-lunch buffets rather than standard sack lunches, and, most important, hiring tip-top guides. It also offers a six-day “express” version of the traditional ten-day loop that uses car transfers for some of the legs, and that many busy mountain-philes think is enough (Disclosure: I joined an MTS trip as a guest of the company.) Many of my fellow hikers were MTS loyalists, and one told me that he likes the company because while he has more than enough money, what’s precious is his time—and MTS maximizes his enjoyment of that time.
A second guide is on hand for larger groups, which is useful when someone needs to stay back with a guest who (ahem) didn’t train seriously enough, and a driver takes care of gear, even running everyone’s bags upstairs to their rooms in the inns. All are members of the prestigious Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix, the nearly 200-year-old association of the region’s best guides. They also say they work harder for MTS trips than they do for other trips but enjoy them more, which says something about the operator’s standards, and its (predominately North American) clientele.
But ultimately, what’s worthwhile about hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc, Mountain Travel Sobek–style, isn’t the valet service or the fancy lunch spread (though I do have fond memories of that Alpine cheese). Nor is it the sense of accomplishment. It’s the opportunity to experience spectacular nature—glaciers, tall forests, meadows dense with purple lupine, mountain lakes, peak after peak after peak as far as the eye can see—and a beguiling old-world culture that makes you more than comfortable by night. It’s a serious hike that’s also seriously luxurious.
