This guide to Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 6 will help you plan the route from Val Ferret in Italy to La Fouly in Switzerland.
After a relaxing evening to end Stage 5 at Chalet Val Ferret (and its delicious meals), we were ready for another day of hiking.
Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 6: Activity Profile
- 9.7 miles
- 3,028-foot ascent
- 3,635-foot descent
Here are my recommendations for TMB backpacking gear.
Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 6: The Goal
Today we wanted to go up from Val Ferret to Grand Col Ferret, where we’d cross from Italy to Switzerland. Next we’d descend into La Fouly.
Hiking to Grand Col Ferret
After leaving Chalet Val Ferret, we began the long uphill trek towards Grand Col Ferret. Yesterday’s clear blue skies were gone, and today brought cold rain and sleet.
The trail this morning was muddy and a bit tricky to get your footing on. Happily, it didn’t take too long to reach Rifugio Elena, where we stopped for the best hot chocolate of my life (one of several food and drink highlights on the TMB).
As we continued hiking towards the col, something magical happened. A rainbow appeared low in the sky below us over the mountain, creating a colorful arc right over Rifugio Elena.
When we reached the top of Grand Col Ferret, we crossed from Italy to Switzerland!
The weather was foggy, cold and sleeting, so we couldn’t actually SEE Switzerland, but we knew we were there!
Descent to La Fouly
Since it was so cold, we did not linger at the top, but quickly started our descent.
When we reached Alpage de la Peule we had more warm drinks (cappuccinos) and some bone broth, cheese and bread in a fairly successful attempt to warm up.
As we descended, the fog lifted and the weather improved! We once again ate our sandwiches with a great view.
After the descent, there was some (much welcomed) easy road walking.
On the way to the village of La Fouly we stopped at a roadside food stand called Mont Fromage, where we got fries and beer. (I know, we should’ve bought cheese!)
Don't forget to carry cash for places like this: that was one of our biggest lessons learned for the TMB.
We finished our day by walking through the village and to the local campground Camping des Glaciers.
Now that we had crossed into Switzerland, camping the TMB became easier again.
To finish the day, we set up camp, showered, and did laundry while enjoying pizza and beer. This was probably the nicest campground we stayed at!
On to Stage 7!
Leave a Comment: