Tour du Mont Blanc Stages 10v + 11: Lac Blanc to Les Houches

This guide to Tour du Mont Blanc Stages 10v and 11 will help you conclude your mountain trek with a scenic variant via Lac Blanc.

Ibex standing on mountain precipice with towering mountains in background.

The Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 10 trail continues past Lacs de Chéserys (where we had stopped for the night) with more astonishingly beautiful views.

This section of trail is part of the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserves, and is home to pristine alpine lakes, as well as animals such as marmots, ibex and chamois.

Tour du Mont Blanc Stages 10v + 11: Activity Profile

This was intended to be about a 14-mile day, but we ended up taking a shortcut due to illness and incoming weather.

7 miles
1,791-foot ascent
2,425-foot descent

Tour du Mont Blanc Stages 10v + 11: The Goal

Our goal was to go from our campsite at Lacs des Chéserys to Lac Blanc via the stage 10 variant trail.

Then we’d go past La Flégère on to Stage 11, the conclusion of the TMB. This would be a climb up to le Brévent and then down back to where we started in Les Houches. (As mentioned, things did not go exactly as planned.)

Lacs des Chéserys to Lac Blanc

After packing up our campsite at Lacs des Chéserys, we once again admired the view before setting off for our final day on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Tent pitched at edge of lake with view of snowy mountain range in early morning light.

We opted to take the Lac Blanc variant, since it promised even more gorgeous lake views.

Hiker ascending steep rocky trail with snowy mountain range and alpine lake in background on Stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Hiker ascending rocky mountainside with hikers refuge just visible at top of ridge. — Refuge du Lac Blanc in the Background

The climb to Refuge du Lac Blanc is rocky and includes one more set of side-by-side ladders. It also included more of the wooden steps (which I disliked much more than the ladders).

Wooden steps affixed to rocky ground on Stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Hiker navigating rocky terrain with snowy mountains in background on Stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Be aware that Refuge du Lac Blanc does not have free potable water or restrooms available. (The refuge website indicates that restrooms are available for a 1-euro donation, but the day we visited they didn't seem inclined to offer this as an option.)

They do have very expensive water bottles available, so if you’re desperate this is an option. (I believe all their supplies are helicoptered in.)

If you’re not desperate, you may do better to wait until you reach La Flégère.

Rocky trail with view of snow-covered mountain range.

Lac Blanc to La Flégère

From Refuge Lac Blanc, we headed towards Refuge la Flégère.

Since I wasn’t feeling well and we weren’t sure why, we decided to dump all our water at La Flégère and get different water, just in case it was something in the water that our filter missed.

Note that La Flégère doesn’t have potable water, but they said it was fine to use their sink water if we filtered it. We also picked up some bottled drinks here.

Boardwalk across rocky mountain terrain on Stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc. — Boardwalk on the Way to La Flégère

Small alpine lake with view of mountain range topped with clouds on Stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

La Flégère to Les Houches

After leaving Refuge la Flégère, we continued on down the trail.

The TMB in this section crosses multiple rocky avalanche fields, but the trail across them is not difficult to follow or especially tricky to walk on.

Hiker navigating rocky avalanche field on Stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

The views of the rocky fields were startling, but once we started walking, it was fine. Gear suggestions here!

Hikers navigating rock avalanche fields on mountainside.

Hiker following trail through rock avalanche field on mountainside.

The trail was a fairly gentle slope through much of this section, despite having lots of rocks and roots that required more careful footing than a dirt path.

Rocks and roots crossing uphill trail on Stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

And the views just kept on giving. It was remarkable.

Dirt trail ascending mountainside with view of snow-covered peaks across valley on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

When we started the climb to le Brévent, it became clear that (because I was feeling unwell), I wasn’t moving quickly enough for the time frame we had to work with. A strong thunderstorm was moving in, and we needed to get off the mountain.

Hikers on trail through rock avalanche field on Stages 10 and 11 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Ultimately we made the call to take the cable car down to Chamonix at the Brévent mid-station.

If you’re making this trek and want to carry on, the top of Brévent has a restaurant called Le Panoramic with (what seems like) some fabulous views.

From the top, you can either take the cable car down, or take the steep trail to the bottom and back to Les Houches. You're finished!

Summing Up Our Tour du Mont Blanc Journey

At the end of our final day, I was pretty disappointed not to make the full loop on foot, but as we got safely back to our hotel before the heavy thunderstorm began, I felt much better about our decision.

In the end, it was a reminder that we can’t control everything in the mountains. We can only make the best decisions possible given the circumstances. We took away many lessons from the TMB, but that one might have been the most crucial.

Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc was our biggest adventure yet, and it brought me to tears multiple times: because I was exhausted, because I was frustrated, but most often, because I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the beauty all around me.

If you’re able to do this trek, whether in part or in full, be prepared to let the mountains touch your soul. And you can do it with a cappuccino and pastry in hand.