Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 1: Col de Tricot variant

Get off to a good start on Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 1! Here is what you need to know for hiking the Col de Tricot variant.

Dirt trail along grassy mountainside with peaks in the distance.

This past summer, we embarked on one of our biggest adventures yet: the Tour du Mont Blanc!

The Tour du Mont Blanc (or TMB) is a long-distance hiking trail that encircles the Mont Blanc massif, the tallest mountain in Western Europe.

The TMB is over 105 miles long, and is broken into a series of stages (sometimes called sections). Many of these stages have variants — alternate versions of the trail that connect back up to the original loop.

The exact start and end point for each stage differs slightly depending on which source you look at.

In this series, I’ll review the trail as we did it, stage by stage. Starting, of course, with stage 1!

Backpacker on dirt trail alongside Alpine meadow and mountain peak.

Activity Profile

We broke this section into two by taking the first five miles as a day hike without our large bags. Here are the totals for that day hike plus our official Day 1.

17 miles
6,384-foot ascent
4,669-foot descent

Here are our recommendations for the best backpacking gear for the TMB, as well as some lessons learned.

Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 1: The Goal

We would start in Les Houches (at the photo op spot shown below), and go up past Col de Voza. (This is the portion we did as a day hike upon arrival.)

Next, we’d take the Col de Tricot variant for some spectacular views before dropping down to Refuge de Miage. Next we’d climb another smaller portion before dropping into Les Contamines.

We’d continue past the town and Nant Borrant to a free bivouac camping area.

Camping on the TMB requires a bit of planning and can only be done in designated areas.

Photo Op in Les Houches

At the official start of the trail in Les Houches, don’t forget to take a picture under the starting arch!

A couple standing under a decorative gateway marking the start of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Then, continue down the road on the trail.

Les Houches to the Bellevue Cable Car

When the trail begins to ascend from the main road in Les Houches, things get tough fast.

A great many TMB hikers skip this section entirely, and for perfectly valid reasons.

This section is about 5 miles long, and approximately 4 of those miles are steep uphill. Most of that section is on a loose gravel road that is not the most pleasant to walk on.

Backpackers going uphill on loose gravel road.

You can quite easily skip this section entirely by taking the Bellevue cable car from Les Houches, and make the beginning of your journey easier. So, should you?

Reasons to skip the first part of Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 1

If you’re going the traditional counter-clockwise route, it’s a tough first day. The day we did it, there was another hiker openly weeping as she struggled up the mountain. A very rough start indeed.

The TMB is kind of a beast, and if you can make it easier or shorter and that makes it more doable for you, this is absolutely a section I’d recommend skipping.

It involves mostly road walking (pavement and gravel), and we occasionally had to move aside for vehicles, motorcycles and mountain bikes.

Cyclist coming downhill on loose gravel road on Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 1.

Reasons not to skip:

It’s part of the trail, so if you’re challenging yourself to do every bit of the loop, consider adding this section.

The road part might not be the best, but the views are definitely amazing.

Cows in meadow with mountain peaks and chair lift in background.

Chair lift above grassy mountainside with snow-covered peaks in distance.

It makes a very nice warm-up hike when done as a day hike from Chamonix or Les Houches (without a big bag).

If you do it as a day hike, you can take the cable car down (one-way) and then up again (one-way) when you begin your hike.

This option does cost more (compared to walking). Make sure to check the cable car schedule before heading out to make sure it’s open when you’ll need it.

Because we did this portion as a day hike, we were able to stop for lunch and a beer at Col du Voza, and it was a much needed reward. More info on TMB food and drink here!

And then we headed downhill on the Bellevue cable car, and would pick back up with our journey two days later.

Bellevue cable car at the top of mountain.

Hiking to Col de Tricot from Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 1

On our official day one, we returned (via cable car) back to where we’d left off, ready to tackle the Col de Tricot. (Or at least, we hoped we were ready!)

This variant has incredible views, but is best to only do in good weather. If it’s raining, it’s better to do the original Tour du Mont Blanc stage 1 trail. Thankfully we had crystal clear blue skies to guide our way.

The trail quickly becomes rocky and climbs up onto the easy scramble pictured below. There’s a chain here (but it was seemingly unnecessary, at least in good weather).

Hiker using trekking poles to navigate rock scramble in Stage 1 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Next, it crosses a very bouncy swinging bridge over a waterfall. The bridge seems quite sturdy, despite the bounciness.

As soon as we stepped out of the forested area, the mountains were showing off for us.

Snow-covered mountain peaks seen from Stage 1 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

But when we began climbing up and up, and then when we reached the Col de Tricot, the real views began.

Narrow dirt trail along grassy mountainside.

Dirt trail on grassy mountainside in Stage 1 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Backpacker pausing on mountainside dirt trail above valley view.

After savoring the views for just a moment (and catching our breath from the ascent), we began the steep descent.

You can get a better idea of the steepness from a vantage point reached later in the day (pictured below).

Steep zig-zagging trail visible down grassy mountainside.

We stopped briefly at Refuge de Miage for some blueberry pie and beers, and then ate lunch by the creek.

Alpine valley with sign for Refuge et Village de Miage.

Slice of blueberry pie and whipped cream on plate with glasses of beer in background.

These views made the climb (and descent!) worth it.

Alpine mountain and valley below clear blue sky.

Hiking to Les Contamines

Next, the trail began climbing through a forested area, and then it opened up again as we approached Auberge du Truc.

Backpacker on level dirt path on Stage 1 of the Tour du Mont Blanc. — Auburge du Truc on Right of Trail

A few cows in a meadow by Augurge du Truc. — Cows by Augurge du Truc

We then had a long descent into Les Contamines. It was a nice forested area and an easier trail, a good break from the steepness earlier in the day.

Les Contamines to Camp

Once in Les Contamines, we stopped at Spar for groceries.

Then the trail took us along a city park, a long flat section of trail.

For dinner, we stopped Chalet du Lac, but we timed it wrong and ended up just having beer and ice cream for dinner. By this point, we were so tired that I’m not sure we had the energy to chew anyway.

We continued past Notre Dame de la Gorge.

Notre Dame de la Gorge church and tower.

Then, somewhat tragically, the trail begins to climb again. (I was hoping we were done with elevation gain until the next day.)

Hikers ascending gravel path up hillside.

The TMB continues past an old Roman bridge, Pont Romain. There’s a pretty waterfall behind it.

Roman stone bridge on Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 1.

Waterfall flowing through narrow gorge on Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 1.

Near Refuge Nant Borrant, we stopped to refill all our water bottles.

Fountain spouting water into wooden trough along the Tour du Mont Blanc.

That evening, we stayed at the nearby bivouac campground. If you want to go about a mile farther, there’s another (possibly smaller) campground near the Refuge de la Balme.