Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 9: Le Peuty to Tré-Le-Champ

This guide to Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 9 will help you plan the route from Le Peuty in Switzerland to Tré-Le-Champ in France.

Backpacker with arms raised triumphantly toward foggy view on Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 9.

After an enjoyable (if rainy) evening at the Le Peuty campground, we woke up and packed up our gear for another day on trail.

After yesterday’s muddy march on Stage 8, I wasn’t sure what to expect today, but it ended up being one of my favorite days on trail.

Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 9: Activity Profile

8.6 miles
3,642-foot ascent
3,419-foot descent

Read up on our gear recommendations, as well as lessons learned on the TMB.

Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 9: The Goal

Starting at the Le Peuty campground, we’d need to ascend to Col de Balme and cross back into France. Then we’d move across the l’Aiguillette des Posettes ridgeline before descending into Tré-le-Champ.

Le Peuty to Col de Balme

The Tour du Mont Blanc runs right past the Le Peuty campground, so while I drank my instant coffee, I waffled between admiring the views and watching other hikers beginning the long ascent ahead.

I also found myself wondering if there was anyway I could skip the hard part. The answer was no.

Early morning light on snow-covered mountain peak partially covered by clouds. — View From the Campground

Hikers on gravel trail beginning Stage 9 of the Tour du Mont Blanc. — Hikers Beginning the Ascent Near the Le Peuty Campground

This section of the TMB started with a difficult 3-mile, 3,000-foot climb to Col de Balme. That’s about a 1,000-foot-per-mile elevation change, for you math fans out there.

Rugged trail up forested hillside on Stage 9 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Steep dirt trail through forest on Stage 9 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

It was a foggy day, but we kept getting glimpses of nice views.

Green mountainside with distant peak obscured by cloud.

Eventually we could see the Refuge du Col de Balme looming on the horizon.

Bare top edge of hillside against a grey sky with a small refuge hut just visible on horizon.

When we arrived at the refuge, we enjoyed some cappuccinos and what are probably the best brownies I’ve ever eaten. I’ve also heard the hot chocolate here is amazing.

Two cappuccinos and two brownies with whipped cream.

More recommendations for the best food and drink on the TMB here!

I didn’t realize until we left, but the refuge area was also where we crossed out of Switzerland and back into France!

Hiking Across l’Aiguillette des Posettes

When we left the refuge, we started crossing an area with rolling hills and lots of chairlifts. (It did not appear any of the chairlifts were operating during our visit.)

Sloping mountainside with clouds obscuring the view.

At this point, the fog started playing in the sky. We were certain it was about to lift at any moment, but instead it just kept dancing in and out, creating really gorgeous moody views of the Chamonix valley.

The Mont Blanc massif looms over everything, but it was hiding on us today.

And then, the trail got interesting. I’d even go so far as to say it turned into the most fun rocky playground ever.

Slabs of rock on steep trail on Stage 9 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Slabs of rock along steep trail on Stage 9 of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

For me, this section was just challenging enough to be really fun without leaving me overwhelmed.

Rugged and steep rock trail on Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 9.

Distant hikers nearing the top of a rocky ascent.

It probably also helped that we saw very few other hikers through this section, so I wasn’t constantly concerned that I was rock scrambling too slowly in front of a faster hiker.

This area was also covered in blueberry bushes! (Yum!)

As we continued, the rocks just kept coming.

Backpacker hiking through fog along narrow rocky ledge on Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 9.

Backpacker standing at top of rocky trail in the fog.

When the fog would blow away, we could briefly see stunning views, so on a clear day this is likely a fantastic view.

Backpacker looking out over a bank of thick fog obscuring the view.

Hikers descend rocky trail on Tour du Mont Blanc Stage 9 with jagged mountain peaks barely visible through gaps in clouds.

We continued downhill to Tré-le-Champ, watching the fog dance as we went.

Woman carrying backpack and trekking pole hiking down hill with cloud-covered mountains in view.

When we reached the road, we walked to the refuge Auberge la Boerne and stayed in their bivouac area. The next day, we’d have the portion of trail I’d been dreading: the ladders on Stage 10.