Switzerland, France and Italy

Participants meet at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport in Montreal. Assistance with check-in and flight to Lyon.

Dinner and breakfast served on overnight flight.

Arrival at Lyon airport. Transfer by private bus (2.5 hours) to your hotel in Chamonix.

Hotel accommodation.

Dinner included.

Meeting with the group at the SNCF train station in Chamonix. Be dressed in hiking gear, with your backpack ready, water in your water bottle and your hiking shoes on your feet. We will hand over the luggage to the taxi. For the first common picnic and in addition to our preparations, it is appreciated that each of the participants brings one of the specialties of their region of origin, in order to begin the hike with a cultural exchange. We leave for the Petit Balcon Sud, facing Mont Blanc and its famous needles and reach Les Houches to take the Bellevue cable car. We leave the bustle of the Chamonix valley for the tranquility of Bionnassay, at the foot of the Aiguille du Goûter and the normal access route to Mont-Blanc.

Night in Bionnassay, at the end of the Contamines valley.

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 500m, – 1030m / Approximate duration: 6 hrs 14 km

The route takes us between forests and clearings for a side crossing above the Gruvaz gorges. We then pass from the V-shaped valley carved out by the stream, to the U-shaped glacial valley of the Alpages de Miage (1559 m). It is a real little paradise at the foot of the Dômes de Miage. A burst of energy is needed to reach the peaceful Plateau du Truc (1740 m) before descending to Les Contamines-Montjoie. You then go up the Val Montjoie via Notre Dame de la Gorge, a splendid Baroque church from the 17th century. By the ancient passage, wrongly called Roman Way, you pass over the torrent of Bon Nant which rumbles below to reach the “Roman Bridge”, then the Chalet du Nant Borrant (Accommodation only possible in dormitories of 8 people)

You are in the Contamines Montjoie Nature Reserve. Vehicles can only enter before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. You only collect your luggage in the evening.

Night in refuge.

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 970m, – 830m / Approximate duration: 7 hrs 18 km

An alpine stage with the ascent of two passes is on the program for this day. We begin by discovering the tranquility of the Pastures of Balme, before reaching the Col du Bonhomme (2329 m), gateway to Beaufortain. The hard part is done, because it is by slightly ascending the crossing that we reach the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (2479 m). The route then plunges into the mountain pastures of the Glacier Valley to reach the village of Chapieux, the end of your stage. You will be accommodated in Ville des Glaciers by crossing the Col des Fours (2665 m), the highest point of your hike (+ 200 m, + 1 hour). This will shorten your next day’s stage.

Night in refuge.

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 1020m, – 930m / Approximate duration: 6 hrs 12 km

The Col de la Seigne (2516 m) marks the entrance to Val d’Aosta and Italy. Mont-Blanc appears to us from its wildest side. We descend the Val Veni to the enormous moraine of the Miage glacier which bars the whole valley. A short detour takes us to Lac de Miage, wedged between the moraine and the glacier.

Following the bottom of the valley, we discover the prestigious mythical routes of Mont-Blanc which are the Brouillard, Innominata and Peuterey ridges.

Night in a refuge facing the Peuterey ridge

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 1080m, – 990m / Approximate duration: 6h30 hrs 18 km

We go down to Courmayeur for a short visit. In good weather, the warm climb among the sparse larches sees its reward at the Pré de la Saxe (2000 m), a splendid belvedere on the Dent du Géant and the Grandes Jorasses. After a short siesta, we then descend to the Italian Val Ferret and reach Lavachey or Arnuva for the night. Depending on the weather conditions and the choice of the guide, many options are possible.

Night in refuge.

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 880m, – 880m / Approximate duration: 6h00 hrs 17 km

We start the day with the peaceful ascent of the Italian Val Ferret and the discovery of the Glacier du Pré de Bar, an authentic demonstration glacier. It is then time to attack the climb to reach the Grand Col Ferret (2537 m), gateway to the Swiss Val Ferret and the highest point of the hike. Near the Creux de la Chaudière, we face Mont Dolent, very symbolic, since it is at its summit that the three borders, Italian, Swiss and French, meet.

Overnight at La Fouly (1600m).

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 990m, – 1040m / Approximate duration: 6h30 hrs 18 km

This more relaxed stage allows us to taste the sweetness of the Swiss Valais. We descend the Val Ferret, still very agricultural, in search of its superb wooden granaries. The only difficulty of the day lies in the climb to Champex (1473 m) and its lake, an ideal place for a siesta. All we have to do then is reach the entrance to Val d’Arpette to spend the night there.

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 630m, – 600m / Approximate duration: 5h00 hrs 17 km

After a slight descent in the forest, we attack the climb which leads us to the Alpages de Bovine (1987 m). It is a balcony suspended above the Rhône valley, a bath of wide open spaces and horizons, from which one discovers Martigny, the Valais and the Dents Blanches. The climb ends at Collet Portalo (2049 m), before descending into the larches to stop at the Col de la Forclaz (1526 m).

Night in refuge.

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 760m, – 760m / Approximate duration: 5h00 hrs 13 km

After having skirted the Bisse de Trient (a water supply channel dug in the rock), we climb the path leading to the Bergeries des Grands (2113 m), above the Trient Glacier. A balcony route leads us to the Col de Balme (2191 m) where we find France and the Chamonix valley. Mont-Blanc appears to us under the Chamonix side discovered nine days earlier. The descent provides us with very beautiful views of the Glacier du Tour and the Aiguille Verte.

Night in the village of Tour, at the foot of the glacier.

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 900m, – 10500m / Approximate duration: 6h30 hrs 17 km

We climb the ladders of the Aiguillette d’Argentière to reach the Balcony of the Aiguilles Rouges. Our route then reaches one of the Lacs des Chésérys (2133 m), for a last siesta away from the crowds of Lac Blanc. We finish the hike in a grandiose setting, facing the Aiguille Verte and the Drus. Arrival at Chamonix SNCF station is scheduled for around 6 p.m.

Last farewell dinner with the group and night at the hotel in Chamonix.

Lunch, dinner and supper included.

Elevation: + 830m, – 11600m / Approximate duration: 6h30 hrs 15 km

Transfer to the Lyon airport by private bus (2.5 hours) for your return flight to Montreal.

Breakfast included