TMB Days 17 & 18: Champex-Lac to Col de Balme - August 5th to 6th, 2025
The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is a 165 kilometer (103 mile) hiking trail which encircles Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Western Europe, through France, Italy, and Switzerland. Our original plan was to complete the hike in 21 days, but we extended it to 22 days before we even started, because Ann was recovering from a bad cold. This post covers days 17 and 18 on the trail, from Champex-Lac to Col de Balme, with an overnight stay at Hôtel du Col de la Forclaz, starting in Switzerland and crossing the border back into France.
Tuesday, Day 17 of the TMB was our longest day of hiking. Breakfast, of course, was wonderful. There was a lot of selection on the buffet, from pancakes to boiled eggs, yogurt and muesli to croissants. There was a variety of teas. Ann chose the rose hips and hibiscus. She tried to eat a large breakfast to make sure she had strength for the long day ahead.
Hôtel Splendide had a long breakfast, from 7 am to 10 am. We made sure we were there at 7 am so we could get on the trail a little past 8 am. We wanted to allow plenty of time to get to our next destination.
Ann had developed another blister on her other foot, so she applied petroleum jelly to both feet. It seemed to heal up the first blister fine, but she kept it up so she wouldn’t get another blister to form.
The trail started off going through the town of Champex Lac, right along the shore of the lake. The mountain peaks reflected off the water. The grade starting off was pretty gradual for the first couple of miles.
We were hoping to stop for a drink at Plan de l’Au, right before the trail started to climb. However, they are not open on Mondays and Tuesdays. We stopped anyway, took our packs off, and ate some trail food. We had a fruit and nut bar, a couple of beef sticks, and some cashews. Then we topped off our water before starting our climb.
At first, the grade was not too bad and Ann could keep up a sustainable pace. Then it got steeper. It wasn’t long before Ann was struggling again. Her breathing was heavy and it didn’t seem like she could get enough oxygen to her legs. She found herself taking small steps and stopping often to catch her breath. This did not seem normal to us. It was hard to blame her cold that she had before starting the TMB. We were getting concerned that it might be a more serious health issue. Instead of keeping her heart rate below 140 beats per minute like the day before, Ann tried to keep it below 130 bpm this time.
As we started to worry if Ann would make it, Keith took some items from Ann to lighten her pack a little. He took her Teva sandals, her spare water bottle, and her Canon Powershot camera. Thankfully, we had already figured out how to clip the camera to the chest strap of the pack, so we didn’t have to transfer over the PeakDesign camera clip (which was jammed up anyway).
We crossed a couple of streams. One had some large chunks of snow that we negotiated around. Part way up, we stopped to try to get more food into Ann. She tried to eat another fruit and nut bar, but it was just too sweet and she had no appetite. She gave up after eating only half of it.
After a long, slow struggle, we finally reached Alpage de Bovine. Luckily, we arrived before the kitchen shut down. Ann had a bowl of vegetable soup while Keith had a piece of peach cake. The cake was good, but the vegetable soup was not. It just seemed to be some vegetables thrown into hot water, with no seasonings. Some of the vegetables weren’t even cooked. And it was served with stale bread. Ann managed to finish the soup, but skipped the bread.
From Alpage de Bovine, there was a little more elevation again, but the slope was not as steep and Ann managed it OK after the nice rest for lunch. Then it was downhill almost the whole way to Forclaz, our destination for the day.
Ann had no troubles with the descent. No more breathing hard, no need to stop and catch her breath. It was clear sailing.
It was about 4:30 pm by the time we reached Hôtel du Col de la Forclaz. We hiked 15.4 kilometers (9.6 miles) that day, with an elevation gain of 850 meters (2789 feet) and an elevation loss of 760 meters (2493 feet). It took us eight hours to complete, including all of our stops. It was hike number 43 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2025.
We originally reserved two spots in the hotel’s dorm. When we arrived, we asked if they had a private room available. They did! So we took it and paid the extra price.
After checking in and taking our showers, Ann hung out in the room while Keith went down to the patio and drank a beer. We hung out our laundry in the room, near the windows, hoping it would dry overnight. Everything dried except for Ann’s hiking socks, so she tied them to the outside of her pack in the morning.
For dinner, we were assigned a table with another couple. They were speaking French to each other and didn’t seem to want to try to engage in a conversation with us. So we didn’t try.
Dinner started out with a bowl of soup, much better than the one Ann had at Alpage de Bovine. It was a blended vegetable soup, seasoned nicely. The main course was chicken, ratatouille, and shoestring French fries. Ratatouille is a French dish of stewed vegetables, usually including eggplant, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Dessert was a scoop of ice cream.
After dinner and offloading her footage, Ann went to bed, hoping to regain her strength. She slept over nine hours that night.
Wednesday, Day 18 of the TMB, was a shorter distance than the previous two days, but there was still a significant climb. We didn’t need to get as early of a start, so we got up at 7:30, ate breakfast at 8 am, and didn’t start hiking until a little after 9 am. The breakfast buffet was the longest of the places we’ve been to so far on the TMB. It went from 7 to 10:30 am.
Breakfast was decent with yogurt, muesli, boiled eggs, bread, and one croissant per person. Ann was eyeing someone’s croissant that they had left on the table, but was not bold enough to speak up before the staff carried it away. Ann loves a good croissant, even a second one.
From Forclaz, the trail started out by descending down to Le Peuty in the valley. However, part way down, we missed a turn and reached the valley too early, at Trient. To get back on our route, we didn’t have to go too much additional distance, but, more to Ann’s disappointment, it was additional elevation gain.
We stopped near Refuge Le Peuty. We were hoping to get a drink, but they didn’t look like they were open yet. But we did take our packs off, sit down, and eat a little snack. Before hitting the trail again, we used the public restroom and topped off our water. We were about to start our climb up to Col de Balme.
Ann did OK, until we hit the switchbacks. The trail didn’t seem quite as steep as the day before. Ann was able to go longer between stopping and catching her breath and had an easier time keeping her heart rate down. However, it was still a slow struggle. Keith was carrying her spare water bottle and her Teva sandals to reduce her pack weight again, but Ann took back her camera.
There were a couple of benches and picnic tables along the switchbacks. Ann sat down at every single one of them. After the switchbacks, the grade of the trail was not as steep, but it was still a slow grind. Keith would go ahead, as he couldn’t stand to walk as slow as Ann, then he would stop and wait for her to catch up. Ann appreciated his patience.
After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached Refuge du Col de Balme, just minutes before the kitchen closed. We both ordered a bowl of vegetable soup. The soup was thick, well seasoned, and very delicious. It also came with a tasty piece of baguette and a thick slice of cheese. Just like during the hike the day before, Ann didn’t have much of an appetite, but she eventually ate all her food. It tasted so good and she knew she needed the calories.
Our accommodations for the night were at Gîte d’Alpage Les Ecuries de Charamillon. It was about a mile downhill from Col de Balme. Col de Balme is the border between Switzerland and France, so we returned to France.
Going downhill, Ann recovered from the climb and had no problems. We reached the Gîte around 3:45 pm. Our route that day was 10.1 kilometers (6.3 miles) with an elevation gain of 981 meters (3219 feet) and an elevation loss of 496 meters (1627 feet). It took us six hours and forty minutes, including all of our stops. It was hike number 44 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2025.
Gîte d’Alpage Les Ecuries de Charamillon is a small gîte, with only 19 beds. Most of the rooms are four person rooms. However, the walls of the rooms do not go up to the ceiling, so noise and light spills over into all of the rooms. They also rent out tents, to accommodate an additional ten people. It also looked like some people came with their own tents and camped nearby.
We sat down for a little while, drank some Cokes, and took in the spectacular views of Mont Blanc and other surrounding mountain peaks. As Ann got ready to take her shower, she realized her Campsuds were missing. She must have left them at Rifugio Eleana, the last place we needed our own soap. Oh well, she just borrowed Keith’s shampoo.
We hung our laundry outside on the provided clothes lines. However, after dinner, they were still wet. Ann moved her laundry to the inside lines in the laundry/bathroom area, while Keith draped his over his bed. By morning, we moved things again outside, as they had not dried overnight.
Dinner was nice. It started with soup, followed by chicken in a tomato and bell pepper sauce with rice. Dessert was panna cotta with a fruit sauce.
We struck up a lovely conversation with a Danish couple sitting next to us at dinner. They booked late, so were taking six days to do half the TMB, from Courmayeur to Chamonix. It was nice to socialize again, since we hadn’t had any interaction with other hikers in a few days.
Ann didn’t even offload her footage after dinner, but went straight to bed. However, she did not get a good night’s sleep. It wasn’t the noise, lights, or snoring that bothered her. First, her muscles started cramping up, not just her legs, but also her hands. Perhaps she had been taking too many electrolytes. Instead of just one packet per day like she was doing before, the past three days she had been using two or three packets per day. She thought she needed it for the grueling climbs and the long days, but she’s guessing she overdid it. Then the mattress was too firm for her and her hips started aching.
The two hardest days of hiking on the TMB, Days 16 and 17, were now behind us. Up to that point along the TMB, Ann’s health had been gradually getting better, but now it seemed to be declining again. We’ll see if she can recover. We only have a few more days to go, so we hoped we would be able to complete the trail.
Check out our related video: TMB Days 17 & 18: Champex-Lac to Col de Balme
(Ann)