TMB Days 19 & 20: Col de Balme to Refuge La Flégère - August 7th to 8th, 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 19 and 20 on the trail, from Col de Balme to Refuge La Flégère, with an overnight stay at Gîte Le Moulin in Les Frasserands, all in France.
Thursday, Day 19 of the TMB, we changed our itinerary slightly to give Ann a break from some elevation gain. We were trying to set her up for success for the following day’s hike which included the “Ladder Section”.
Breakfast at Gîte d’Alpage Les Ecuries de Charamillon was from 6:45 am to 7:30. We arrived at our usual 7 am. The selection was OK, but not our favorite. There was cottage cheese instead of yogurt; Ann passed. Instead, she had milk with her muesli. There were fresh oranges, juice, bread, butter, and jam, along with one piece of cake per person, and one piece of cheese per person.
We waited until about 8:45 am before leaving, hoping our wet clothes would dry. They didn’t, so we packed them up damp and hit the trail. Ann tied her socks to the outside of her pack again, since those are usually the last things to dry.
We wanted to head back up to Col du Balme, to pick up the standard TMB trail again. It was about a mile (1.5 kilometers) from the gîte, uphill. We had already hiked that mile, so we decided we didn’t need to hike it again. Instead, we walked about ten minutes downhill to the bottom of the Télèsiège des Autannes (Autannes chairlift). It was 11.50 euros per person to take us up one way. And the top of the lift was still about a 15 minute walk to Col du Balme. But the walk was much flatter, so it eliminated some elevation gain. Given her current health, Ann felt it was worth it.
From Col du Balme, the trail circles down on the opposite side of the valley, then it climbs back up some. However, we saw there were some lower trails so we wouldn’t have to climb quite so high, which Ann thought was a great idea. So instead of staying on the main TMB trail, we went on one that went by Alpage de Balme.
We stopped at Alpage de Balme for a quick drink and a bag of chips. After using their toilet, we got back on trail.
Even though it wasn’t the official TMB trail, it was still a stunning trail. There were views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding peaks most of the way. We passed by a little pond, where a group of French-speaking people seemed excited, so, of course, Ann had to check it out. There were little creatures swimming in the water. We believe they were salamanders.
Wildflowers and blueberry bushes lined the trail to frame in the gorgeous views. It seemed to be blueberry harvest time, as we saw quite a few people filling their buckets with berries. Some of them had little boxes with combs or tines on one side, which allowed them to scoop the berries off the bushes.
Then, after joining our original route again, it was a long, steep descent down to Tré le Champ. We arrived at Tré le Champ le Bas in time for lunch before they closed. It was a busy place. We had to wait a little while for a table, ending up inside instead of out on the patio, so we could get seated sooner.
Despite eliminating most of the elevation gain, Ann did not feel good at this point. She had some sinus congestion and felt like she had a buzz. She had put one electrolyte tablet in her water that day, but she probably should have laid off the electrolytes all together. It was at this point that Ann came to the realization that she was not fit to tackle the steep climb the next day, known as the Ladder Section. Risking passing out on a ladder did not seem like a safe thing to do, not only for herself but also for other hikers around her.
Ann fought back the tears. She felt like a failure. Here we were, taking 22 days to complete the TMB, longer than anyone we have heard of, and we still couldn’t complete it. And she was looking forward to experiencing the Ladder Section. But she knew it was the right decision. We needed to come up with an alternative plan.
For lunch, Keith had “Le Bowl” which was like a mixed salad with buckwheat. Ann ordered La Tarte salée. It was vegetables baked in a buckwheat pastry shell, served with a nice salad. Everything was pretty tasty. Ann started to feel a little better after lunch. Getting some food and plain water in her belly seemed to help. But she still didn’t feel like she could handle the Ladder Section the next day.
From there, it wasn’t far to our destination for the day, Gîte Le Moulin. By the time we reached it, we had covered 9.9 kilometers (6.2 miles) with an elevation gain of 124 meters (407 feet) and an elevation loss of 1028 meters (3373 feet). That was a lot better than the original plan of 10.5 kilometers (6.4 miles) with an elevation gain of 521 meters (1709 feet) and an elevation loss of 1096 meters (3596 feet). We counted it as hike number 45 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2025.
Gîte Le Moulin was a nice, small, family-run place. We took our showers and put on our damp clothes. They finished drying pretty quickly on our warm bodies. Our fresh, wet laundry went outside in the sun on some plastic chairs in the garden area. They dried before we went to bed, yay!
As we waited for the 7 pm dinner, we worked on our alternative plan. Our reserved accommodations for the following night were at Refuge Flégère. It was conveniently at the top of the Télécabine Flégère - Les Praz (the Flégère gondola). There was an alternate TMB route along the valley to reach the gondola, called the Petit Balcon Sud. It would be less than eight kilometers (five miles) with an elevation gain of less than 106 meters (350 feet). Again, it would cost us more money for the gondola, but Ann felt she could handle that much better than the original 7.7 kilometers (4.8 miles) with an elevation gain of 894 meters (2933 feet) for the Ladder Section.
Dinner was delicious. However, we sat at a table by ourselves, so we didn’t have anyone to converse with. Bummer!
The first course was a lovely mixed salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing. The main was a baked dish with potatoes, onions, spicy sausage, cheese, and fresh herbs. Dessert was a cherry cake. Ann’s appetite was back and it felt good to fill up with some tasty food. Very satisfying.
Friday, Day 20 of the TMB, was a light day of hiking. For some reason, Ann did not sleep well the night before. We were in a seven bed room with six people. The room was fairly quiet, with only some light snorers. Ann was experiencing some sinus congestion, but that shouldn’t have kept her from sleeping. Despite going to bed early, it took her a really long time to fall asleep. She only got four and a half hours of sleep. So when she woke up, she did not feel that good. That reinforced our decision to skip the Ladder Section.
Breakfast at Gîte Le Moulin was served at 7 am. It was not as good as the dinner was the night before. There was no yogurt, so Ann had corn flakes with milk instead. There was a large croissant per person which was pretty good.
Even though we had a light day of hiking, we started out around 8 am. We had a little bit of a road walk, from Gîte Le Moulin through the cute little town of Argentière before reaching the Petit Balcon Sud trail.
The trail didn’t have many views, but it was a pleasant stroll through the forest. As we approached the town of Les Tines, the trail started following alongside a peaceful stream called L’Arve. Then we continued onto a trail called Le Paradis des Praz (the paradise of Praz). The area along the stream looked like a lovely place for local families to hang out. There were picnic tables, a playground, and pony rides.
We stopped at the snack bar, also called Le Paradis des Pras, and had a couple of Ultraviolet fruit smoothies with strawberries, bananas, and blueberries. They seemed very healthy and refreshing.
By the time we reached the bottom gondola station of the Télécabine Flégère - Les Praz, we had gone 7.9 kilometers (4.9 miles) with an elevation gain of 106 meters (348 feet) and an elevation loss of 379 meters (1243 feet). It took us two hours and 45 minutes to complete, including our smoothie stop. It was hike 46 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2025.
We bought our tickets and ascended up to Flégère. The staff at the ticket window advised us to buy a round trip ticket instead of one way. It was 18 euros for a one way up, but a one way down costs 24 euros. The round trip only cost 22.20 euros per person. They assured us that the round trip ticket would be valid for us to come down on the Plan Praz gondola the next day. So we bought the round trip. We’re not sure how long the return trip is valid.
When we reached the top, we sat down and had lunch at Foehn Sandwicherie. We both had the jambon (ham) panini with French fries. It was a lot more food than we could eat. Neither one of us finished our food.
It was a little too early to check into Refuge La Flégère, so we pulled up a couple of chairs, bought a couple of drinks from the refuge, relaxed, and enjoyed the views of Mont Blanc.
At 2 pm, they let us check in. We were in a six person room, with the bathroom down the hall. The refuge is an old, wooden building, with creaky floors and doors. The bunk beds were comfortable enough and we had a great view out the window of our room.
Ann lay down for a nap for a couple of hours, while Keith hung out in the shade outside. Ann had a sinus headache and the nap made her feel better. Then we both hung out outside until dinner, at 7 pm.
While waiting for dinner, Ann decided to take a look at her jammed PeakDesign camera clip. It didn’t take long for her to figure out the issue. She had just gotten confused between which position was the locked position and which was the unlocked position. It wasn’t jammed at all. Boy, did she feel silly! Being tired and not feeling well must have clouded her thinking.
Ann tried the refuge’s Hiker Ginger, which was ginger syrup mixed with Perrier water. For her, it was not enough ginger and too much Perrier. For some reason, she’s never liked the taste of sparkling water.
This was the first refuge where there was not potable water available. It looked like the kitchen there filtered their own water, as Keith spotted what looked like a Berkey water filter (unpaid link) in the kitchen. After dinner, there was a water tank available for people to fill up their water bottles for the following day. However, Ann’s water bottle was empty when we arrived at the refuge, so she bought a large bottle of water, still water, not sparkling water.
Dinner was pretty decent. The starter was mixed salad. The main was potatoes, onions, and pieces of ham baked in a cream sauce along with some dried meats on the side. Then we had a cheese course, with three types of cheeses along with bread. For dessert, there were three options to choose from, a chocolate mousse, an apple tart, and a third option that we can’t remember because no one at our table chose that one.
We sat next to a retired couple from Ireland. They were completing the TMB the following day, their tenth day. It would be all the way to Les Houches. We hope they were successful, as that is a long, hard stretch of trail.
Although we were disappointed about skipping the Ladder Section, we now felt like we were in good shape to finish the rest of the TMB. We just had two short sections to go.
Check out our related video: TMB Days 19 & 20: Col de Balme to Refuge La Flégère
(Ann)