Tour du Mont Blanc Day Six – Courmayeur to Rifugio Bonatti

“The beauty of adventure is to dream of it, to give air to the imagination, then you also try to give substance to your dreams”.
Walter Bonatti

As I climb up the steep rise above Rifugio Bertone, the noonday sun is beating down, my lungs are busting and I am soaked in sweat. All this is forgotten however when I reach the grassy knoll above the Rifugio and am confronted by a sight of sublime magnificence. Across Val Ferret, so close it can almost be touched is the Mount Blanc massif. Once again, I am astounded by the majesty of this huge mountain range of jagged rock and ice. Its scale and beauty is difficult to describe. It is indescribable. And once again, a balcony path stretches ahead of me ensuring that I get to revel in its awesomeness for the rest of the day.

It’s a relaxing start to the day after a comfortable nights sleep and breakfast in the hotel is the best we’ve had. When we checkout the manageress takes our key, wishes us well on our journey and then disappears. We wait for a bill that never arrives. Eventually I ring the bell, “would you like us to pay?”, “Oh, I thought you were with the Macs Adventure group and had already paid” she says. As we settle the bill we curse our innate honesty but know it’s better than getting our collars felt by the local Carabinieri.

The trail heads up and out of town on Strada Del Villair passing the eighteenth century Church of Saint Pantaleon. Ahead of us is Michael who we shared the cable car with yesterday. It turns out he’s a professor in Latin so walking in Italy must be like a busman’s holiday for him. He’s way ahead of us and is younger and quicker so we don’t see him for the rest of the day.

The road passes houses and chalets, which become less frequent and eventually we enter alpine woodland. Just past a car park the trail leaves the road and crosses a footbridge over the Torrent de Tsapy which has a man made waterfall. Here the incline turns up a notch and it’s a steep climb up through the conifers.

Although the going is tough we are glad for some shade in the evergreens and the sunlight dapples through the canopy casting dancing shadows on the path. Plenty of people pass us on the way up and one or two pass us going down. Steve gets chatting to a young Nepali who is here getting his mountain guiding qualification so he can lead groups back in Nepal.

The path continues relentlessly upwards but it is good to do a bit of ‘forest bathing’ and there are tantalising glimpses through the trees of Courmayeur, now looking like a toy town below us.

It’s with some relief that we arrive at the fantastically positioned Rifugio Bertone, another refuge with a cracking balcony. We have a relaxing lunch under the umbrella’s on the terrace and take on plenty of liquids as it’s another hot day. It’s a bustling and popular hut with plenty of guided groups passing through as well as day walkers coming up from Courmayeur for lunch and views.

After lunch we climb the short but steep rise to the knoll which has a toposcope and that glorious view of Mount Blanc across Val Ferret. The summit has a little cap of cloud hovering over it today but the huge Glacier de la Brenva and the sharp needle pointed Aiguille Noire de Peuterey are striking from this angle.

In fact there are marvellous 360° views all around. Rising into the sky like a cone across the Aosta valley is Mont Chetif, which has a statue of the Virgin Mary on its peak. The Monte de la Saxe variant diverts off the main TMB route here and I can see it’s steep ascent up the hill next to avalanche fences.

We stay on the main route which curves into Val Ferret and then traverses along the valley side staying roughly around two thousand metres. Unlike yesterday when the sun shone all day clouds are starting to gather as we make our way along the balcony path.

This doesn’t detract from the sublimity of the walking however and just like yesterday we are in walking heaven. The trail stretches out before us passing through clumps of pines where the only sound is the wind rustling the needles.

The closer we get to Rifugio Bonatti the darker the clouds become and I get the feeling the rain jacket is going to get its first outing on this journey. Sure enough, just after we cross the Torrent d’Arminaz it starts to rain. Fortunately we have entered a forested section and I stop under a tree with a guided group and dig out my raincoat. Ten minutes later the rain, which never really got going stops but the scene is set for a showery end to the day.

Like Rifugio’s Elisabetta and Bertone, Rifugio Bonatti is positioned high up on the valley side so it is a lung busting climb at the end of the day to reach it, especially as I am trying to get under cover before another shower passes over. Also, like Elisabetta, Bonatti is one of THE classic mountain huts to spend the night in. I booked it over eight months ago so it has been a long time coming, but at last we are finally here.

And because I booked early, for the second night in a row Steve and I have a room to ourselves. It’s another token operated shower and despite preparing myself for a quick one I get about ten seconds of tepid water before it turns into straight off the mountain ice cold. My teeth are chattering whilst I wash the soap off in record time. Wim Hof would be proud of me. Steve decides he’ll give the shower a miss. In fact there is not a drop of warm water to be found in the whole place.

But you don’t stay at Rifugio Walter Bonatti because you want five star comfort. You stay here because when you step out of the door you are met with what has to be one of the most superlative, jaw dropping views that you are ever likely to see. Straight ahead are the jagged pinnacles of the Grandes Jorasses which lead seamlessly into the ridges and Aigulles of Mont Blanc. The whole southern aspect of the mountain range is on view from the Col de la Seigne which we crossed three days ago to Grand Col Ferret which we will cross tomorrow. For a lover of mountains it is an immensely satisfying, almost spiritual sight.

Dinner is busy but the place is run like clockwork and the staff are very efficient. We sit next to a couple of young women from Sacramento who are doing the walk self guided. And as if the view alone isn’t a good enough reason to stay here, when dinner arrives it is sausage and mash, with chocolate mousse for dessert. I think I have died and gone to heaven.

Route Map, Walk Stats, Geolocated Picture Gallery and 3D Flyover Video Below.

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