9 Days on the Tour du Mont Blanc – The Journey of a Lifetime

9 Days on the Tour du Mont Blanc – The Journey of a Lifetime

For the next 9 days, I’m attempting one of the 
most iconic hikes on Earth. No need to worry. No need to panic. This is the tour de Mont Blanc. 
180 km circling Europe’s tallest mountain. This very second is one of the best moments of my life. 
My journey begins here in a small French village not far from Shaman. And the hike will take me 
across three separate countries, France, Italy, and Switzerland. [Music] Have you ever seen 
such a beautiful morning in all of your life? Along the way, I’ll face over 10,000 
m of elevation, scorching summer heat, sudden alpine storms, and the mental 
battle of putting one foot in front of the other day after day with the hopes 
and dreams of finishing this epic hike. The TMB is just pure magic. This is 
going to be an emotional roller coaster. and I’d love for you to join me. [Music] Right, let’s begin. [Music] Okay, welcome to a little village in the French 
Alps called Leouch and the beginning, the starting point for the world famous tour de Mont Blanc. 
An absolutely gargantuan hike that starts in this little village and loops around the French Alps 
into the Italian Alps across and up and around into the Swiss Alps and then back around here 
to Lahouch in France. Three countries, 9 days, and I’ve woken up with a flu. This is the famous 
starting point. This little archway here, this is where you come and take a picture before you 
begin. And I would imagine When you finish, you will look slightly more tired than how happy and 
smiley everybody is on day one. The sun is peeking through the clouds behind me. And the mastiff 
itself, Mount Blancc Mastiff, is a ginormous rock with dozens of peaks. The tallest somewhere 
up there is Mount Blancc, the tallest peak, not just here in France, but in Europe. Another 
advantage of coming on this particular week is it’s the ultimate tour to Mount Blanc. So there 
are lots of hikers, there are lots of runners, there are lots of races over the next four or 
five days. And on Friday, so in two days from now, it’s the ultimate marathon, one of the most famous 
longdistance races in the world. And they actually run the entire Mount Blancc loop in one go without 
sleeping. And I think like the world records like 22 hours or something, which is insane. So we’ll 
keep our eye out for the ultramarathon runners in   a couple of days. I think we’ll be somewhere in 
Italy by that point. Anyway, should we get going? Okay. We’ve officially begun the Mount Blanc loop. [Music] Yeah, it felt great to be finally on the 
trail and to begin the TMB. The first morning session was actually really difficult. There 
are loads of signposts on the TMBB. So I had   to learn which ones I should follow and 
we began with a brutal climb. There was about 600 m of elevation between me and 
the highest point on day one. And yeah, I was starting to feel like I was very 
underprepared. I know once I get to the top and I’ll have a rest and have a drink, I’ll 
snap out of it. But day one, I definitely already had a moment where I was like, I think I’ve bit 
off more than I can chew. Look at that view. Yeah, the views might be beautiful, but 
the reality of the TMB was quickly becoming apparent. This first steep climb was kicking my 
ass, and I was starting to have second thoughts. Because I’d woken up with a bit of a fever. I knew 
something was wrong. But this just felt like I was really struggling, like I was really unfit or just 
really underprepared. I’d heard the TMB was hard and it was only going to get harder than this. 
So, there was a little bit of panic settling in. I’m starting to think I’m not 
as fit as I thought I was. One t-shirt soaked to the bone. These flies 
are so annoying. I’m a sweaty mess. I almost taste so salty. So delicious. Basically at the 
highest point. So that’s the hardest part done. It’s just been It’s just been 1 hour like 
this. Struggling. Yeah. Struggling on day one. I promise you, I’m not going to be winging 
and moaning the entire way around this hike. I am a very positive minded person. It’s just 
sometimes my my little devil on this shoulder can shout a lot louder than the angel over here 
and sometimes that kind of comes through. So, I promise you I’ll share my emotions. But 
I did have a hiccup back then. I really thought this is this is not for me. Let’s 
turn back. Let’s go back to the hooch and let’s uh go skiing or something 
even though it’s August anyway. First bit of rain. Can hear it coming through 
the trees here. Not going to bother putting my rain jacket on because it’s doesn’t feel 
that heavy. And this is where I get my trusty umbrella. I get so many comments about this when I 
go hiking. But this works. This works. Obviously, if it’s really exposed and windy, then I wear my 
rain jacket cuz the umbrella would just blow away. But when it’s just spitting, you’d 
be amazed at how effective a little   umbrella $5 from Decathlon. You would be amazed 
at how effective it is at just keeping you dry. Ah, the trusty umbrella. Look, it works. Okay, 
it’s protecting me from the rain, but it’s not exactly protecting me from looking like a complete 
idiot. Nothing says rugged outdoorsman like carrying a little umbrella in the drizzle. But for 
me, honestly, I prefer holding a little umbrella, staying dry whilst remaining cool with just a 
t-shirt and shorts on. The second I put on a rain jacket in these hot, humid, steep mountains, 
I’m only going to sweat and exhaust myself even more. Quite the hot, humid, wet, difficult first 
morning session. Yeah, thankfully the hardest part was now over and I was coming down into the 
valleys in this beautiful rainy afternoon. found a little bus stop to have my lunch. And in one 
of the villages in the valley, I resupplied with some canned drinks and some electrolytes because 
I didn’t realize how much I’d be sweating here   in the summer. And after several more hours, I 
finally arrived at my accommodation. So, let’s get checked in and see what we’ve got in store. 
701. This is me. And she said I was in bed A. Oh, wow. I get my own room. That is such a touch. A 
lot of people do the to mumblanc and they carry tents and they camp along the way and you can 
reserve places in the campsites which this is one and you can also wild camp. I decided to 
go with a company that you know pre-book your   accommodation because I don’t want to have 
to carry all my stuff again. I uh would much rather just hike to a hut, hike to a hut and 
have my dinner and my breakfast made for me. Ah, well, shower. Let’s get sorted. I was really 
impressed by this accommodation. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the only time on the 
hike that I’d have my own private room. Usually, I’d be stuffed in a dorm room, but more 
about those later. One thing that all of   the accommodations had in common was a threecourse 
meal put on every day for all of the hike staying here. All the accommodations have snacks and 
drinks available for an added cost and you can   get beers and wines in most of the places and 
socialize before dinner. [Music] Every dinner is a big group affair and we had a starter 
of melon and palmer, a man of chicken curry and a delicious black chocolate gateau with cold 
custard for dessert. Very posh. Once you’ve had a fill of food and you’ve had a quick chat 
with a few people, most people get off to   bed before 9. Sleep is such an important part of 
recovery and we’ve got another big day tomorrow. Okay, welcome to day two. Had a great night’s 
sleep out like a light in that warm cozy cabin. And uh we’ve woken up this morning and 
had a lovely breakfast. boiled eggs,   yogurt, and two big hot pots of coffee. 
Unfortunately, this is the weather today. It’s forecast to rain the entire day. Tonight, 
I’ll be sleeping in a cabin at 2,600 m. So, we’ve got 1,500 m of elevation plus today, 
which is triple what we had yesterday. So, even though it’s quite easy to navigate, 
we are just following this valley going up   and up and up, it’s going to be a slog. 
I’ve got my trusty umbrella and my rain jacket at hand for when it does start to rain 
again. The forecast says rain all day. [Music] [Music] Hello, little pony. So cute. [Music] Beautiful. Okay, I’ve caught up with the 
early crowd. There’s a beautiful little church here and everyone who um had all of their layers 
on has decided to take it off. Remember, be bold, start cold, because as soon as you start hiking, 
you warm up and then you have to pull over,   take off your jumper, take off your rain jacket, 
put it in your bag, and it just it slows you down. Anyway, there’s a beautiful little church here, 
and the ascent is about to begin on the other side   of this bridge. So, let’s say a little prayer. 
All along the Tortoont Blanc, you’ll stumble across these beautiful alpine churches. Some 
date back centuries and they stand quietly here in the valleys as a place of refuge for pilgrims 
crossing the mountains. A great place to go in, have a little prayer or a great place to hide if 
it’s pissing down with rain. Simply beautiful and a nice slice of culture here in the French 
Alps. Okay, 4 hours of hiking uphill with two pit stops along the way. We’re staying at 
Bonhom. 4 hours 50. Oh no. This is going to be a long old slog. Yeah, this afternoon’s climb 
was nothing short of wonderful. It was tricky. It was steep. It was sweaty. But the views along 
the way were just incredible. I stopped at two different refugeios to have a drink and a cookie 
and a coffee and a squashed egg. And after many, many difficult hours, we had finally made it up to 
the plateau. The terrible weather had cleared and the blue skies were out and we were so close to 
our refugeio for the night. The storm has passed. It is just truly spectacular. [Music] Yeah, it 
had been a long wet struggle to get up here, but being rewarded with these fantastic views, 
it was completely worth it. And just over yonder was our accommodation for the night. Up here quite 
high up into the mountains is the Bonholm Refuge. By far the best thing about staying up here was 
the incredible views and the stars at night. But this is one of those accommodations where all of 
the sweaty, smelly hikers, me included, all sleep and shack together. Now, normally it would be time 
to hit the showers, but this shack didn’t have any running hot water, so nobody showered, making the 
room slightly more fragrant. We all ate together. We had a three course meal and I have to say 
the food was absolutely shocking. Obviously, they’re not going to get the freshest ingredients 
up here, so I’ll give them the benefit of the   doubt. But the pea soup was dreadful. The main 
course was barely edible and I can’t even remember what I had for dessert. Oh yeah, I just skipped it 
because I was so over the food and I just wanted   to get my head down and have an early night. 
This accommodation has probably some of the best views on the TMB. Sadly, the food was some 
of the worst, and that put me in a bad mood. So, let’s sleep it off and get some rest because 
we got a big old day tomorrow. [Music] Okay, good morning. Day three and we are leaving 
France today and we’re heading into Italy. And look at the weather. It is outrageously 
beautiful this morning. We woke up and we had breakfast here at the Bonhom refugeio up here 
at 2,000 and something m. It was a brisk night, but we were nice and warm and cozy under some 
woolen blankets. Anyway, we’ve got a long slog today. Down and up and down and up again. 
But look at the weather. It’s alive and well. So, let’s put one foot in front of the 
other and let’s get down into Italy. Hey, okay, one second. I can’t believe that just happened. So, they 
were just hiking, right? And then he said to me, “Excuse me, mate. You need to take a picture 
of us.” And I was like, “Yeah, no worries.”   and he got down on one knee and 
he said, “You know, I love you and I want to get married and I want to 
have kids with you. Will you marry me?” Wow, what a be. And I was so nervous because 
they have an Android phone and I didn’t know how to use it and he started to get down on 
one knee and it went out of focus. Oh my god,   I was panicking. Congratulations 
to that beautiful couple. Ah. It’s a cold one. Yeah. What a beautiful start 
to the day and what a beautiful morning we were having. Up over this ridge was our 
first uninterrupted view of Mount Blanc itself. [Music] With these clear skies 
and these beautiful valleys below us, we were going to have uninterrupted views the 
entire day. and I could not wait to get a move on. One of the options on the TMB is to have mule 
support. That’s a mule. Half horse, half donkey. She’s a be and she’s carrying uh a group’s bags 
for them. I’ll let you guess where they come from. You know where they come from, right? From this 
point on, it’s all downhill for a few hours, which I’m quite happy about. It might 
be a bit slippy in these conditions, but with a view of Mont Blanc on the 
way down, you can’t complain, can you? [Music] Yeah. Coming down this valley with 
such beautiful weather, I was on cloud nine. [Music]   So, this is actually a variant. This is an 
optional. It’s actually considered a shortcut because it cuts a little bit of distance. And I 
feel sorry for all the people who decided to go   down and uh not come up here because there was 
quite a bit of rumor in the refugeia that it’s it’s really slippery and quite dangerous. Um, and 
to be fair, it was a little bit dodgy up there,   but very easily done. This is a highlight 
moment right now. Let’s just breathe this in. [Music] Incredible. Yeah, the sun was out and 
I had a huge climb ahead of me. But with these views, the afternoon flew by and before 
long, I’d made it up to the highest point and the border of France and Italy. Okay, I 
found a nice little flat section here and I think it’s the perfect opportunity to say a 
big thank you to the sponsor of this hike, Cluke. Now, I’ve talked about Cluke before 
because I love using them. They are the   ultimate travel app and website to book 
your experiences and your travels. And yes, this includes amazing experiences here in Europe. 
So, let’s say you’re planning a trip to the Alps, but you don’t really fancy doing the TMB. 
It’s quite a big commitment, isn’t it? Well,   on Cluke, they have everything from scenic train 
journeys, gondola rides up to the mountain peaks, paragliding, guided hikes, museum passes. The 
possibilities are almost endless on Cluke. What I really like every time I book something on 
Cluke is its instant confirmation via email.   You get your tickets sent to you, which you 
can download onto your phone, and you’ll have no problems entering into the activities. And you 
can pre-book things ahead of time so there’s no   queuing at some of the most popular destinations, 
especially here in Europe. So whether you’re coming to Europe or Asia or further a field, 
make sure you download the Cluke app or visit the Cluke website linked in the description and 
the pinned comment below. And if you use my code, you can unlock some extra discounts on certain 
specific activities and experiences. Thank you to Cluke for sponsoring the TMBB. And let’s continue 
as we make our way, I think right now, literally into Italy. Here we are. [Laughter] Wow. Let’s 
go. Come on. Mount Blanc Italian border. Hikers who are stronger and fitter than me who made it. 
And the valley behind that we dominated. [Music] This handsome devil was making a coffee on top of 
the mountain and he even offered to pour me a cup. Oh, that is coffee porn right there. There 
you go, mate. Mercy big coup. [Music] Wow, that’s a unique taste. This was by far the highlights 
of this first part of the hike. Fresh air in my lungs, my blood pumping around 
my body, and with these uninterrupted views of Mount Blanc, the Mastiff, and the valleys 
below, life was good. This was actually the border of France and Italy. So, we 
were now in our second country. And so, me and all of the other hikers who’d made it 
all the way up here sat here to have a coffee,   to have lunch, and to just take in this incredible 
view. Thank God we were having such beautiful weather. [Music] My accommodation wasn’t too far 
away now. About 90 minutes down the valley across the Italian countryside now. And the views the 
entire way down were simply breathtaking. [Music] Welcome to my accommodation on day three. A 
beautiful wooden lodge surrounded by glaciers, mountain peaks, and even a bit of 
swampland. This was one of the most   scenic places we stayed on the entire loop. 
Right, let’s get checked in. Let’s have a hot shower for a change. And let’s hope 
we get better food served to us tonight. Okay, it feels so good to be in Italy. 
Great hospitality and the first refugeio is beautiful. Look behind me. This is 
the room that I’m staying in. There’ll   be five of us in here tonight. There’s a 
hot shower in here which I cannot wait to have because we didn’t get to have a 
shower yesterday because bloody solar   power. I’ve decided to pick this bed in 
the corner and it comes with a towel. They’re going to cook us a massive feast tonight 
of pasta, pork chops, and mashed potatoes, and   something delicious for dessert. And everyone here 
just seems really nice. And the refugeio is in the most beautiful spot. Good morning. Just wiping the 
tears from my eyes because it’s cold, not because I’m emotional. Although, I have just been watching 
the ultimate marathon runners doing the TMBB. So, here we are doing a 9-day walk of the tour and 
at the same time last night the UTMB started the ultra marathon, the most famous race in the 
world and they’re doing the entire tour in one day running it. So, there are thousands of runners 
and uh they’re making their way up the hill there. There’s a refugeio perched on the edge of a 
cliff. That’s where we’ll be walking this morning, but we ain’t running up there. So, good luck, 
boys and girls. Yeah, I checked out at the lovely refugeio here and had a delicious breakfast, 
fresh coffee, and within a few minutes of leaving, we were soon joining the UTMB hikers. Now, let’s 
stay out of their way and let them get around this course as fast as possible. They’d just 
completed the high mountain pass from France into Italy through an almighty storm in the middle 
of the night. So, let’s stay out of their way as much as possible. Let them recover as we soak 
up uninterrupted views of Mount Blancc. [Music] Half of me wanted to just stay still and admire 
the views and go slow, but I had to keep going and get out of the way of these hikers who were 
trying to make it to the next checkpoint before   the cutoff. So, these guys have been running 
for 12, 13 or 14 hours now. They’ve been running through the night, through the rain. And so for 
them, this is probably the first time the sun is hitting their faces since last night anyway. So 
they’re just taking this moment to take off some layers, refuel before they crack on all the 
way up there. Let’s give them some support. And all of these people you see 
here, they’re really struggling.   They’re really far back. Let’s go, Hong 
Kong. And if they don’t make it to Kayer, the next town, in the next few 
hours, they will be eliminated. Not only was it magnificent this morning, 
the weather, the views, but to be able to   hike alongside these ultra marathon runners, 
it was so motivating. It was so uplifting. There’s a beautiful rainbow. A nice moment 
for the hikers and the runners. I just got signal and I’ve been checking some of the 
stories from last night. Uh sound really, really brutal. These guys have been through it 
last night by the sound of things. To think that it’s actually possible to do the TMB in 
one go without sleeping is just a marvel. Over 2,000 runners started this race the previous 
day and at this point they’ve been on the trail now for over 12 hours and it’s starting to show. 
Okay, I just had a lovely chat with that English fella apparently last night when they were doing 
that pass. Snow going across their face. Freezing cold snowstorm. And apparently it was dark, it 
was cold, it was freezing and it was miserable. And uh they’re actually there’s a few Americans 
that we just spoke to as well. Most of them are in good spirits because the worst part’s over. They 
said they ran through the night, through the rain, through the snow. And they said that once 
we get down the other side of this mountain, that’s pretty much the halfway point. And uh 
they’ll get a nice feed in the town there. They have the big station with lots of 
food. They have those stations every 2   hours apparently. But uh there’s a big one in 
the town. And then I continue further up. Not quite sure where I’m staying tonight, but 
somewhere in that valley. Mount Blanc is   now hiding. But what a view. What an incredible 
view this is. Over 2,000 people started the race and just over half of that will actually 
finish. That’s how brutal this race is. So, my job was to hike in safety, capture 
some of the views for you because it was   one of the highlights of the TMB. But like I said 
before, stay out of the way as much as possible. As I stopped here for a little snack and a 
rest, these racers were looking knackered, and if they didn’t hurry up, they would 
be eliminated. And for the next few hours,   I took turns in just soaking up the views and 
having welldeserved rests. And on the downhills, whenever the races were running past me, sometimes 
I just felt like joining them. And as a test to myself to see if I can actually keep up with them. 
Let’s go, buddy. Even if it is for 5 minutes. As I hiked and sometimes ran down this 
mountain, we all made our way down to Kayier. Okay, we made it all the way 
from up there somewhere into the town. Let’s find a spot for lunch. Let’s 
resupply and then let’s uh continue. Hey [Music]   Let’s go, Mike. [Music] It’s a really pretty little village, actually. 
Corayer is a stunning little village here in Italy. ancient architecture, delicious food 
and restaurants on every corner. Loads of places to resupply and a great spot on 
a day like today to just take it easy, take a few hours off being on the 
hiking trail. [Music] [Applause] [Music] So, let’s go find a cool place 
to hang out, find some food,   and treat oursel a little bit. As this is the 
first big town that we’re passing through, children’s [Music] going to travel the water. See the wild. [Music] Okay, that was a lovely, lovely, 
welld deserved relaxing afternoon in that beautiful town. A great bit of lunch and just 
a relaxing few hours listening to that angel singing her heart out in the piaza. Right, 
we’re heading to Refugeio Baton. Says it’s about an hour 45 and with it being such 
a gorgeous afternoon, what’s the rush? Yeah, the hike up out of Corair to my refugeio 
for the night was a brutal 800 meter or so climb, but I was glad to get this section 
done at the end of the day. And the views along the way up to my refugeio 
were simply out of this world. [Music] [Music] So yeah, welcome to Refugeio Baton, home for 
tonight. And at 2,000 m, really high up with incredible views of Corair down below and all of 
the mountains that we’d been hiking over for the past few days. Yeah, this was another fantastic 
refugeio. And this time the food was incredible. We had such a feast and we had an amazing 
afternoon. And the sunset was incredible. So,   let’s get our heads down and get some rest 
because we got a big beautiful day’s hike ahead of us tomorrow. And yeah, I’ll catch up with 
you again tomorrow. We got a quite an easy day in   comparison. It’s a long flat four or 5 hours 
and then a big climb. Right, see you tomorrow. [Music] There’s a big group there that have a big 
mule carrying goods and foods. That is an option, by the way. If you’re doing the TMBB, you can 
join a group tour with a guide and a meal, and the mule will carry some of the load, but 
they all still have to carry their own bags. But, uh, not something I’m interested in, 
but maybe you guys want to lighten the   load. I navigate on maps.mme, but 
the trail is very well signposted, except for right here. I didn’t know 
whether to go that way or this way,   but maps.mme is telling me go that way. And since 
we’ve got such beautiful weather and since once we do get over this little mound, it should be 
nothing but highlight after highlight. [Music] If your main reason for doing the TMB is to 
take incredible photographs of landscapes and to soak up and create memories in one 
of the most beautiful places in the world, then pray for good weather on 
this section. section of the hike. [Music] For this 10 km stretch, it’s mostly flat 
and acts as a bit of a balcony. On the right hand side, you’ll have a hill and on the left, you’ll 
have uninterrupted views of Mount Blanc and the Mastiff itself. And thank the gods, the weather 
today was beautiful. Yes, this was a highlight of the TMB. This entire day, this whole balcony 
hike where you have uninterrupted views of the Mount Blancc Mastiff to your left, it was nothing 
short of incredible. This was truly the highlight for me of the entire TMB. It was flat, it was 
scenic, and I’ll never forget this four or 5 hour section. [Music] Okay, that refuge was amazing. 
Great staff, incredible lunch buffet, and just a nice place to relax, man. Had a nice hour here. 
Half an hour in the waterfall, soaking my feet, soaking up the sun on the grass outside, 
enjoying this absolutely incredible valley. Woo. And of course, putting off the inevitable, 
which is the hardest part of today, which is uh hiking up this mountain behind me, up and 
over into Switzerland about another 6 km. I wouldn’t mind a little bit of cloud coverage 
actually cuz it’s started to get quite brutal. I’ve applied sun cream for the fifth time today. 
[Music] If you’ve ever done a multiple day hike, then you’ll know after a few days, you start 
to build up strength and endurance. And after that beautiful morning session and a great 
lunch and the weather still being absolutely glorious, I was feeling happy. I was feeling 
motivated. I was feeling strong and powerful. This was one of the highlights of the TMB. 
And if you couple that with the views all around us today, I mean, it was an outof body 
experience. This doesn’t happen very often, but I’m walking down a valley in Switzerland. 
There are marmuts running around. There are birds flying. And my music is on fire. There’s limp 
biscuit. There’s oasis. There’s the red chili peppers. So many great memories from these songs, 
these concerts that I’ve been to as a young man. all of my memories of being young and just 
being just into so much rock and roll and it’s blasted in my ear as I’m walking through the 
Swiss Alps coming into my 40s and it is just such a moment of like I had no idea who I was 
when I was in my 20ies. No idea of where to go, no idea what I was going to end up doing. 
I was confused. I was drinking. I was   working in bars and I was just an absolute 
nightmare. I was having a good time though, don’t get me wrong. If I could have just 
told myself, Patty, when you’re nearly 40,   you’re going to be making money. You’re going to 
be having a business that lets you go to the Swiss Alps to rock out to this kind of music. And you 
know, all you have to do is share it with the the people that watch you. Share the experience, 
share the thrill, share the ups and downs, give them information, but also just let them 
smile. And I’m doing that now. And I just want to say a big thank you. This is one of those moments 
where it all just comes at me. The emotion of life and this very second. This very second is 
one of the best moments of my life. And I just thought I’d randomly share that with you. Right, 
let’s get to this refugeio. Let’s have a shower. Yeah, what an epic day. And I made it down to 
our accommodation. We were staying in a converted dairy farm. So, we were sleeping in a barn, but it 
was beautiful. The food was incredible. They had the best food on the entire hike. And the best 
part was they had this delicious homemade ice cream straight from the raw cow’s milk into the 
ice cream machine itself. Pure heaven. What a day. I’ll never forget it. [Music] And in typical TMBB 
style, I woke up the next morning and the weather was absolutely shite. It might be miserable, 
but it’s still absolutely incredibly beautiful. And just like that, the Swiss Alps has 
some more plans for us involving crap weather. Have a look at this. It was blowing a 
gale. It was piercing down rain all night. And uh we’ve woken up to a terrible forecast 
of lots of rain, lots of wind. Luckily, it’s just a bit drizzle at the minute, 
but we’ve all had a lovely breakfast and uh we’re all starting to leave and drips and 
drabs. [Music] First slip and fall of the day thanks to this slippy little ledge here. 
And I kind of grazed my arm on the rock. Oh, that’s going to be a nice little shiner, as we 
say in England. Bit of a bruise. Looks like it’s pierced the skin. Okay, dust yourself off. Stay 
alert because it’s going to be a slippy one. Yeah, battered and bruised. I made my way down through 
the rain and I was covered in mud by the time I got to the bottom. Then I passed through a town 
where most hikers actually cheated and got on a bus. But no, not us. I braved the terrible 
weather and walked through a magical Christmas tree forest. And actually, today was one of the 
best days of the TMBB. So, if you are doing it, don’t cheat. Don’t get the bus. Do this section. 
It’s actually a beautiful little highlight. I have to say this forest is enchanted. 
It is. It is magnificent. Have a listen. If only you guys could smell it. just so amazing. I know smell doesn’t translate on YouTube, 
but I wish it did. Is that $65,000 home? So, this gorgeous little Swiss village was the home 
of a delicious cheese and mushroom omelette, a delicious cappuccino, but they didn’t take 
hard and I only had €20 on me. Thankfully, one of the other hikers on the TMBB paid for me 
and I’m going to get the cash point down in the next town. Um, look at this guys. I just I have 
no words. As I say, I’ve done lots of places. Right, we’ve made it to Shamck, a scenic 
little village on a lake. Good spot for me to go to the ATM to get some cash because 
I owe one of the hikers some money for lunch   and I need some cash on hand. And another 
excuse maybe to get a Twix bar or something, something sugary. Not far now. We’ve got to 
kind of like go up that cloud field valley, get on the variant, and then our refugeio 
for the night is is a little bit up there. I’m tempted to hang out at this lake for a 
bit, but not much going on. Look at this. Woo! Home for the night is just around the 
corner. Can you believe it? Look at this. Come on now, Switzerland. Stop taking the piss. All right, ladies and gentlemen, that is 
going to be a wrap for part two of the TMB. I’ve just checked into the arpete and I’ve 
got a lovely little bunk bed and there’s an American guy in there having a nap, so I’m not 
going to film it. But I had the best shower,   the best shower of the entire hike. This place 
looks fancy. I’ll show you some footage now of the buffet dinner that we have later and the buffet 
breakfast tomorrow. And we have an exciting part of the TMBB tomorrow. We’re going up super high 
for an adventurous variant. Apparently there’s some scrambling involved and climbing ladders. 
Hopefully the weather plays game and we can do it. Hello everyone. Welcome back to the TMBB. This 
is the final part of our hike. We are leaving Switzerland this morning and we’ve got quite 
the adventure going up a mountain. There’s some scrambling involved, some bouldering. It’s going 
to be very, very steep, a little bit dangerous, but it’s going to be incredibly beautiful. It’s 
one of those variants that is only accessible in   good weather, but we’re forecast for decent 
weather, so we’re going to give it a go. Although there’s about 200 people who stayed here 
last night and only about three or four of us are doing the variant today. So maybe that’s a 
sign that it’s a stupid idea. But you know, if you don’t risk it, you’ll never get the 
biscuit. I’m just going to say goodbye to a   few of my friends that I’ve seen multiple times 
on the TMB. But we’ve just figured out that this will be the last time we see each other. 
One of the best things about doing the TMB,   even alone like I am, is it’s so social. Every 
night you’re in a different refuge with 50 to 100 people having dinner, playing cards, having 
a drink, and sharing stories of the trail. So, you’re never alone. Right, guys? It’s been the 
pleasure. Good to meet you, mate. Take care, gentlemen. Yeah. And uh Yes. Take care, 
mate. Great to meet you, man. Yeah, you, too. Yeah. The previous night at dinner, I’d met 
these two young strapping lads. one 18-year-old from the UK who’s doing the TMB completely on his 
own even though he’s still a teenager, bless him. And a 23-year-old from America, even though he 
was young, he has loads of experience and he was a ex-professional footballer, ex-professional 
ballet dancer, just an allrounder. So, at dinner, we all thought, let’s stick together. Let’s do 
this dodgy, difficult variant as a team. In case one of us gets into trouble, there’ll at least 
be two more people around to help us get out of any sticky situation. The boulder section has 
begun. Feels good to get onto a little bit more of an advanced trail and get off onto a variant. 
Bit cloudy still, so let’s hope it’s clear at the top. Even the people at the refuge had told 
us, “Be careful. Make sure you know what you’re doing because they know lots of people who come up 
here underestimate it and get into quite a bit of mischief. It’s good to get off the trail though, 
isn’t it? Yeah. It’s not. It’s excellent fun. You can see it’s going to go up and up and up. I’m 
bleeding. I don’t know how. [Music] So these markers are the trail for us now. You can see them 
painted on the sides of rocks up and around. The trail has now just become a rocky mess. This 
is the bit that uh I think most people are put off by because if you were up here in high winds 
and in the rain, it would be uh quite silly. Now, I’m pushing 40, so trying to keep up with an 
18-year-old and a 23-year-old was quite the challenge, but I did my best to keep up with them 
as we scrambled and clambored over these rocks. Come on, son. High five. Yeah. [Music]   Maybe not. [Music] This is by far and a way the most 
difficult and steepest part. You know,   that scramble across the rocks there, that 
was pretty pretty sketchy. I hope you can see this on camera. It’s like that. And yeah, 
this was definitely the hardest scrambling, the hardest hiking I’ve ever done. Coming up 
here was a challenge and I was really glad that I wasn’t alone. Just that’s the 
top. My calves are on absolute fire. If this was wet and slippy, all this 
mud would be coming away. There’d be a lot more rocks falling down. We just had a 
really scary moment where he kicked a rock and it started running down the hill and he 
shouted at us and we we saw it coming. A big   rock flying towards us and we ducked down and 
it fell over our heads. Very very fortunate. Almost there lads. Last push. Yeah, just up 
over this edge would be the highest point of the variant, and we would have finished 
this brutal, this difficult climb in these freezing conditions up here at well over 2,600 
m. Normally, any hike where you gain 1,000 m of elevation is really difficult, but doing 
it in less than 90 minutes, it felt like it was practically vertical the entire time. But 
hey, we had made it. All right, welcome to the top of the Varian. We made it all the way. It’s 
a pity that there isn’t any view, but what can you do? The mountains can be temperamental. 
2,600 m up here. This is the highest point, and we’ve been scrambling now for best part of an 
hour. It was tricky. I did get the drone up for, but uh wasn’t the best footage in this fog. up 
here, as you can imagine, it’s quite bitter. So, we’ve got layers on. There’s a few other people 
here who are having their lunch. And uh we have   to scramble all the way down into the next village 
of Triant. High five, buddy. Good job. Let’s go, guys. It’s clearing up just as we’ve come down 
the summit. Look. Oh, there’s a lake over there. What a beautiful world. [Music] Yeah, we were so lucky. Just as we 
were coming down from the summit,   the clouds and the fog cleared, revealing the 
beautiful glacia that we had been scrambling and climbing right next to. Hence why 
it had been so cold up there. [Music] I hope the French guys got to see 
this. They looked freezing. [Music] Of course, it was difficult coming down, 
but with these views and the fact that   we can now see properly where we were 
going, this descent was just beautiful and fun. And yeah, we just had the best 
time coming down this valley. [Music] By early afternoon, we had made it down the 
variant and back onto the TMB itself. And it was beautiful. Wow. And eventually, we arrived 
at Triant, the home for the night. And I was struggling at this point. Trying to keep up 
with those two lads had certainly taken its   toll. I was completely knackered. This was my 
refuge for tonight. A beautiful hotel, actually. But the second I put my head down for a little 
nap, I did not wake back up until the following day. I was that knackered. [Music] The next day, I 
was completely knackered. So, I changed plans. is I actually decided to deviate off the TMBB and do 
a 14 km long cut. So, I’m adding a lot of distance today, but I was cutting out a huge mountain climb 
because later, as you’ll see in a second, we’ve got a really difficult, technical, steep mountain 
pass to tackle later in the day, and I just wanted to save my energy. So, 3 and 1/2 hours later, I’d 
finally made it to the afternoon session. Okay, so we’ve made it to the proper section. We’re 
back on the TMBB on an alternative or a variant, I should say. Only on the TMBB would you do a 14 
km, 3 and 1/2 hour detour to save energy. So, this trail will take us up onto a plateau where there 
are several lakes and my refugeio, but it will be very steep, over 1,000 m in elevation. Over the 
next 2 to 3 hours, we’re going to a place called Lake LeBlanc, I think. And on the sign there, it’s 
2 hours 45 minutes. And I think what I’m going to do, actually, is just have a little bit of lunch. 
I did nip into a little pub along the way. So, I’ll have my little croissant. I love my little 
pineapple juice squashed in my bag. So, the reason why people do this variant, it’s not technically 
on the TMB, right, is because there are some very scenic ladders that are bolted into the side of 
a cliff and it just adds a new experience and something quite thrilling to the TMB. It seems as 
though we’re soon to approach the ladder section. It’s starting to get very, very steep. So, 
let’s just prepare. Okay, here we are at the ladder section. Now, there are three ladders 
straight away. So, that’s the first three to count straight away. A small one, a long one, a medium 
one. So, let’s do the first three and we’ll count them out together so we can uh learn how many 
ladders are there. Let’s start with number one. Nice and easy. And here’s the beginning of 
number two. Mojour. Ladder number two. Now, these aren’t like any ladders in Thailand. 
They’re bolted into the rock. Look at that. Proper good engineering. No 
need to worry. No need to panic. Easy. Easy peasy. Ladder number four. Look how big this one 
is. No, it’s just a few steps. We’re going to count this one. This is ladder number 
five. Very cute little ladder. Obviously, if you’re afraid of heights, don’t 
come up here. Ladder number six. Good balance, but you can 
lean on this. Number seven. I think he’s starting to understand 
why I wanted to save my strength   today. This fellow looks like he’s on 
a day climb. I’ll let him go first. I think that was seven. 8 9 10. [Music]
[Music] Okay. 11. We won’t count these, but I love these 
little steps. They’re very good. Very handy. How fun was that? Look at this. 
We’re still not even at the top yet. Down there is a village and down 
there is Shamine. We’re nearly there, guys. This time tomorrow, well, we’re nearly 
finished. That was another highlight. The TMB, by the way, just never stops, does it? 
It never stops. I’ll see you at the top. [Music] [Music] Okay, we made it to the top. There’s a little 
monument here and it’s uninterrupted views across the mastiff. There’s Mount Blancc. 
Now we’re seeing her from the backside. I can say her backside is 
just as lovely as the front. Yes, safe to say I was knackered. A long 
morning session and then a difficult ascent and the ladders. I was so glad to be up 
here on the plateau. Up here there are four or five small lakes and they are just absolutely 
beautiful. You’ll see eagles, you’ll see marmmets, you might even see mountain goats up here. But 
by far the best reason to come up here is just   the incredible views and the reflections in the 
water of the mastiff itself. [Music] You’ll see lots of dayhikers from Shaman up here because it’s 
quite accessible. There’s a chairlift not too far away. And with these views and these lakes and the 
distant mountains, especially on a day like today, it was busy. But oh my god, what a beautiful site. 
Definitely one of the highlights of the TMB. And if you’re in Shamine and you’re just looking for 
a day hike, come up here. Look at it. [Music] Almost there. That’s where we’re 
staying. Can you believe it? There’s the refuge, Lap Blanc. 
There’s the lake, Lap Blanc. This is our playground for this evening. Not bad 
views. Probably understatement of the year. [Music] Okie dokie. Welcome to the final refuge of 
the trip. And uh quite an interesting refuge. So big room with bunk beds. I’ve chosen 
one. We’re all kind of squashed in there, so it’ll be quite interesting. Let’s 
hope there’s no snorers tonight. Um   the other interesting aspect is there’s 
no shower up here. Absolutely no shower. So hoping that we don’t smell too 
bad. This is the outside area. Is that music? Oh, that is 
music. How weird. As you can see, quite the view. They’ve got cold beers, but no 
cold shower, unfortunately. Dinner’s at 7:00, breakfast at 7:00. So, this is us 
tonight. No Wi-Fi, no showers. [Music] [Music] [Music] Okay, good morning and quite the sunrise 
we’ve had up here this morning. I watched the first half from my bed because there was 
a view of a window. Now I’ve come out here and uh oh my god it is I mean look at it. Have you 
ever seen such a beautiful morning in all of your life? Today is the last day of the TMBB. 
It’s day nine. Woo. Back to Louch. Back to the start point. Back to that sign that we saw 9 
days ago when we set off. and we will complete the loop and we will finish the TMBB. Let’s have 
some breakfast. Let’s have a lazy morning up here. Enjoy the views and then we’ll get cracking. Even 
on day nine, the TMB just doesn’t stop. [Music] Looks like two females and a baby 
because the male has huge horns. This is awesome. That’s it. [Music] Beautiful. I finally got to see them in the wild on the last 
day. It’s amazing how the weather can change on a dime here because after that beautiful sunrise, 
a little bit of breakfast. It has worsened quite significantly. Lots of rain on the big peaks 
and forecasted storms. So, I am covered up. It is a bit nippy up here. So, let’s just 
take one last look at the view. I’m sure we’re going to have lovely views on the way 
down, but this will be the last time we can   really enjoy it because obviously on the way 
down, you’re checking your feet, making sure not to slip and fall. It would be a disaster. It 
would be a shame to get injured on the last day. So, let’s just take our time. And look at the mastiff one last time 
uninterrupted from this incredible view point on this rock. Storms are due late 
afternoon. So let’s just uh let’s not linger. This has been without doubt, and I’m not saying 
this just to say it, but the best hike I have ever done, bar none. And it’s also been the hardest 
hike. I mean, we’ve done 10,000 m of elevation. That’s like climbing Mount Everest and another 
1/3 of Everest in 9 days, which is no mean feat. Just another one of the epic views here. And do 
you know what? I normally would never say this, right? But we’re about to finish and all I want 
to do is carry on. Like, I would I’d love to do it again. I would love to reach Lahouch. Don’t get me 
wrong, I’d love a shower in my own bed for a night cuz that’s probably the hardest thing is like the 
constant staying in a dorm room cuz physically it’s a such a challenge. But for me it’s like 
you know there’s people snoring. It’s you’re quite claustrophobic every night. That’s the only 
big struggle other than the physical challenge. I have never felt stronger. If you remember on day 
one I was in a big mess. I was going up that hill and I was thinking I’m not going to be able to do 
this. I just felt so out of shape and and that’s   quite normal on a big hike to feel out of shape 
on day one. It is a bit of a shock to the system, but I I felt sluggish. But with each day, I grew 
stronger. My legs didn’t grow weary. They grew in strength. And here on day nine, I’ve never felt 
better. My back just feels ripped. My legs are not sore. They’re strong. My feet are not aching. 
They’re primed. I would honestly love nothing more than just to do it all again. But yeah, let 
me just leave you with some some scenes as we go down and then we’ll finish the entire video and 
the series down by the the final point in Lahouch. [Music]   Never underestimate the TMB. 
I thought it would be easy, but no. That is where we were hours ago. And 
I thought we’d be in the tree line by now, but it’s taking us back up. I don’t 
know where we’re going, but the TMB, the easy day, ain’t so easy. They’ve even 
got us climbing ladders on the final stretch. Only on the TMBB do you climb the equivalent of 
Ben Nevice, the tallest mountain in the UK in Scotland. Right. Only on the TMBB would you climb 
Ben Nevice on the way down. Bloody hell. [Music] Do not ask me where I got the 
energy to run the last 3K. I mean, I’m just just jogging it, but I just feel Yeah, I don’t know where I got the energy from, 
but towards the end of the day when I was 3   or 4 km away from Laoo, away from the finish 
line, I got this sudden urge to start running. Big finish. TMBB. Yeah. Completed it, mate. All right, we have two ice cold beers. 0.0 uh 
on deck with a little bit of ice. Don’t hate me, but that’s how we do it here uh in Asia. even 
though we’re in France. Right, let’s actually um go over the distance and figure out exactly 
how far we walked doing the TMBB. Right, I’m going to do this live on my fitness 
app. This is the thing that’s been tracking   my steps and my distance today. Well, every 
day in my pocket. So, day one on a Wednesday, we did 20.6 km. That’s the day I thought I 
was going to quit. Then on Thursday 13.18K, Friday 20.82 km. Saturday 21.3 km. Sunday 23.53 
km. Monday 24.58. Tuesday easy day that day. 14.78. Yesterday, Wednesday, 21.07 km. And today, 
the final day, it was a bloody old slog. 23.42 42 km. And um you can see as well on each one 
of those days the activity line. So you can see which like like we were hiking from 6 till 
like four most days pretty much. They were big days. And I’ve gone to the little um I’ve gone 
to the trouble of screenshotting. It was 183.28 kilometers. 183 we did. Everyone will be 
slightly different. And some will do 170, some will do 190. We did 183 
and we also did 290,000 steps. Cheers, big ears. Thank you so much for joining 
me on the TMBB. It was absolutely incredible and I wish I could do it again. But someone’s got 
to go back to Thailand and have some adventures.

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📖 This hike took place at the end of August 2025.

From climbing steep passes to wandering through quaint villages, the Tour du Mont Blanc offers a unique mix of natural beauty and cultural charm. In each episode, I cover the trail routes, scenic viewpoints, accommodation options, and local food discoveries along the way. Follow along as I navigate unpredictable weather, meet fellow hikers, and capture every jaw-dropping panorama with cinematic footage. This series is your ultimate guide for hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc in 9 days.

If you love mountain hiking, adventure travel, Europe trekking guides, and bucket-list experiences, this TMB series is for you. Don’t forget to subscribe for all 4 parts of the journey and hit the notification bell so you won’t miss the next episode. Join me as I take on one of the world’s most beautiful and challenging hiking trails and uncover everything you need to know to plan your own Tour du Mont Blanc adventure.

Chapters:
00:00 – What is the TMB?
2:11 – Struggles Day 1
10:16 – Rainy Day 2
14:43 – Amazing Day 3
18:26 – Klook
20:04 – Mountain Pass
24:06 – UTMB Runners Day 4
33:15 – Incredible Day 5
39:14 – Stormy Day 6
43:50 – The High Pass Day 7
51:44 – The Tricky Day 8
1:00:38 – The Final Day 9

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