The Tour du Mont Blanc in 6 days

165 km and 9,451 m of ascent in 6 days: 27.4 km and +1,575 m a day on average. Fit hikers: here is what this tour looks like, day by day, computed on the real route.

Updated

The Col de Balme hut and its red shutters
Col de Balme · Switzerland · France · 2,191 m© Dominicus Johannes Bergsma · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • 6days, 5 nights
  • 27.4 kma day on average
  • +1,575 mof ascent a day
  • 11h45of walking a day, without breaks

Route profile

Start and finish in Les Houches, classic direction, no variants, every night at an open place to sleep. The Grand Col Ferret, the high point of the tour at 2,537 m, comes on day 4.

  1. Day 1

    Les Houches → Refuge de la Balme

    Distance
    24.6 km
    Ascent / descent
    +1,491 / −798 m
    Walking
    ≈ 9h38
    High point
    1,704 m
    • Passes: Col de Voza
    • 2 places to sleep at the finish, to choose in your tour
    • Classic stages: 1, 2
  2. Day 2

    Refuge de la Balme → Lac Combal

    Distance
    27.9 km
    Ascent / descent
    +1,737 / −1,481 m
    Walking
    ≈ 12h14
    High point
    2,512 m
    • Passes: Col du Bonhomme, Col de la Croix du Bonhomme, Col de la Seigne
    • 1 place to sleep at the finish, to choose in your tour
    • Classic stages: 2, 3, 4
    The Col du Bonhomme seen from the Plan des Dames
    Col du Bonhomme© Rémih · CC BY-SA 4.0

The figures for the following days come with your myTMB tour.

  1. D3→ Arnouvaz
  2. D4→ Plan de l'Au
  3. D5→ Tré-le-Champ
  4. D6→ Les Houches

Days 3 to 6, in detail

Build your tour to see every day, choose where to sleep each night, move the stage ends and download the GPX files.

Build my tour

Who is the 6-day TMB for?

A very sustained pace: at a hiker’s speed, count on 9 to 12 hours of walking a day, several days in a row. You need excellent fitness, to be used to long outings with more than 1,200 m of ascent, and often a fast pace to keep the days reasonable.

The hardest day of this split is day 3: 29.7 km, +1,625 m, about 12h42 of walking. In myTMB, the pace setting (easy, hiker, fast or trail) recalculates every time to suit you.

Our tips for a 6-day TMB

  • Train with back-to-back outings: two long days in a row teach more than one very long one.
  • Book first the nights where there are only one or two places to sleep at the finish.
  • Keep a margin: half a day in reserve saves a tour when the weather turns.

What your tailor-made tour adds

  • Every day in detail, all the way back to Les Houches
  • Where you sleep each night, among the huts, hostels, hotels and campsites at the finish
  • Stage ends you move with one gesture, everything recalculates
  • Your start village, your direction and your variants
  • GPX files for each stage and a printable roadbook for your group
Build my tour

Frequently asked questions

How many kilometres a day for a 6-day TMB?

On average 27.4 km and 1,575 m of ascent a day, about 11h45 of walking at a hiker’s pace, without breaks. The longest day (day 3) is 29.7 km, the shortest (day 1) 24.6 km.

How fit do you need to be to hike the TMB in 6 days?

A very sustained pace: at a hiker’s speed, count on 9 to 12 hours of walking a day, several days in a row. You need excellent fitness, to be used to long outings with more than 1,200 m of ascent, and often a fast pace to keep the days reasonable.

Where to sleep on a 6-day TMB?

Every day ends at a real place to sleep: hut, hostel, hotel or campsite. Of the 5 nights in this split, 3 can be spent in a hut. The planner lists the places to sleep at each finish and lets you pick yours.

Can you start somewhere other than Les Houches?

Yes. This split starts in Les Houches in the classic (anticlockwise) direction, without variants. myTMB recalculates it from Courmayeur, Champex or another village, in either direction, with the variants you choose.