Stage 1 — Notre-Dame de la Gorge to Les Chapieux
The first day on the trail, and it didn't ease me in. Eleven miles, 4,400 feet of climbing, and the day that set the tone for the whole loop.
At a glance · 11.1 mi · +4,413 ft · high point Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (~8,130 ft) · moving 8h35 · strenuous
Steep and rocky right from the start. The early stretch was shaded, which helped, but the terrain kept shifting under me, and the real challenge was simple: the elevation, and the relentlessness of the climb. It looked gradual at first. The second half was brutal. Loose rock, slushy snow, little creeks to cross, muddy patches to pick through. And false summit after false summit, the kind that lift you up and let you down, again and again.
The steep snow climb near the col — leaning into the poles up a boot-packed track through the snow.
I was carrying more than I needed: a pack loaded for cooler weather, and a heavy knee brace, just in case. The brace I won't complain about. The knee did really well. The whole thing felt like the climb to the base of the Torres in Patagonia, except hotter, with more weight on my back. Eleven miles.
And it was beautiful. We walked wrapped in mountains the whole way. As we climbed, a little breeze turned the heat into something pleasant, and everywhere there were creeks and small falls running down off the melting snow above us.
Looking back down the valley, all the way to Les Contamines — how far your own feet have carried you.
It was hard on everyone. A couple of us found the pace tough and came in a good while later. The knee held going up, no trouble. Coming down is where I felt it, that familiar ache on the descent.
Here's what I'll keep, though. I was anxious before we started, really anxious. But out on the trail, especially in the worst of it, I kept pulling my attention back to what was right under me: the terrain, the earth beneath my boots, the pull of my own breath. That's the mindfulness I'd been practicing on short walks back home, and I had never leaned on it this hard. Yesterday I was reading about presence in a book. Today I needed it, and it was there. Eleven miles, and it held.
Above the turquoise Lac de Roselend, near the top — anxious at the bottom of the climb, quiet by the time you reach here.
Trail Notes
Route: Notre-Dame de la Gorge (1,210 m) → Refuge de la Balme → Col du Bonhomme (2,329 m) → Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (~2,479 m, the day's high point) → Les Chapieux.
Water: Fill before the climb. Refuge de la Balme is the last reliable source before the passes. Streams running hard with snowmelt in late June.
Refuges: La Balme (a stop on the way up); Croix du Bonhomme (at the col).
Snow (late June): Slushy snowfields near the col, slippery in spots. Poles essential. We managed without microspikes, but conditions vary.
Food: A quinoa salad bowl from the village boulangerie, eaten on a rock by the meltwater. Pescatarian-friendly.
Gear that mattered: Poles (especially the descent), knee brace. My pack was too heavy.
Where we stayed: Hôtel l'Autantic, Bourg-Saint-Maurice (via the package transfer).
The watch said: 11.10 mi · +4,413 ft · 8h35 moving · avg HR 128 · 2,620 cal.Planning your own TMB Stage 1? Read the practical guide: TMB Stage 1 Guide: Notre-Dame de la Gorge to Les Chapieux
