Stage 7 — Lac Blanc to La Flégère to Chamonix

The shortest day, and maybe the prettiest. A cable car onto the balcony, a boardwalk past mirror tarns, and the highest lake of the trip. Then the loop closed.

At a glance · 5.6 mi · +2,016 ft · high point Lac Blanc (~7,720 ft) · moving 3h52 · easy–moderate

The last day was the shortest, and maybe the prettiest. Breakfast at the hotel, then a train to Les Praz and the gondola up to La Flégère. No big climb to start this time, just a cable car lifting us onto the balcony with Mont Blanc laid out across the valley.

From the Flégère shoulder — Bossons glacier and Mont Blanc's dome across the valley

From there the trail ran along a wooden boardwalk through Les Chéserys, past little tarns holding the whole massif upside down on their surface. Then it tipped up, some steep, rocky ground for the final push to Lac Blanc. Still snow on the hills above the lake, but the trail itself stayed clear the whole way.

A small tarn holding the Aiguille Verte, the Drus, and the massif upside down

Lac Blanc was the payoff. Turquoise water at 2,352 meters, the highest lake of the trip, ringed by snow and rock with the Mont Blanc range standing over it. I sat by the edge for a while, took some pictures, ate a snack, and let it sink in.

Then the easy way down. The cable car gliding over the mountains, a green golf course back toward the valley. And that was it. That was the loop, closed.

Looking down the cable line, gondolas descending toward Chamonix

All done. It feels great. A train carried us into Chamonix, a nice little town, full of hustle and bustle after ten days in the mountains. A friend and I grabbed a late salad and a beer. That evening the whole group went for Indian food, then a slow walk through town, a few souvenirs picked up along the way.

Ten days. The whole circle, on foot, back to where we started. I'm grateful for all of it, the cols, the climbs, the quiet, and the people I walked it with. The mountain we'd circled for a week and a half finally let us go.

Trail Notes
Route: Train to Les Praz → Flégère cable car up → Aiguilles Rouges balcony → Les Chéserys boardwalks → Lac Blanc (2,352 m) → back to La Flégère → cable car down → train to Chamonix.
The finale is assisted: Cable car up and down, so the on-foot distance is short.
Snow (late June): On the hills above the lake; the trail itself was clear.
Where we stayed: Hôtel Lyret, Chamonix (final night).
The watch said: 5.63 mi · +2,016 ft · 3h52 moving · avg HR 114.

Planning your own TMB Stage 7? Read the practical guide: TMB Stage 7 Guide: Lac Blanc to Chamonix