Le Tour du Mont Blanc, Day 3

Monday, September 3^rd

We woke up to clouds but not rain, and had our earliest start yet at 7:40 am. I saw the "lost" hiker Colleen and I had helped yesterday as we passed him soon after his refuge (Refuge de la Balme). The new TMB Trail app being created by Atlas Guides will be very helpful though there is generally good signage.

We walked in a stream of hikers heading up and were also surrounded by a dispersed herd of sheep coming down from the high ground now that summer is ending. The shepherd calmly stood in one area and the sheep dogs did their work. I’m sure the hikers did not make their job easier.

Placid shepherd, in red at right, bringing the sheep down the mountain

Today’s hike was dominated by hiking up, up, up 3,400 feet, and then down an easy 169 feet from the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme to reach the extremely large and busy refuge. There were over 110 people staying at the refuge. We arrived relatively early again and there was a big lunch crowd, but we managed to get into our room – an even smaller room with 7 beds this time – three bunk beds and a trundle bed that pulled out between the two lower bunks in the back of the room. There was some cupboard space for backpacks but it was a tight space and anyone that wasn’t in their bunk was basically blocking anyone else that wanted to move in and out of the space or organize their backpack.

Our room at Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme - the trundle bed slid out between us!

Since we arrived early, we decided to go for a short walk. When you are at a high point in the mountains it is impossible to find a flat route, but we walked on a short meadow trail before Nancy and then Colleen decided to turn back while Sue and I continued on. Colleen hung out in the meadow and said she could see and hear us for quite awhile as we started up the nearby ridge. I was my usual “chicken” self but managed to follow Sue (at a low crouch with arms out for balance!) and we saw some great examples of folding and crenulations. I took some photos and then the mist came in over the ridge and we just sat to watch it as it drifted over us and then into the valley below. When the mist reached the warmer valley air it “disappeared” so we were watching wispy tendrils moving down and evaporating to invisibility. It was really neat.

Interesting geology and Sue pointing to a Swiss horn carved in the rock

 The refuge was quieter when we returned and I ordered some gluwein (hot mulled red wine) to warm up and write in my journal. We ended up sitting by a doctor from Switzerland that had hiked up for the night with some friends that hadn’t arrived yet. He was a well of information about the routes to take on the TMB and where there were side routes with great views and pretty lakes. Sue is an expert at getting information from people!

After he left to join his friends, the four of us played scrabble – not keeping track of points but just enjoying playing two games before dinner.

Playing scrabble at the refuge. Photo by Sue Priest.

Dinner was a raucous affair. The young folks working in the refuge pulled out a cart with stacked dishes on it and passed out a set of eight of everything for the folks at the table to pass around. Then  they served the watery soup (our only non-delicious rating on the entire trip) in a large tureen, and the tender beef and cheesy polenta in large casserole dishes. The electricity went out during dinner and they delivered candles to each table. Our guess was that the jerry-rigged number of cell phones trying to charge in the limited number of outlets caused a circuit to break and they couldn’t reset it. We still didn’t have electricity the next morning.

Too many phones - not enough outlets. Photo by Colleen Sinnott.

The volume in the cavernous room was almost unbearable with clattering dishes and loud talking and I couldn’t wait to escape after dinner to go somewhere quieter. Our room was at the end of a hallway and the door was propped open to bring in a little light, but it also brought in frigid temperatures from outside. The bathrooms were ridiculous. The women’s had four miniscule toilet stalls off a tiny hall with one sink. Even with electricity, we needed our headlamps as it was pitch black in the stalls. We also had to be careful opening doors so we didn’t hit anyone waiting for a stall.

All in all, this was my least favorite refuge. The young folks working there were terrific, but there are many disadvantages with this many people in one building.

View of Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme from our ridge hike

Day 3 Summary: Refuge Nant Borrant to Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme (France); 5.46 mi/8.8 km; 3400’/1036 m up and 169’/51.5 m down; 5 hrs on trail