An idea of how well marked this trail was...
Among my first views of Mont Blanc
Looking back, on the way up to the first pass, the Col de Tricot.
At the col -- way more sheep than people up there.
Self portrait, same place
Sharing the trail with sheep.
Mont Blanc again, above Chalets de Miage
Miage
Col du Bonhomme.
Next pass, Col de la Seigne, the border between France and Italy, here I am with Magneto. Very windy here.
Magneto on the French side...
...and so on...
Refugio Elisabetta
La Palud, Italy -- arrived here after an 18-mile hiking day
Courmayeur, Italy, rest day.
Start of the next day, up this glacial valley and then up and over a ridge next to it...
...This glacier obviously used to fill the whole valley; it was amazing to see the changes that must have taken place...
Refuge Elena overlooking that same glacial valley. (Don't know if this comes across in the picture, but the glacier would have turned toward the left of the picture down in the valley behind Elena there... and continued down the valley in the picture above.)
Nice view including a lateral moraine.
Continuing up the ridge behind Refuge Elena, up to the Grand Col Ferret, the border between Italy and Switzerland.
...still climbing
...still climbing
Bad weather at the Col, didn't take any pictures. But here's a cow on the way down, with corks on its horns. Eh?
Just stayed in La Fouly, Switzerland, foggy morning the next day.
Random climbing wall. That was cool.
Trail marker for the TMB
Walking along the top of a moraine.
Random town in Switzerland; everyone had all these gnomes in their gardens!
Another small Swiss town (went through Issert, Praz de Fort, and others, I don't remember which was which)
The lake at Champex, Switzerland
Funny sign at the lake.
In Champex, signs for smoking and non-smoking sides of the room.
View from Champex
Here are Martin and Ann, some frequent walking companions -- they celebrated their anniversary along the way!
Chuck and Narelle, some of my other frequent walking companions on the trip.
Impressed by the cow bell.
Now possibly my favorite walking day of the trip, Champex to Trient via Bovine
Some very steep sections
And across large meadows at the top (too late in the year for wildflowers but still gorgeous!)
Wonderful views along the way
Chuck looking back and taking photos
At Bovine
A stop for lunch at the high point of the day, here are a few folks' trekking poles.
The town of Martigny, Switzerland
Apparently no pictures from Trient; nice little town (but horrible hotel), 'cause here I am at the Col de Balme, looking toward Mont Blanc again, heading now southwest-ish toward Argentiere in the Chamonix valley.
Took a chair lift down the pass to save my knees -- there are Elizabeth and Narelle in the chair behind me.
No pics from Argentiere itself either. Heading now toward Chamonix via a trail partway up the Grand Balcon Sud (the ridge behind the valley facing the Mont Blanc massif -- great views from up there!!
Nice views all along; all my pictures pretty much looked the same though. In the bottom of this picture you can see that I'm just above Chamonix now.
Just a cool picture walking under a chair lift.
Cable car down into Chamonix; a steep descent and again wanted to save my knees!
I did say steep, right?
Chamonix
Chamonix
Mont Blanc at sunset
Mont Blanc over Chamonix
Done with the hike. Bus to Geneva from Chamonix, then home -- here is Jeff picking me up at the airport!