Mont Blanc

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Day 10 - July 23, 2015 - Trient, Switzerland to Argentiere, France



OMG what a day. As we left the auberge it looked like it could rain any minute. Thank goodness we didn't get a single drop all day as it would have been a nightmare hiking the trail. We started the day by walking down a road that took us past the pink church and then through an open meadow. Before long we reach the woods where we are greeted with an uphill climb on switchbacks some which were very steep and others a lot like what we encounter hiking Mt Charleston. What made it very difficult this morning was it was so humid, hot and steamy walking through the woods. Finally the climb eased a little and we headed across an open hillside to some old shepherd's huts in a rough hollow. From the huts the trail went up again with more steep zigzags before reaching the Refuge Du Col de Balme. The refuge enjoys a privileged position on the broad grassy saddle of the Col de Balme which is the border between Switzerland and France. After having a diet coke at the refuge we head out for the Col des Posettes. The path takes us around the side of the mountain on the French side before heading down into an open meadow. As we continue on the path we again start climbing to the crown of the Aiguillette des Posettes which becomes very rocky towards the top. Upon reaching the top we have some of the most spectacular views we have had so far on the hike of Aiguille du Chardonnet, Glacier du Tour, Aiguilles Verte and Drus and the snow dome of Mont Blanc. So as they say - what goes up must come down. So down we head over big rocks, railroad tiles installed as steps and tree roots - definitely not fun and very hard on the knees. I have decided this had to have been the worst downhill trail I have been on for the last 10 days. Upon reaching the bottom of the mountain, we had about a 30 minute walk along a stream and road before we reached our hotel for the night. It is hard to believe there is only one more day of hiking on the Mont Blanc trail. As we were descending down from the crown of the Aiguillette des Posettes, I saw the trail we will start out on tomorrow and all I can say is "it's not going to be fun - very, very steep".

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