Tour de Mont Blanc hike Day 4
As we were the last people to walk into the Rifugio last night, we were given the remaining two beds beside the door. We didn’t mind this too much as we were delighted to just get our heads downs for the night. We went down to get breakfast and we were greeted by horses walking around the front of the Rifugio, it was a great experience. The horses were very happy to get some attention and even happier when people started to feed them their breakfast apples.
Breakfast in Rifugio Maison Vielle Tour de mont blanc hike
The hostel gave us an option of muesli, cornflakes or bread and jam with coffee or tea. Gina chanced her arm and asked did they have any hot chocolate, our kind host arrived out with a jug of it, which definitely made her day.
We left the hostel and cut down through a field to join the Tour of Mont Blanc trail which goes past a small hamlet filled with Rifugios and old buildings cut into the edge of the hill. We were walking downhill on a small lane cut through fields with cows.
Walking to Courmayeur Italy Tour du Mont Blanc
After the small hamlet, we walked into a wooded area and started to descend into the village of Courmayeur pretty quickly. The wooded area gave us a nice break away from the hot morning sun even though it was early, the heat was picking up. At the bottom of the wooded area, we walked into a meadow of wildflowers that lead to a small road which brought us into Courmayeur.
The small road meandered through old sections of Courmayeur for 30-40 minutes before we actually reached the main street. We eventually reached a large roundabout in the middle of the town and were greeted with a massive amount of TMB signs, at least we knew what was ahead of us.
While in Courmayeur we restocked on more supplies, which consisted of more snacks for our little picnics, factor 50 suncream and aftersun. The walk down to Courmayeur took us 90 minutes, so we had worked up an appetite for breakfast and as we were in Italy we obviously got Pizza followed with ice-cream, I’m sure we would walk off the calories.
Walk from Courmayeur to Rifugio Alpine G Bertone
We relaxed in Courmayeur and done a small bit of sightseeing but we hit the trail again after about 45 minutes and 2 lots of ice cream (I think we are going to put weight on throughout this hike). The TMB trail out of Courmayeur leads up a steep road passing fields and eventually meeting a Tee junction that crosses a bridge with an impressive man-made waterfall behind it.
After walking over the small bridge we walked into a wooded area that zigzagged through a pine forest. We found this section particularly hard as the shelter in the wooded area made the air seem dense, we also had no views so we couldn’t gauge where the top of the hill was.
Lunch at Rifugio Alpine G Bertone tour de mont blanc hike
We finally reached the top of the hill and was greeted with a Rifugio, so we decided to go in for refreshments. Rifugio Alpine G Bertone was under renovation when we were there but seemed nice so we got a small lunch. We also consulted the guidebook on the best route to hike toward Rifugio Bonatti.
Rifugio Alpine G Bertone to Rifugio Bonatti TMB
Just above Rifugio Alpine G Bertone, the TMB trail splits into 2 options, a lower and higher trail hike. Over lunch, we had decided to take the lower route, as for the last three days we have always taken the higher routes and we wanted to give our legs a break.
This section of the tour de mont blanc hike cuts through the side of a mountain and is very enjoyable. Rifugio Alpine G Bertone is at a height of 2000m and our desired rifugio for the night’s stay was only at 2050m high, so not much climbing involved. The section of the trail isn’t flat, it does raise and drop considerably but nothing too strenuous. This section of the tour de mont blanc hike is filled with amazing views to your left-hand side and lovely green field meadows and streams that you will be crossing continually.
The signposts have this section as 2 hours and 15 minutes long, I think this is the only occasion that we matched the pace advertised on the signs, we are usually miles behind the advised time. It’s hard to believe that we did it in the advised time, as we stopped more than usual to take photographs and soak in the wondrous mountain views.
Accommodation on day 4 of tour du mont blanc hike
The first view of Rifugio Bonatti is an elevated one, that’s through a meadow but the Rifugio is renowned for being one of the best hostels on the tour de mont blanc hike, so we were looking forward to staying here.
Rifugio Bonatti Accommodation/Cost & Review Tour du mont blanc
When we arrived at the reception which is situated beside the dining room, they gave us the option for half board or just a bed. We took the half-board option and our accommodation in the Rifugio cost €50 per person.
As we got to Rifugio Bonatti reasonably early, we unpacked our bags in our dorm room and to our surprise, our beds were one continues mattress that sleeps 6 people. We asked could we take a wall section of the mattress but our host told us that these were reserved already. So try ring in advance and reserve a window or corner of the mattress.
When we were checking in we were given tokens to use for the shower, so after unpacking our bags, we went down to the basement to use the showers. The showers in this rifugio were possibly the worst showers of all the tour du mont blanc showers. I know this is a strong statement for a new hostel but you put your token into the shower and it gets warm for about 3 minutes, then the hot water stops and the water turns cold.
All you want at night after the tour de mont blanc hike is 3 key things;
- A nice clean bed;
- A hot shower
- and food.
This Rifugio has a weird bed setup and poor showers but the food was very good and could not be faulted. They fed us vegetable soup, salad, chicken and flan as dessert. I know there are negatives about this hostel but I would still stay here again, as the location is probably the best on the Tout of Mont Blanc.
After dinner, we went outside to admire the views and the location of the Rifugio, maybe the lack of hot water is due to the remoteness of its location.
We went into the dorm room after our walk and we were hoping that no one was in the mattress beside us, but the Rifugio seemed to fill up pretty quickly since we arrived.
Tour de mont blanc hike Day 4 impression of the Trek
While researching the TMB day 4 we found that many people skip this section or just get a Bus, but we found it enjoyable. Every section of the TMB that we have done so far has been different in their own way. This section of the TMB has lots of wood walks, with an opportunity to resupply in a large tourist town, finished off with meadow walks filled with bees, butterflies and cows. The views of Mont blanc seem so close that you feel you could touch the mountain.
Walking advice for Tour du Mont Blanc Day 4
- Re-supply in Courmayeur as you won’t see another town like this again until the end;
- If hiking the TMB at peak season, book Rifugio Bonatti in advance of arrival;
- If you’re staying in a dorm room try book the wall or the window section of the mattress for privacy;
- Be aware that hot water in the showers is limited to 3 minutes max.
Tour du Mont Blanc Day 4 – Walking time
- You would want to allow 9-10 hours including breaks.
- We started walking out of Rifugio Maison Vielle at 8:00 am and we arrived at Rifugio Bonatti 5:30 pm.