Day 3 of our fastpacking adventure from Cabane du Combale to Rifugio Bonatti turned out to be one of our most spectacular. We started out in the rain, but were chased by blue sky. With the clouds breaking across the mountains and the sun lighting up the glaciers, we couldn’t keep the smiles off our faces.
- The route – via Col Chécrouit/Maison Vielle, Courmayeur and Rifugio Bertone
- Distance – 25.64km
- Elevation gain – 1663m
- Elevation loss – 1633.
- Duration – 7 hours 50 mins incl 1hr 10 mins stops
A soggy start from Cabane du Combale
After an excellent breakfast, everyone crowded into the hallway, putting on their full head-to-toe waterproofs. I did the same, but then I wasn’t so sure. We opened the door to peer outside. Yes, the rain looked set in. The clouds were hanging low in the sky, but it didn’t feel that cold, so I de-trousered and opted for my jacket only. After popping back to the bar to buy a couple of bars of Ritter Sport chocolate and two gigantic apples, we started our watches and waved goodbye at 08:25 am.
After rejoining the main route via a short path from the Cabane du Combale, we began our first climb of the day on a lush forested trail lined with pink wild flowers. A few of the nearby jagged peaks and their glaciers were visible through the gloom, making this a really picturesque start despite the rain. As we climbed higher, the wind chilled my legs, giving me goosebumps. When I finally gave in and stopped to put on my waterproof trousers, the relief to have warm legs gave me an extra surge of energy.
Here comes the sun
Shortly after, we were amazed to see a large patch of blue sky emerging behind us above the Col de Seigne. It seemed to be heading our way, and sure enough, one hour in, fresh snowy peaks emerged from the gloom. They were dazzling against the now bright blue sky and all the more dramatic with wispy white clouds still clinging to their sides. We paused to take lots of pictures, pack away our waterproofs and retrieve our sunglasses, caps and sun cream. Our Cicerone book said today’s route to the Rifugio Bonatti had some of the best views on the TMB, so we couldn’t believe our luck.
The descent to Courmayeur
The rest of the ascent to Arête du Mont Favre at 2400m took far longer than necessary. We just couldn’t stop taking photographs of the balcony-style views.
Then, we had a hugely enjoyable, gentle downhill trail. As we trotted down the single track, views opened up across the valley in between short stretches of woodland. Upon reaching Col Chécrouit and the Rifugio Maison Vieille, gravel tracks led us through the grassy ski area to Plan Chécrouit with a welcome toilet stop at the gondola top station. We rested on a bench here for a few minutes to eat our apples and remaining chocolate. The route from here entered woodland and became a steep technical descent before finally joining the cobbled pathways into the town of Courmayeur.
Time for pizza!
We arrived bang on 12 noon in Courmayeur. After a quick supermarket stop to stock up on energy bars and nuts, it was perfect timing for lunch. Right across the road was a very unassuming place that, on first glance, looked like a fast-food joint. We would have walked on by if we hadn’t spotted the blackboard advertising ‘Pizza Gluten Free’. Easy decision for lunch then; the L’Angolo di Mel pizzeria turned out to be one of our best finds of the trip! The gluten-free base was impressive. Out of all of our days on the TMB, this was the day I felt best fueled. I put it down to the hard-boiled egg at breakfast and the whole pizza for lunch, washed down with a bottle of Coke.
The climb to Rifugio Bertone
After walking through the bustling town centre, we set off out of Courmayeur. The steep road at least gave plenty of time for our pizzas to digest. We knew there was a water fountain partway up this road, and sure enough, we were able to fill up our bottles before heading out into the mountains again. We now had a beautiful, blue-sky, sunshiny day, so I was making sure to mix my water with electrolytes to stay hydrated. Definitely necessary for tackling the 700m steep zig-zagging climb up through the humid woodland.
As we popped out of the trees at the top, there was the Rifugio Bertone. What a wow-factor location! It would be a lovely place for a lunch stop, but with our pizzas now digested, it was time to stretch our legs with a bit of running.
The grand finale to the Rifugio Bonatti
This last section to reach the Refugio Bonatti was one of my favourites of the whole tour. The mostly very runnable single track had distracting views straight ahead towards the glaciated mountains across the valley. Behind us, we could see yesterday’s route, back along the valley to the Col de Seigne. We loved this gently undulating path with both open and woodland sections. The ice-cold streams were perfect for dipping our caps, and before we knew it, we’d reached the final short, sharp climb to reach the hut.
An Italian flag fluttered in the breeze above the panoramic terrace of the Refugio. We were fairly early, 3.15 pm, so eager to check in and get showered before the hut got busy with more arrivals. Once showered, it was extremely tempting to spend the 2.5 hours before dinner lying on my bed with my legs in the air (again). But what a waste to miss out on such a fantastically positioned terrace! So we hobbled back outside and ordered a peppermint tea, joining a young, chatty Australian couple.
Later, when we arrived in the lively restaurant for dinner, we were seated at a table between a Utah family on one side and a Utah couple on the other. Funnily enough, the Utah couple had been on the same train as us from Chamonix to Les Houches 2 days earlier. They’d spotted with envy our extremely lightweight running packs (compared to their hiking rucksacks). Thirty minutes into dinner, they discovered they only lived minutes from the Utah family seated on the other side of us. It was a fun dinner with nice wine, good conversation and great food.
Night 3 – Rifugio Bonatti
What we loved:
The pasta! Plus, the high altitude location and views. Perched at just over 2000m, this was the hut with the most rugged outlook and best high alpine feel.
What we didn’t love:
It felt a little hectic at times. The breakfast could have been better, and there could be more showers. But the dinner, atmosphere and location more than made up for the shortfalls.
Accommodation:
Once again, we had the luxury of a private room (with shared toilet & showers). It’s a big refuge with a capacity of 80, so it was a massive bonus to have some privacy.
Facilities:
We received a token for a timed hot shower. I heard some people struggled with the hot water. Mine was lovely and warm, but only when I’d worked out that the woman who had just cleaned it had left the tap on cold. There are only a handful of showers, but we didn’t have to queue for long, possibly due to our early arrival.
There were only a couple of toilets on our floor. This didn’t seem enough for the size, but it wasn’t really a problem for a one-night stay.
Meals:
This was our most enjoyable meal in terms of fun company and atmosphere. It was also the longest meal. Serving 4 courses for up to 80 people, we didn’t finish until after 9 pm. I was almost falling asleep by the end. We started with a fairly tasty bean salad, followed by amazing pasta (disappointing soup as the GF option). Veal with polenta mash followed, then a creamy dessert. It all went down really well.
Breakfast was less satisfying and didn’t compare to the Cabane du Combale the day before. It was buffet style, so quite chaotic with basic cereal, yogurt, bread, butter, jam and coffee.
Visit the official Rifugio Bonatti website here.
Read my Day 4 blog post from Rifugio Bonatti to Auberge des Glaciers here.
See our full TMB route here.
My Switzerland travel memoir
My love affair with the Alps began when I moved to Switzerland to be a holiday rep. You can read about my repping adventures in my travel memoir – It’s a Wunderbar Life. Click here for sample chapters.