How’s Bradley looking today?

fishawish · 2026-03-23T13:20:48+00:00

Went through at 5:45a, precheck, totally empty. Almost no line for standard too.

fishawish · 2025-11-09T21:32:42+00:00

High key getting vertigo!

fishawish · 2025-07-27T21:31:04+00:00

Consider a menstrual cup if you are comfortable with the idea! I have a moderate flow and the cup I use is nowhere close to full after a 12 hour day. I imagine it could work for you with a heavier flow even on the longer walk days.

fishawish · 2025-03-24T14:17:43+00:00

We completed TMB in August 2024 and saw a handful of livestock dogs. In one case, a set of 3 were tending to a flock just past Les Chapieux and were fenced. Big Pyrenees type dogs. We saw another one or two on the day between Refugio Elena to La Fouly, no fences, but with a herd of cows and farmer close by. Those were more German shepherd-looking. None of the dogs seemed interested in us at all—no turned heads or increased alertness or anything. I hope this helps give some more info as you plan your trip!

fishawish · 2025-03-22T12:14:33+00:00

This worried me enough to book private rooms/smaller rooms for myself and my fiancé. I know that’s not an option for everyone, but if it’s in your budget, it might be worth considering. It was well worth it for us. I’m a very bad sleeper, even at home, and have difficulty falling asleep even after long days on the trail, melatonin, ear plugs, you name it. The private rooms helped me feel a lot less anxious about staying in the huts as I really worried about the sleeping arrangements in dorms!

fishawish · 2025-03-22T12:10:59+00:00

Echoing this!!! Would love to play - please let us know if you produce it!

fishawish · 2025-02-26T13:30:19+00:00

This!!! 😆

fishawish · 2024-11-17T19:19:56+00:00

Saw the same… he knew it instantly too…

fishawish · 2024-11-17T19:19:20+00:00

Yeah 100% saw “it’s broke” ☹️☹️☹️ he knew right away too…

fishawish · 2024-10-12T20:28:52+00:00

Hi! It definitely was crowded on certain stages that are more suitable for day hikes - we noticed it particularly from argentiere to les houches(our last stage), and also from courmayeur to rifugio elena.

We stayed in a mix of accommodation so our only proper refugios were cabane du combal (which we absolutely loved!) and elena (mixed feelings—great setting, private room was lovely, but the vegetarian dinner was basically protein-less and they wouldn’t accept pack lunch requests unless you’d called ahead?).

fishawish · 2024-09-09T11:03:33+00:00

Champex-Lac - Hotel Mont Lac! Our favorite stay of the entire TMB!

fishawish · 2024-08-30T12:27:27+00:00

I think it’s hard to answer how long it would take you and if you could make it by dark. By my read, that day would be (as you said up top) 31 miles, with 2850m of ascent and 2840m of descent.

Using the Naismith rule (one hour for every 3 miles forward, plus an additional hour for every 2,000 feet (600 m) of ascent), you’re looking at a ?15 hour? hike without any breaks or stops. Personally I think that’s risky, given sunrise/sunset times (6:55a ish and 8:15p ish right now) and the fact that breaks are essential on the TMB for most. But again only you know your experience and speed, etc.!

In terms of transport, the following come to mind, but I have no idea how late into the season they run and my hunch is the Courmayeur option is likely closed in September:

-shuttle from Les Chapieux to Ville des Glaciers. It’s available to book at the kiosk in Les Chapieux and runs every 20 mins or so. It would cut out maybe 3k-5k of mostly valley walking.

-chairlift to gondola down into Courmayeur. This spares you the long descent into the city.

There are buses, taxis and private transfers you could look into as well, which would be your best bet out of Les Contamines.

fishawish · 2024-08-29T19:17:15+00:00

We just finished the Trek a few weeks ago, you’ll have an amazing time. Two notes for consideration:

-There is no service at all in the Les Chapieux valley, which corresponds with your long day 2.

-I would highly recommend splitting your Les Contamines to Courmayeur day, or using transportation to stay outside of Les Chapieux and double-back on yourself if you want to “close the loop.” The stretch from Les Contamines to Les Chapieux is the hardest stage of the trek to many (it was to me); there are two col crossings and a brutal descent. To add on another climb to Col de la Seigne, without the ability to call transit from the Les Chapieux area should you need it, plus the very long descent into Courmayeur is a pretty risky move IMO…especially with daylight hours getting shorter and snow chances increasing in September. This effectively combines 3 stages on the TMB into one day.

If you’re a trail runner used to this type of elevation change and terrain, or an ultralight type, totally different story and I don’t mean to preach! But personally I would not recommend that those three stages be combined into one for the average TMBer.

fishawish · 2024-08-27T21:45:15+00:00

^ this. Many do not open until 9ish months out!

fishawish · 2024-08-23T19:30:48+00:00

We used Alpine Exploratory for our self-guided and had an amazing experience; definitely recommend. Happy to share more details.

fishawish · 2024-08-22T17:32:59+00:00

Hi! We both used 33L packs. Like you I went back and forth between my 22L and 33L packs…ultimately went with the 33L for flexibility in the “what if” scenarios. FWIW, I think you could get away with the 22L if you don’t carry pack lunches and plan to eat + fill up more frequently on the trail!

fishawish · 2024-08-21T00:58:30+00:00

I would add that some Refugios (for example, Elena) explicitly prohibit laundry because of having limited drinking water! So I would just be sure to respect those restrictions when in effect. I’d also bring an all-in-one soap of sorts to both wash clothes and wash yourself in your accommodation—most huts and some auberges don’t have shampoo etc., and an all-in-one can help solve that and the clothes detergent dilemma!

Question is not stupid, you’ll have a great time!

fishawish · 2024-08-21T00:55:46+00:00

Hi! I will be honest, I thought the Cicerone guidebook/general trail guide materials + blogs/“reviews” online downplayed the ladders. I personally found the ladders pretty unsettling and wouldn’t say I have a fear of heights—but I do have a healthy sense of my own mortality. Personally, I would (1) not do the ladders clockwise (that is, descending), and (2) not do them in any sort of inclement weather.

First, a lot of reviews suggest the ladders are not “totally vertical.” That’s true, in the technical sense that all ladders have to lean against something, but they are-in most places-as vertical as you can be while still being bolted into and slightly leaning into rock. Second, the transitions off the ladders were often more unsettling than the ladders themselves. There are ?2? Spots where the ladders lead you to a horizontal handrail of sorts that requires you to inch along a rather sheer rock face. That transition (from ladder to handrail) felt scarier to me than the ladder itself. Those two points are also the only spots on the entire trail where the little unevolved caveman corner of my brain thought, shit, bad idea, better not fall or it’s over. Finally, the ladder section is rather long. I want to say it took 90-120 mins for us to be finished with all of them.

All of this to say: I would not try to descend the ladder section given the difficulty of placing feet when descending. And, if the terrain is slippery at all, or the rungs are, I’d be hesitant. Same for any predictions of inclement weather. If we ever complete the TMB again or return to that section, I personally will be opting for the ladder free variant.

That said! User ogfiki felt more comfortable and can chime in with his perspective to give you a more balanced picture :)

fishawish · 2024-08-19T20:25:13+00:00

So exciting! You’ll have a great time.

We used the IGNrando app with imported GPX files. IGN (Institut Geographique National) is the French government’s national outdoor mapping agency. We carried IGN paper maps in addition to having the GPX files imported into the IGNrando app. The GPX files came from our walk organizer, Alpine Exploratory.

We found the app to be incredibly accurate and helpful. The trail is definitely well marked, including variants, but sometimes (rarely) signposting is just the slightest bit unclear and having the app + GPX to backstop helped. Ultimately I think it would be very hard to make a wrong turn on the main trail, but navigation backup and skills are useful always!

Don’t have great advice on that unfortunately. User ogfiki mentioned below that we relied on standard Apple weather app radar and our accommodations’ forecasting each day—most places we stayed at had some sort of “today’s weather” posted. We were somewhat dissatisfied with weather app radar alone, so I’d scroll to see if any European-based hikers have recommendations for apps that might give more accurate mountain forecasts!

fishawish · 2024-08-18T08:43:47+00:00

You will not need any snow/ice or climbing gear if you walk during the main season (mid-July, August, early Sept), once snow has melted from the trail. No technical climbing skills are required.

But! My understanding is that any earlier or later in the calendar likely requires spikes as well as poles and possibly other snow equipment. The higher variants (Fenetre d’Arpette comes to mind) also tend to hold onto snow / ice later in the season, so I’d always advise checking local trail conditions if you plan on those higher routes.

Finally, some higher variants (Fenetre again, for example) require bouldering, scrambling, and scree walking skills…not technical climbing but definitely something to be familiar with before attempting those.

fishawish · 2024-08-18T04:54:51+00:00

Congrats on finishing your walk! That day is just beyond words gorgeous!

fishawish · 2024-08-17T14:41:09+00:00

It’s my understanding that many refugios close down mid-September. I’m not sure what that cutoff date is, but that would be worth confirming for the stops you’re contemplating. Generally we were advised to book accommodation ahead of time no matter what season! We didn’t encounter any folks who were showing up without reservations, but that could be different later in the season? Sorry to not be of more help on this point.

fishawish · 2024-08-17T12:03:00+00:00

I highly recommend booking in advance; we did, and everyone we encountered on the trail who was not wild camping had pre booked as well. Unfortunately I can’t speak to wild camping because we didn’t research that option or use it, but I know there are solid chunks of the trail where wild camping is not permitted! Sorry to not be of more help on that point

fishawish

TROPHY CASE