The Tour du Mont Blanc is a hut to hut route, and that single fact should cut your pack in half. No tent, no stove, no pot, no fuel, and only the food you eat between breakfast and dinner. Every hut serves an evening meal and a breakfast, and most sell a packed lunch to carry.
What is left is a day pack that happens to be away for eight days. Aim for 7 to 9 kg carried, excluding water. Above 10 kg the descents start to hurt on day four and the trip stops being fun.
The refuge kit that catches people out
Three items surprise first-timers, and all three are non-negotiable.
A sleeping bag liner is required by most refuges. Blankets and pillows are provided; the liner is yours and they will ask for it. A silk or lightweight synthetic one weighs almost nothing.
Earplugs. You are sleeping in a room with fifteen to forty other people, some of whom snore at volume. This is the cheapest item on the list and the one that decides how you feel on day five.
Indoor shoes. Boots come off at the door in every hut. Most provide crocs in bins by the entrance, but they run out in the popular sizes. A pair of light sandals solves it.
Cash, and the currency problem
The route crosses France, Italy and Switzerland. France and Italy are on the euro, Switzerland is on the franc, and you spend three nights there. Swiss huts will take euros at a rate you will not enjoy.
Draw francs in Courmayeur before you cross the Grand Col Ferret. Carry cash generally: several refuges still do not take cards, and mountain signal is unreliable enough that you should not count on tapping a phone.
The clothing list
- Two hiking shirts, one worn, one drying
- One pair of hiking trousers or shorts, plus one lightweight long layer for evenings and huts
- Fleece or light insulated midlayer
- Proper waterproof jacket with a hood, not a windshell
- Waterproof trousers, which you will need at least once
- Warm hat and light gloves, for the cols even in August
- Sun hat and sunglasses, because you are above the treeline most days
- Three pairs of socks, worn, spare, drying
Boots, and the case for poles
Broken-in boots or trail shoes with real grip. There is no scrambling on the main route, but the Fenêtre d'Arpette variant is a boulder field near the top and every descent is long.
Take poles. On a route with 10,000 m of descent they are not an accessory. Knees that feel fine on day two are the ones that stop people on day six.
What to leave at home
Tent, sleeping bag, stove, cooking kit, water filter, more than one spare of anything, and a towel bigger than your hand. Huts have drinking water and most sell a small towel or have showers with them. Every gram of that list gets carried over four cols.
Our 8 days itinerary: Tour du Mont Blanc: An 8-Day Hut to Hut Itinerary. Day by day, with where to sleep and what to book.
