Tour de Mont Blanc (Day 3)

Day 3 dawned as forecast; damp but certainly fortunately not heavy rain and fuelled by a massive breakfast I was soon keen to get going. From La Fouly you could easily make a quick dash down the road until the climb up to Champex but you would be missing out on the singletrack that follows the opposite back of the river.

Exposed!

This is the main Tour de Mont Blanc path but was blocked off by a farmer who had decided to put an electric fence around his cows. Looking menacing I decided to take the option of skirting the field which was not easy between electric fence and deep drainage ditch! Still the challenge was short lived and was soon on the main track. The path winds it's way down the valley and ranges from double track, techy rocky/rooty sections to exposed singletrack with optional handrail!

Eventually reaching Issert the descending ends and its time to start climbing to Champex 450m above. Following the magic mushroom trail (Can't remember the actual name but had something to do with mushrooms) it's a mix of riding and pushing. Champex is a picturesque little spot but in the rain I decided to keep going rather than run the risk of stopping and getting cold. From Champex the TdMB trail drops down more than I was expecting, knowing that I had to reach the top of the Bovine climb at 2000m every metre lost was to be gained again later!

Long Climb.

Finally the climb started, the first kilometer or so is rideable along a forest road but then it's time to shoulder the bike and start hiking! The woodland setting suited the wet weather but it was a long steep climb up to the Bovine alpage. By now my camera was getting wet and probably not helped by dropping it earlier in the day was not working at it's best...hence the lack of focus in the few photos that came out!

Finally the gradient eased off and I began to traverse around the hill reaching the hut and fine views of the Martigny valley below. After a few more meters of climbing a wooden double gate marks the start of the downhill to Col de Forclaz.

Like most of the descents on this route it was worth the climbing and 10seconds into it the hard work was forgotten! The woodland descent is pretty technical in parts and was made even more so by the wet roots and rocks. Unfortunately all too soon it pops out at the Col and the touristy hotel and souvenir shop. From the Col I opted to follow the walking path down to Trient rather than the marked VTT trail. This turned out to be the interesting option with steep rooty sections and wooden steps which were lethal in the wet. Having made it down to Trient in one piece it was time to refuel before the final climb, however I forgot one thing...never try buying lunch at lunchtime in Switzerland! With the shop shut the only option was a 20CHF omellette and dripping wet and muddy decided I wouldn't be that welcome in the Cafe.

Deciding I had just enough energy bars for the final climb I ploughed on down the main road towards to Les Jeurs and the climb to the Col des Posettes. If time was tight, the easier option here would be to plough on up the main road to Col des Montets but I realised if I did this would probably be back in Chamonix before the pub opened!

Feeling fully refreshed from all the descending the first few kilometers along the road past Les Jeurs was easy enough... but the Alps are big and an hour or so later I was starting to fade! Fortunately the top soon came into sight and from the Col it could be all downhill to Chamonix. But there was one downhill I wanted to tackle which involved a short rising traverse towards the Aiguillette des Posettes. The top of this descent was awesome but into the woods it became muddy and slippy and covered in sheep sh&t! I quickly found the reason and the path blocked by the farmer bringing his sheep down the track for the winter! Finally negotiating the sheep and scattering them across the hill I ploughed on down to Le Tours, then to Montroc and Argentiere. There is nothing quite like finishing a downhill, soaking wet, muddy and stinking of sheep pooh and then coming across a large group of folk all dressed up for a wedding!

Desperately in need of food and coke by now I refuelled at the boulangerie in Argentiere just far enough away from the wedding photos! It's amazing how much a bit of food, sugary drink and sunshine can re-energize and with a bit more life back in me headed down to Chamonix on the Petit Balcon Sud to maximise the singletrack, because I hadn't ridden enough over the last couple of days!.

That was it... back in Chamonix and just in time to enjoy a pint before the sun set over Brevent at MBC and reflect on three great days of riding... what a journey!

Stats for the day:
Total Distance ~ 59km
Total Ascending ~3200m
Total Descending ~3800m

More photos of the ride are here and if anyone is after the GPS data or more info for the route drop me a email.

Time now to plan the next adventure......