Tour du Mont Blanc: Stage 2
Les Contamines → Les Chapieux
Best season: June–September. July and August are the core hiking months; check snow and refuge openings for June or September. About the route & distance
Les Contamines → Les Chapieux
Allow time for breaks and your own pace. Build fuel plan for this stage
A main-route plan with real overnight stops
A reviewed 11-day plan of 164.5 km from Les Houches, via Les Contamines, Courmayeur and the Swiss valleys, with named overnight areas, booking links and a GPX for every day.
Explore the 11-day walking planMake it your trip
How long does it take?
Take time for refuge lunches and mountain views, travel light between huts, or link longer stages on a trail-running trip. Compare daily distance and climbing before deciding.
Find refuge availabilityHiking the classic TMB usually takes 7–12 days. The drafts below join the reviewed eleven days into fewer, longer ones at the same stays; they are starting points for arranging yours.
11 days · about 15 km per day · 869 m climb per day
Compare the effort, then choose overnight stops. These drafts join the reviewed plan's 11 stages where a day is short, so every day still ends at one of its stays; your booked accommodation sets the final day boundaries. The classic TMB commonly takes 7–12 walking days.
Fuel calculations start with each day's walking-time estimate; adjust the duration to your own hiking or running pace.
Build a 11-day tripThe trip builder balances your days along the track. Move each day end to your chosen overnight stop before saving.
Weather this week
Loading the forecast for low point (1,135 m) and high point (2,483 m)…
Weather by month
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (1,135 m) and the highest point (2,483 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Poor | Poor |
| High point, day / night | -4°/-10° | -4°/-10° | -2°/-8° | 0°/-6° | 6°/-1° | 10°/3° | 13°/5° | 14°/6° | 9°/3° | 6°/0° | 1°/-4° | -2°/-8° |
| Low point, day / night | 3°/-5° | 4°/-5° | 7°/-2° | 11°/2° | 16°/6° | 20°/9° | 22°/11° | 22°/11° | 17°/8° | 13°/5° | 7°/1° | 4°/-3° |
| Rain, mm | 173 | 134 | 149 | 132 | 173 | 125 | 109 | 113 | 120 | 147 | 185 | 188 |
| Snow at high point | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | – | – | – | Possible | Possible | Likely |
| Daylight | 9 h 03 | 10 h 21 | 11 h 50 | 13 h 29 | 14 h 53 | 15 h 42 | 15 h 24 | 14 h 12 | 12 h 37 | 11 h 01 | 9 h 32 | 8 h 42 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Make the trip happen
The same first day as the plan above: change either.
The usual hiking window is around mid-June to mid-September, subject to snow and refuge openings.
An optional checklist, saved on this device. Start with accommodation and transport; return to the other details as your trip takes shape.
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Book meals with your stay where available. Tell your host your expected arrival time and ask about bedding, water refills and picnic lunches.
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The GPX starts and ends in Les Houches, by the town hall bus stop; plan your train or bus to the village.
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Use the Alps snow layer for satellite and model evidence, and the closure layer for official Swiss notices and mapped restrictions. Check a mountain forecast again before each pass.
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Use the fuel calculator for a selected walking or running day, not the whole tour at once. Ask your hosts where you can refill drinking water, especially late in the season.
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Add first aid, a power reserve, offline maps and a backup. Check each refuge's sleeping-sheet requirements. For early-season snow, ask a local professional about the equipment and experience needed.
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The tour crosses France, Italy and Switzerland. Requirements depend on nationality; check the relevant official entry rules and your policy's mountain-rescue cover.
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For a multi-day trip, prepare every day in the installed app before departure. Downloads in an iPhone browser may not transfer to the installed app. Carry backup power and navigation.
Snow, trail notices & mountain weather
Explore the Alps snow mosaic and mapped closures, then check local reports for the passes you plan to cross. Satellite snow observations and model estimates are available; a route-wide snow-free notification is a separate feature, not currently enabled for this tour.
Snow imagery combines observation dates; it is not a forecast for your departure. Closure sources include official Swiss hiking notices and OpenStreetMap, with different coverage across the three countries.
Getting there
Choose your gateway
Start by planning transport to a valley base, then connect to your chosen walking start. Chamonix and Les Houches serve the French side; Courmayeur is a useful Italian base.
This GPX starts and ends in Les Houches, by the town hall bus stop; Les Houches is on the train line from Saint-Gervais to Chamonix.
Local transport near Stage 2
Journey links open Google Maps with the destination filled in. Choose your starting point and travel date there.
Stage start · nearby transport stops
Trail point: 45.82153, 6.72582 · 1,135 m elevation
- Les Contamines Chef-LieuTransport stop · 0.2 km from trail point in a straight lineJourney
- Cressoua / CinémaTransport stop · 0.2 km from trail point in a straight lineJourney
- Les Contamines − ÉcoleTransport stop · 0.2 km from trail point in a straight lineJourney
Nearby does not mean walkable: check the approach path and the timetable for your date.
Stage finish · nearby transport stops
Trail point: 45.69662, 6.73364 · 1,556 m elevation
- Les ChapieuxTransport stop · 0.1 km from trail point in a straight lineJourney
Nearby does not mean walkable: check the approach path and the timetable for your date.
Join or leave the tour
Explore transport stops by valley and route section.
Selected transport stop · Section 2
Le Barattet
Within about 50 m from the mapped trail in a straight line.
Google Maps opens with this stop filled in. Choose the other end of your journey and your travel date to check available services.
29 stops · closest to the trail first
OpenStreetMap stop locations, with duplicate records grouped. Distances describe proximity, not a walking route: mountain terrain can separate a stop from the trail. Check the approach and current services before relying on a connection. These are planning options, not verified emergency exits.
Take your trip with you
Offline maps
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
- Open this trail in the app. Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
- Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
- Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
About the route
Choose your Tour du Mont Blanc
The tour links French, Italian and Swiss valleys around the massif. Route variants, overnight stops and access paths all shape your trip.
How long is the Tour du Mont Blanc?
The figures are for the reviewed 11-day plan; the mapped sections used on the section pages measure the same. The classic TMB is usually described as around 170 km, depending on the variants and accommodation approaches walked. Each section page's map, profile and download use the corresponding part of the mapped track; see the refuge association's route map when choosing your trip.
How do stages become walking days?
The eight stages make the route easier to explore. Use the day comparison above to see different workloads, then adjust day ends to your booked refuges or villages. Some map-stage boundaries are on the mountain, so they are not suggested overnight stops.
What is the terrain like?
Expect sustained climbing and descending between Alpine valleys and passes. The elevation profile helps compare each stage's effort. For exposure, snow and the suitability of a particular variant, consult current mountain reports and the official preparation guide.
Route data and sources
Distances and elevation refer to the downloadable track, checked 13 September 2026. The source alignment remains under review.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. See the map attribution for terrain and imagery sources.
Surface & technicality
Surface & Technicality
Gradient describes steepness, not exposure, scrambling, footing or current conditions. Technical difficulty is unknown where no mapped rating is available.
Pace & fuel calculator
Pace & Fuel Calculator
Adjust your flat 10K pace to see personalized finish time, calorie burn, and hydration needs.