Courmayeur and its balconies on Mont Blanc

Courmayeur, town at the foot of Mont Blanc.

As a matter of fact, Courmayeur is a little set back. If we compare it to the French side of the massif, it is Entrèves which is located, like Chamonix at the foot of the Mont Blanc, and the Val Vény and the Val Ferret which are the counterpart of the Chamonix valley.

However, Courmayeur and all the hamlets that make it up is the winter port resort that has developed at the foot of Mont Blanc.

Over the centuries, Couramayeur has gone from thermalism to mountain sports, but over time, it has transformed into a luxurious village resort, where hotels rub shoulders with beautiful residences, and new residences built in a style that respects the mountain tradition. Stone and wood. Harmony obliges.

When we walk in Courmayeur we can sometimes feel the sporty side, especially skiing, trail running, but less the mountaineering side than in our neighbors Chamonix.

And yet, right in the city centre, in front of the parish church, stands the guides' office which also houses the mountaineering museum. Evidence of an important alpine heritage which has seen the greatest names in the discipline conquer the peaks of the massif one by one from this slope.

You don't need to be a mountaineering specialist to realize that the Italian side of Mont Blanc is difficult to climb. Rock, verticality. Fewer curves, fewer glacial valleys than on the French side. It is a real wall of rock that closes the Valdigne, this high Valdostan valley at the bottom of which flows the Dora Baltea and of which Courmayeur is the capital.

To appreciate its immensity, you can take a walk to Gorret Plan, on a hill above Courmayeur, which houses a small alpine garden.

If the city center of Courmayeur has lost some of its authenticity in favor of a very present commercial and gastronomic life, it is in the neighboring hamlets that we can understand the way of life of the villagers of yesteryear.

The stone houses are often attached, crossed by streets sometimes open to the sky and sometimes crossing buildings. There are thus many narrow passages which from alley to alley and from courtyard to courtyard allow one to move around sheltered from the elements.

Three hamlets are interesting from this point of view: Verrand, in the extension of Courmayeur leaving Mont Blanc, whose landscapes towards this same massif are very clear, Saxony, at the very beginning of Val Sapin, whose buildings show a certain past wealth, and Dolonne, on the other side of the river that grows opposite Courmayeur, developing thanks to the proximity of the ski slopes, while keeping one of the very old districts along the central street.

Entreves, at the entrance of the Mont Blanc tunnel, but also of Val Ferret, has kept its slate roofs and its houses stuck together as well. But we feel that the village is more touristy.

You can walk from one of these hamlets to another along quiet little paths far from the hustle and bustle of the national road which runs alongside the river and down towards Aosta.

The balconies of Val Vény

Whether you go up on foot, by bike, by ski lift or by car via the Pré Pascal road, you absolutely have to go up to the pass Checrouit.

The view of Mont Blanc, just opposite, is phenomenal. Having gained about seven hundred meters of altitude compared to the Courmayeur plain, we can better appreciate the difference in altitude between the summit and the bottom of the valley. The entire southern part of the massif is visible, and the hike that leads to the Lac du Chécrouit allows us to appreciate its smallest details.

This path is part of the Tour of Mont Blanc and we can therefore continue towards the most striking sites of the Val Veny Facing what remains of the Miage glacier, it descends to brush against the moraine, before crossing the marshy area of ​​Combal, at the foot of the Lex Blanche glacier, then the Elisabeth refuge allows you to regain your strength before attacking the Col de la Seigne, a major crossing point for merchants, hikers and smugglers between Chamonix and Courmayeur before the opening of the Tunnel.

In winter, the ski area develops on the slopes above the Checrouit pass and down into the valley near Dolonne or Val Vény.

The balconies of Val Ferret.

The bottom of Val Ferret, between Entrèves and the Ferret pass which gives access to Valais, in Switzerland, is inhabited. Small hamlets are inhabited year-round and give tourists the opportunity to also find some accommodation. The villages of La Palud, Planpicieux and Lavachey punctuate this valley in which very beautiful cross-country ski trails are traced in winter. In autumn you can hike in golden larch forests, before the snow covers everything for many months.

The view from below, from the bottom of this valley is overwhelming but it does not allow you to really grasp the verticality of the Grandes Jorasses, the Dent du Géant (also clearly visible from Courmayeur) and the Aiguille du Triolet. It is better to climb a little.

And for this, there are two floors. First the path known as Tour of Mont Blanc, which faces the massif at an altitude of around 1900 to 2000 meters above sea level. It offers a view of the Val Ferret, but also of the Val Vény. Looking up, the summit of Mont Blanc emerges and you can see the snowy domes beyond the rocky summit ridges.

The second stage follows the Tour du Mont Blanc variant on the ridges that go up towards the Testa Bernarda and the Sapin pass at altitudes between 2200 and 2500 metres, in much more isolated and windswept alpine meadows. The Mont Blanc range then appears in all its majestic immensity.

How to reach these trails from Courmayeur? The effort is intense but the climb towards the Bertone Shelter at the very beginning of the Val Sapin is the fastest route. From the refuge, which is already an excellent observation point on the Mont Blanc massif and on the valleys which rest at its feet, you can choose one or the other of the levels to continue the hike. You can go back down to the bottom of the Val Ferret after the Sapin pass, going down along the Armina torrent, in a wide and very wild valley. The walk is really worth it; it is a feast for the eyes.

We come to Courmayeur to admire Mont Blanc.

So you have to find your way, your balcony, your terrace according to your own physical abilities and your desires. You also have to get up early, because the sun sets in the west, on the other side of the massif, it will be more difficult to take beautiful photos in the afternoon. In the morning, the freshness allows you to climb faster, the dew still shines on the meadows, and the glaciers are lit by a soft light.

Images that we will keep in our heads for the rest of our lives.

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