A 48-hour bikepacking tour of Mont Blanc

Preparations for this bike trip

Last October, I embarked on THE toughest challenge of my 2023 year (and yet, a few months earlier, I had completed the Tour de France Stage: Annemasse – Morzine with its 157km, D+ 4,150m and legendary heatwave): the Tour du Mont Blanc in 48 hours, with a cycling friend.

It was my 1st bikepacking trip, so a friend lent me all the ultra cyclist’s gear: frame bag, saddle bag, fluorescent yellow harness to make sure I was visible… I finally invested in a GPS: a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt, the most basic (simple but effective). The price of freedom, no more overheating and running out of battery 3 hours into a ride.

For this adventure, we opted for comfort by sleeping in Airbnbs, so we could travel light with just our panniers:

• handlebar bag: for electronic equipment (including external battery & headlamp, both indispensable)
• a frame bag: for refreshments galore (the pleasure of cycling is the open bar of food)
• a saddle bag : for our changing gear (leggings & long-sleeved technical top, microfiber towel, pair of tongs, mini toilet bag) and something to cover ourselves in case of bad weather (spoiler: we didn’t wear them for nothing!).

On the training front, after a fine spring preparation for the Etape du Tour, I gave myself the month of August to recuperate and enjoy my vacations before getting back in the saddle in September. I took part in a cycling course in Lozère at the beginning of October, which got me in the right frame of mind for this adventure around Mont Blanc.

Stage 1: Bourg Saint Maurice > Chamonix

The last trace adjustment

For professional reasons, we’ve decided to leave Annecy on Friday afternoon . We’re heading for Bourg Saint Maurice, where we’ll leave our car for what we hope will be 48 hours.

Still, we take the time to drink a coffee before the official start on our bikes, and look again at our track, which we’ve changed several times, not being sure of our starting point. Damn, we realize that our first stage won’t be so short after all, with an estimated late-evening arrival in Chamonix .

3:30 pm, official start!

Official departure at 3:30pm with our loaded mounts, our caffeinated bodies and our thirst for freedom. No warm-up, just the ascent of Le Cormet de Roselend from Bourg Saint Maurice (19.3km, D+ 1183m, average gradient 6.1%). The climb is fairly steady and pleasant, albeit long, and our efforts are rewarded with a sumptuous view of Lac de Roselend.

A fine descent and we’re back on track for the ascent of the Col des Saisies from Beaufort (15.6%, D+ 918m, average gradient 5.9%), the spectacle continuing as the sun sets over the mountains.

A first experience of night biking

At the summit, night has fallen and it’s time to cover up, stock up a little more with what we have in our panniers and turn into a Christmas tree with our fluorescent yellow harnesses, headlamp, front and rear lights.

This will be my first experience of cycling at night. I was a little apprehensive about the darkness, but in the end I found it quite exhilarating, almost soothing (perhaps I wouldn’t have experienced it in the same way if I were solo on the roads). And it’s a good thing I’m enjoying these night-time miles, because it’s going to be a long evening before I get back to Chamonix.

Despite our good pace, we have to swallow the difference in altitude. We take a water break in a public toilet, and it turns out that the local authority has cleverly come up with a 2-in-1 tap: water with integrated soap. A good laugh for our two thirsty cycling friends!

Arrivals in Chamonix

11pm: we finally arrive at the foot of the “Roof of Europe”, and we continue to wander the streets to find supplies before going to bed. We celebrate this beautiful first stage of 122km, D+ 3100m, over a pot of houmous; we’ll make up for it with a more copious breakfast tomorrow morning. The last task of the day will be to find our Airbnb, get the bikes into the studio and, above all, get some sleep after the endorphins!

Stage 2: Chamonix > Col du Grand Saint Bernard

On the road through rain and wind

Waking up a little late after an unrefreshing night (a mixture of excitement and apprehension about what awaits us in the hours ahead), we realize that the weather isn’t ideal for getting on the bike: it’ s raining in Chamonix. We decide to take our time before getting back in the saddle, in the hope that the weather will improve.

11am: A short burst of sunshine motivates us to tackle this second day on the bike, with the Col des Montets from Chamonix as a warm-up (11.7km, D+443 m, average gradient 3.8%). We switch to Switzerland and start the Col de la Forclaz from Le Châtelard (7.1km, 437m, 6.1%).

At the summit, we took shelter for a while from the rain and wind, and were a little apprehensive about starting the descent in view of the gusty winds. The theme of the day will be slowness: on the way up, in view of the difference in altitude, and on the way down, in view of the unfriendly weather (we didn’t exceed 25km/h with the slippery road and the bikes a little loaded).

We then tackle the most difficult pass I’ve climbed so far: the Col de Champex from Les Valettes (10.5km, D+ 860 m, 8.2%) with a memorable passage at 20% in a hairpin. On the way down, we stop at a café to warm up, drink and eat; I think I’ve never enjoyed a hot soup and a piece of cheese so much.

The difficult Col du Grand Saint-Bernard

It’s hard to get going again, to put our wet clothes back on and to tell ourselves that we still have the biggest climb of the day to complete: the Col du Grand Saint Bernard from Orsières (41km, D+ 1983 m, average gradient 4.8%). After a stressful stretch on a busy road, we start climbing this long ascent.

The advantage of doing the Tour du Mont Blanc so late in the season is that the road up to the top of the Grand Saint Bernard pass was rather deserted; we saw very few trucks on this climb.

At 7pm, the sky darkens, we finally emerge from the five-kilometre-long tunnel and realize that the weather has turned for the worse. We add layers of clothing (in fashion-week defying style, with our thermal bike leggings far too big for our thighs) and try to motivate ourselves to face the night, the rain and the slope we’re climbing.

It ‘s all down to the mind on this last stretch, where thick fog disorients us on the bike, creating an apocalyptic atmosphere, all the more so when my friend runs out of battery power on her lights.

Rest at the Hospice du Grand Saint-Bernard

Meter by meter, we’re getting closer to our final goal: the Hospice du Grand Saint Bernard, perched at an altitude of 2473 m between Switzerland and Italy, where we’ll find room and board, and above all warmth!

Our over-excitement at having climbed this long pass is noticeable in the hospice refectory, where calm is the order of the day. Canon Raphaël greets us kindly and answers our two priorities of the moment: warming up and eating. The long-awaited hot shower on the bike is all the more delicious.

Our soaked clothes dry in the laundry room while our stomachs fill up in the company of some of the pilgrims walking the Via Francigena. It’s inspiring to meet this young man who has decided to walk one of the oldest medieval pilgrimage routes linking North-West Europe (Canterbury in England) to the Italian peninsula (Rome), 3200 km on foot; it wears out the shoes!

Stage 3: Col du Grand Saint Bernard > Bourg Saint Maurice

In the cold to Aosta

After a rather average night’s sleep (it’s hard to relax the body, especially the legs, after such an intense day on the bike), we open the shutters and discover the icy wind outside. It froze last night (two degrees on the outside thermometer).

A couple from Savoie who share our dormitory offer to take us back to Annecy and load the bikes into the van. Not knowing us well, we don’t feel like giving up along the way ;). No time to attend Europe’s highest mass; we bundle up in all our layers, and prepare ourselves mentally to face the cold on this long descent of almost 40 kilometers to Aosta. We are the last privileged cyclists to cross the pass this year, as the road will be closed for the winter the following day.

Last pass: Petit Saint-Bernard

As the kilometers go by, the warmth returns, and we even go back to wearing shorts and short sleeves in Aosta, spring is back: happiness! We take advantage of being in Italy to eat a slice of pizza before embarking on the last climb of our tour: Col du Petit Saint Bernard from Pré Saint Didier (23km, 1203m, 5.2%). Another long pass, but this one will be particularly hard on my morale.

Although the gradients were not difficult, fatigue was beginning to set in after the accumulated difference in altitude of the previous day. The last few kilometers are hard, with the headwind and the cold gripping the joints. I shed a few tears at the top of the pass: that’s it, we’ve done it!

Challenge met!

All that’s left is a long 30 km descent to Bourg Saint Maurice; extreme caution with the lucidity we’re beginning to lack.

48 hours later, 333 km and 8400m D+ on the clock, we were back at the car, legs tired but spirits up! Over the same weekend, some friends of ours completed the Tour du Mont Blanc in Gravel: the seed has been sown ;)!