When the mountain calls: running the Tour du Mont Blanc Part 3
- Andy Hood
- Oct 22, 2023
- 6 min read
I woke happy, full of the spring in your step you get when the sky is blue, the sun is yellow and the day ahead promising more stunning views. As it would turn out Switzerland today was going to take my heart.
Mark, who you may recall leant me his phone charger, was leaving at the same time as me, so we walked the first 15mins together chatting away. My legs were itching to move at a faster pace, so I bid Mark a goodbye, wished him well on his travels and started on one of the first climbs of the day through fragrant pine forests.
In the first hour I chanced upon a herd of cows all the large bells chiming away. It really is one of the most beautiful sounds, I stopped and did an Instagram video of the sound, it was an experience I wanted to share. I could be sitting in my office, behind a laptop staring at emails that don’t lift my heart and spirits in the way these bells do. I’ve often thought back over my life, the times I would leave the house, sit enclosed in a car on a journey to an office, sometimes taking me several hours, only to be inside all day, hemmed in on all sides by walls that seem to creep closer and closer as the day progresses. For a long time, I’ve had a yearning to be outdoors, to be free, to explore. Today was talking to that part of my soul.
Alpage de Bovine is a wonderful stone building, its age I am unsure of, but it has the look of a well kept venerable building. Perched at the top of the climb I had just completed, surrounded by green fields, cows ambling along the path and views down through the valley that would make even the strongest of men weak at the knees. It served an array of wonderful sounding dishes; Omelettes aux chanterelles, and descriptions of cakes so very tempting. A chalk sign in several languages welcoming you to the hilltop restaurant, saying the outside terrace had been arranged for your enjoyment, it seems the owners love the view too. And that you are welcome to stop and eat your own picnic or just drop in and use the toilet. How wonderful, and I decided, how Swiss. Kindness seems to run though their veins.
I stopped to take photos but not to eat, it was early in the day, and I was not quite ready. A snack would come a little later as I reached the village of Champex.
It had been a fairly gradual descent into Champex, I recall the day being warm, the air filled with forest scents, and being in a really joyful mood. Upon entering the village, I almost immediately found a store announcing itself as a Boulangerie and Patisserie, I may not have a full command of the French or Swiss language but these are two words I know well. Cakes. Popping my head in the door I was met with a warm smile from a lovely lady behind a counter full of so many colourful naughties – hey I thought I must have burnt a zillion calories already today it’s treat time; in all honestly it was always treat time on this run.
After several minutes in complete absorption of the selection presented to me I plumped for what looked like a pain au raisin, but minus the raisins, the lovely lady asked if I’d liked it warmed and assured me it was to be an excellent idea if I did; and she was right. Cake in hand and a cold Coke too I sat at one of the tables outside, wore a huge smile and watched the world go by for a while.
I needed a USB phone charger for Switzerland and probably Italy too, the one I’d packed was only good for France it turned out. Earlier in the day I had chanced upon a small gift store in a mountain village and managed to get a French to Swiss adaptor, but my preference was for a USB charger similar to the one Mark has lent me the night before. I popped into a sporting goods store and asked if they had anything, they did not. But in what I was now becoming to think of as the Swiss Style they went far above and beyond to help me, suggesting a store down the road but if I was unsuccessful there then to please return and they would make some phone calls to see where they could locate one for me. I was falling deeper in love with the Swiss way of life and approach. The store down the road had car charger versions but not mains ones. I didn’t return to the sporting goods store and thought I’d make do with the adaptor I’d got earlier that day.
Champex has a wonderful lake at its heart, as I ran past, hearing English voices and stopped to say hello, a family were experimenting with the icy cold water, two sons splashing around and Mum on the side debating whether to dip a toe in, many encouraging words from the her two sons were not doing much to persuade her. Dad obviously had some very important emails to attend to on his phone and the water was not going to feature in his day. Wise I thought.
The sun was glinting off the lake and a backdrop of pine forests added to the beauty, I could have stopped here and lazed in the sun for an hour or two, but there were mountains to climb and I continued on my way.
My afternoon took me through mountain trail, occasionally dropping into small villages where there wasn’t a single sign of life, apart from a lad of late teenage years that appeared to be bleeding profusely from a finger and talking with urgency into his phone. I surmised he was local and would receive attention soon. Issert, Les Arlaches, Praz-de-Fort and Le Chanton were enchanting villages, some filled with houses made entirely of timber. In the afternoon sun the smell from the timber houses was wonderful. I can’t recall exactly where I was, but I saw ahead a large automated water crop sprayer, its path swinging across the trail. I was not alone in slowing down in the hope to catch some of the cooling water, two hikers coming the opposite direction did the same and we exchanged words expressing how grateful we were for the refreshing shower.
La Fouly was my destination for the day, the hotel Edelweiss. I had hoped to see Edelweiss, the phone app altering me to the fact I was in an area where this was indeed possible and gave some background information on the flower. I didn’t see any. During the afternoon the trail dropped down to run alongside the river, the sound of water lapping over rocks lifting my already great mood higher. To my right were large boulders scattered across a wide area, many miles of them. Erratic’s as they are known, likely moved by glacial ice thousands of years ago and abandoned as the ice retreated. The Tour was taking me though so many different landscapes, so many different views and gave opportunity to consider how much this land had changed over many thousands of years.
La Fouly had a fair number of hikers milling around. It is a charming village with a single narrow road running through the middle. My luggage had arrived, and I quickly changed my shoes and sweaty t shirt. My room would be ready in about an hour, so I went to explore the village. A small supermarket to stock up on nibbles and after I sat on a bench at the bottom of a ski slope, there was a chairlift which would take you to the top, which I guess many hikers did, or you could have a return trip if you were feeling less energetic. It was closing shortly so I didn’t have time to experience, a shame as the view from the top looked magnificent.
The Edelweiss would be one of my favourite overnight stops, it is a beautifully presented family run hotel with a team who smile constantly and put you at the centre of their day. Dinner was delicious and served with more Swiss charm. On the table next to me 3 American hikers, they were hiking the opposite direction to me, we exchanged stories about our days as tomorrow each would experience what the other had that day.
I slept well and woke to discover my single room had morphed into a double in the middle of the night. No longer was I alone. Harry, a large, hairy, 8-legged character had joined me sometime in the night. We had a little conversation, agreed to occupy opposite ends of the room as I went for breakfast. True to his word he was exactly where I left him upon my return.
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