On Wednesday, July 6, 2016, we enjoyed our last breakfast in Italy before heading out for stage 6 on the TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) in the chilly morning in the valley.
We barely had a chance to warm up, before we started our steep ascent. It's an ongoing pattern of getting up early, eating breakfast, and climbing steep inclines... Everyday.
Our trail took us up the end of the valley through steep grassy hills to the Rifugio Elena. Then we started up grassy switchbacks that would lead us to Grande Col du Ferret.
The climb was intense-- a total height gain of 3,000 feet. The trail switched back and forth and seemed to increase in slope as we saw past miles stones shrink into the distance below. Teams of mountain bikers rode down the sheer trails in suicidal like fashion.
As I got to the pass, the wind rushed over the Col which was very cold. Will I waited for my parents, I grabbed a selfie with some guys from America. Got another one with my parents as we passed from Italy into Switzerland.
We ascended with minimal snow drifts that opened up into a valley of grassy hillsides.
Later we would pass pastures ringing with the sounds of cowbells. We stopped at La Peule, a pastoral like refuge, for lunch.
The trail turned into a dirt road that switched back until the bottom of the valley marked by a blue-gray river. The dirt road turned to pavement and we descended further into the valley, going off-road to trails next to the river.
We finally arrived in La Fouly, Switzerland, where stage 6 ended, but our days travel did not. Since La Fouly was booked, we had to come up with a plan to 1) find a place to stay somewhere else and 2) start the next day in La Fouly. Here was our solution:
1. Finish stage 6 in La Fouly
2. Take a bus to Orsieres (25 minutes down the valley)
3. Stay the night in Hotel l'Union
4. The next day, leave/take light packs
5. Take a bus back up to La Fouly
6. Hike stage 7 to Champex
7. Bus back to Orsieres
And that's what we did. In Orsieres, the bus left us at the station to wander the small town, to ask for directions to Hotel l'Union.
We found our hotel in a narrow street, so common in Europe. The owner's name was Joseph and he was very accommodating. His wife also gave us a basket of delicious apricots! We got 2 rooms for the price of one and we dined on Fondue for the first time. It was a great meal to end a long day.
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