Day 9: Trient to Argentière (July 27)
23.4 km, 1,032.1 m ascent, 1,135.9 m descent
Breakfast at La Grande Ourse can be a bit grim. This morning, the self-service room was packed with grumpy trekkers. There seemed to be no place else to get coffee in town, so we were kind of stuck. I personally started my day with buttered cheese – a keto favorite, and nicer than corn flakes and white bread.
Today’s walking region is one of the most beautiful of the entire TMB. The route crests at Col de Balme, where you get a view back into the Chamonix valley. Last year we’d done the regular route, straight from Trient up to the col and then to Argentiere by way of the Aiguillete des Posettes ridge walk. That was a long day!
This time, we took the alternate route past the Trient glacier, by way of the Chalet des Glacier and Réfuge des Grands. You can get to the Fenêtre d’Arpette from here if you want to head back to Champex. For some reason I thought this variant would be longer but easier. It wasn’t!
Our intermediate destination was the refuge at the Col de Balme. We’d planned to eat lunch there, a goal that began to seem elusive the longer it took us to traverse the distance!
We were right to worry about the time. We stumbled in a few minutes before 2, with just enough time to order the lunch special of steak frites. A pair of hikers who arrived just after us were denied this succor, and had to make do with Snickers bars.
From the Col de Balme, we walked straight down the valley to Argentière. It was already well into the afternoon, so there was no realistic possibility of doing the Col des Posettes again. Even so, this was one long-ass walk!
We spent the night at the Hotel Les Grands-Montets, where we’d stayed the previous year; it has a surprising American western style decor. The hotel got us an early dinner reservation at our favorite restaurant in Argentiere, La P’tite Verte.
