Tour du Mont Blanc

I awoke to gunshot. It's OK — no one has died! It is the French cadets on early morning manoeuvres. How they can see each other to shoot is beyond me, as the early morning mist is almost a fog. Further gunshots echo through the valley as we climb steeply out of it and northwards as we have reached the southwest corner of the circuit. We traverse up and up for what seems like an eternity. The pace is slow but progressive and is conducive to continuous movement rather than speed and lots of stops. We stumble on troops hiding away in a good tactical viewpoint, but we have compromised their position and they decide to move.

As we approach the La Croix de Bonhomme the air temperature drops dramatically and the wind picks up — it is fierce and relentless. After crossing several snowfields we eventually reach the refuge, which is warm and dry. Chocolate cake and coffee seem the order of the day, which is delicious and huge, all washed down with good coffee. Ted is too relinquished from back marker and in his usual flamboyant manner passes the honour onto Keith for the rest of the day.

After our refuel we move on in the worst weather we have had to endure during the whole trip. The wind is strong until we traverse around to the Col du Bonhomme. The path here is in difficult terrain and is laced with snowfields and ice. Everyone is wrapped up in winter-type clothes. When we reach the col the weather gets better and the cloud is spectacular, weaving its way through the mountains with sunlight dancing around it. There are countless shades of white and grey clouds dotted with sunrays here and there. Lots of people are gathered at the col and one of them recognises Graham and did indeed work with him several years ago. Lee and I take advantage of a photo shoot on a large snowfield. I show Lee a snow slide on my belly — the kind you do when practising ice axe arrest. This is the last thing you want to have to perform on a mountain for real, but for fun it is great! Keith lends me an axe-like stone and I proceed to slide then drag the stone in the snow to stop my slide. Lee has a go, and instead of gracefully sliding his body to the ground he full-on jumps and knocks the wind out of himself, which was hilarious to all enthralled in watching whilst devouring their lunches!

The weather is getting a lot better by now. A group of five or six mountain bikers follow us down the large and steep snowfield; a couple hit the ground, but no one is hurt. Soon the snow is gone and the sun is back out. It is amazing that you only have to drop a few hundred feet or so for such a dramatic change! For people who are not used to mountain walking or climbing this is where most are caught out — ill-prepared for bad weather with not enough of the right clothing and without a compass or map. Senseless! You need to respect the mountains, but understand they have no respect for you.

We stop at the Chalet de la Balme (1706m) for refreshments. This chalet is of fantastic quality and is very popular with walkers as an overnight must-stop. It is all too clear why the chalet is popular as it sits at the head of the most beautiful valley bursting with spruce trees and wildflowers. We sit and chat in the warm afternoon sun. There are tired legs, but nothing that a rest day tomorrow will not fix! I sit on a large boulder on my own for a while and eat a sandwich then doze in the ever-increasingly warm sun. It is quiet here and most are taking in what the valley has to offer. I feel like I have sat here for days before Graham's voice pipes up: "Five minutes, gang." The walk down this valley is one truly to be savoured.

Our next stop is at the beautiful Chalet de Nant Borrant, still 300 metres higher than our destination campsite at Le Baptieur. Most have a cider drink brewed locally which is sparkling and refreshing and is served in the most wonderful garden. We learn that Spain beat Italy 4–0 in the European Cup — I was hoping the Italians would win, but this was not to be. This is a lovely spot, and I could stay here a week and sit and read and watch the day go by.

Onward, and we fall steeply down the valley now with steep forest hillsides, and the river has cut spectacular high-sided gorges out of the soft limestone rock. Eventually the road levels out and we are on the valley floor. Soon we reach our campsite, which is probably the most comprehensive site we have been on. It has its own boating lake, a zip wire for the kids (steady, Ted!), and a clubhouse restaurant — which incidentally is where we will be eating tomorrow on our rest day. But tonight Lewis is cooking Spanish chicken with the aid of his slightly merry sous-chefs. We are also waiting for Lewis's year-end results from Leeds Uni — it could be a good night tonight!

After a few more light ales the cooking is going well, and Lewis gets carried away and cooks all the chicken legs he has purchased, and we are slowly running out of pans! We end up having to split the dishes into two massive pans, and one thing is for sure: we are not going to starve tonight. It's a good job we have a fine large Irishman in Frank with a huge appetite! Amazingly, we manage to eat the lot, and washing up is going to be a slow task tonight with those rather full bellies.

Later that evening we managed to pick Wi-Fi up and we watched some hilarious video clips on YouTube whilst we drank a lot more wine. Well, Lewis did manage to get 73%, although I feel he must try harder in future! It was late to bed that night, but a day of rest tomorrow.