Thursday, Aug 3rd
It’s 12:24 am EST (on Friday, Aug 4th). I’m currently 6-1/2 hrs into an 8 hour flight from Raleigh/Durham, NC to Paris, France - aboard Delta Flight 0286. I’m seated on the aisle - in the middle, 3-seat section of the plane. The seat is empty to my left-side. I just ate a breakfast sandwich- now I thought I’d write for a bit.
My last international trip was 1-1/2 years ago when I trekked to Everest BaseCamp. I’m back - to take on a similar style trek - but only very, very different. For the next couple weeks - I’ll be trekking the 100-mile loop that makes up the Tour of Mont Blanc through the countries of France, Italy, and Switzerland.
Mont Blanc - the Monarch of the Alps - stands at 15,771 ft. The summit stands a good 12,000 ft above Chamonix, France - very near the start point of our Trek. The Tour of Mont Blanc - or TMB for short - is the most popular trek in Europe. Beyond this, the TMB’s reputation as one of the great walks of the world has long been established. Longer, in fact, than any other alpine route. The first pedestrian tour around Mont Blanc took place in 1767.
My buddies Greg and Korby are joining me for this journey. We’ll trek the 100 mile loop around the base of the mountain in 10 days - staying at lodges, chalets, and refugios along the way. We setup the trip through a tour company called Macs Adventures. They helped setup lodging and will be transporting our duffel bags each evening. We will be self guided however - with a big assist going to a trekking app - very similar to the app I used while hiking the Appalachian Trail. The app is fully functional off-line in airplane mode - so no worries to maintain a cell signal. We’ll be carrying only a 10-15 pound day pack with water, food and other essentials each day.
This trek has a 35,000 ft vertical gain - with 10-11 mountain passes. A strenuous effort - but no climbing experience necessary. One significant difference in this trek versus Everest BaseCamp - TMB has a max height of 8,743 ft - and hovers in the 6,000 - 8,000’ range for most of the trail. The temperatures in the Alps at these elevations are typically between 40-70 degrees. I’m pumped and excited to see some absolutely amazing scenery - and be physically challenged along the way.
Well - I’m down to my last 30 minutes on this flight - so I’m going to close for now. Before the TMB trek - we’re taking a first stop in Paris. We’re doing a weekend stopover in Paris to see the highlights. Paris is a favorite city of mine - visited many times back in my gap year in 2010 - and a couple time since then. My buddies have never been - so I’ll see what kind of a tour guide I can be.
Here’s to challenging yourself - here’s to new experiences - here’s to getting out of the comfort zone and trying something that scares you a little bit. Come along with me for the next couple weeks. Let’s make it happen!!!
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