Tour du Mont Blanc: Days 5 & 6

Rhys is to join us on our rest day, with a restaurant booked for a welcome dinner. Unfortunately, he falls asleep on the bus from Geneva, misses his stop, and is trapped on the speeding vehicle until Aosta. Some time later, Jude and I greet him at the bus station for a makeshift late-night pizza, sheltering from a thunderstorm, flashes behind the peaks.

Day 5 (1 Aug): Courmayeur to Rifugio Bonatti (7 miles, 3,400 feet ascent, 700 feet descent)

We have another long climb, quickly rising above the treeline to reach a viewpoint. I spot a new species of butterfly, crouch slowly, making sure I don’t cast a shadow on it, and wait patiently for its wings to unfold. Suddenly, another shadow looms as a tall Italian man strides past, his foot just missing the butterfly. I burst out laughing, loudly mock-berating him, and he laughs too. There are tears in my eyes. Some things just set me off. The others look on as though I’m mad. Probably.

Spectacular scenery and beautiful butterflies, as on all the previous days. I said to Hayley last night that this is the life I was born to lead. She replied:

“Dad, this is the life you lead.”

Calves roam round a mountain barn. This little one approaches as I kneel in the grass, close enough to stroke its head, though I’m wary of the mothers a short distance down the slope.

Hundreds of tiny butterflies, mud-puddling by a stream, launch in waves as we step closer, swirling round us like Autumn leaves in the breeze, before settling once more.

Finally, we arrive at the busy Rifugio Bonatti, hikers sitting and lying on the grass out front, drinking and taking in the wonderful view of Mont Blanc. The hut is named after the famous Italian mountaineer Walter Bonatti, the “king of the Alps”.

We have a private room. Mischievous mountain sprites lurk outside.

The refuge serves dinner to 100 hikers seated at long communal tables. They are very efficient, and the food is simple but enjoyable, especially in the company of hikers from all round the world. As is custom, tales of trails are told, and cold draught beer flows freely.

The shower token only secures two minutes of hot water, which is fine for me, well practised from years of campsite experience, although judging from the nearby shrieks, others less so.

Day 6 (2 Aug): Rifugio Bonatti to La Fouly (12 miles, 2,800 feet ascent, 4,200 feet descent)

Sadly, the fellowship must part today as Hayley has a stomach bug, so she and Jude will hike down the valley and take a complicated series of four buses to our next destination, while Rhys and I remain on the trail.

He powers ahead while I assume my usual role of photographer.

After reaching the valley floor, we are swept up in a couple of large tour parties, dropped off by coaches. A hard, long climb winds back up the mountainside. Normally, I stick to a slow and steady pace. However, the tour parties are causing bottlenecks on the narrow path, so we accelerate past them on a wider arc. The frequent change of pace exhausts me by the time we reach the first summit, but at least we have the trail to ourselves again.

Grand Col Ferret, the end of the ascent, is in sight, marking our second border crossing into Switzerland.

For our amusement, we score +1 for every hiker we pass and -1 for every hiker that overtakes us. There are over a hundred resting on the col, so the counter pings like a one-arm bandit jackpot — boys will be boys. It’s downhill all the way now.

Sweating under the afternoon sun, we reach La Fouly, sit at a shaded table outside a bar, order two ice-cold beers, and message Jude and Hayley, who, by a strange coincidence, have arrived in the village at the same time. The fellowship is whole once more.

Our rooms at Gîte de la Fouly are fantastic, and I luxuriate under a hot shower, free of last night’s two-minute constraints. The communal dinner is delicious, with homemade soup, vegetarian lasagne and a fresh fruit mix. Perhaps we can stay here another night? Then again, we’ve said this every night.