The rain lasted all night, but fortunately stopped when the call of nature drove me out of the tent to the toilet block. We had planned to start our day early and finish early at a campsite after just 13 km.

The weather was set to deteriorate again – not only rain, but also thunderstorms were forecast, as our cell phones warned us. Not the kind of weather you want to be in at 2500 m above sea level. We wanted to make at least a few more kilometers before the storm broke out. So we packed up our things at 6am and were already on the trail at 7am.

We were pretty much the first to leave the campsite and initially had the trail to ourselves. However, this changed abruptly when we arrived at the Refuge de la Balme at around 1700 meters. Not only was it possible to spend the night in the refuge, but there was also a bivouac site, which was much more crowded than our overnight spot.

From here on, there were again an incredible number of people on the trail. On steep climbs, I felt like I was in a supermarket queue, unable to make any progress. However, the spectacular plateau and the breathtaking views always made up for the crowds.

When we reached the summit, we found a small refuge and we weren’t the only ones taking a break there.

From here there was a short climb, but it was neither difficult nor exposed. After that, the path only led past a large herd of sheep in the direction of the next refuge. Shortly before you reach it, you have the option of taking an alternative route: the variant via the Col des Fours, which shortens the classic route by a few kilometers, but leads through high alpine terrain and can only be done later in the year due to the weather conditions.

As our weather conditions were good, but we remained a little wary due to the thunderstorm warning on our cell phones, we passed the refuge and descended the hard-earned 1000 metres in altitude back down to Les Chapieux.

Les Chapieux is a small, cute place with a campsite on a donation basis, a public toilet, a small corner store and two places to eat. There was actually everything you could need here – except for cell phone reception. On the one hand, this was quite pleasant, but on the other hand, it was bad if you wanted the latest weather forecast.

At the campsite, we quickly struck up a conversation with other hikers who joined us at the table. If you want to meet new people, the Tour du Mont Blanc is the perfect place to do so. As much as I moan about it being so crowded, I have to admit that this is a particularly nice thing for solo travelers.

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Tour du Mont-Blanc – Etappe 2 – Aire de bivouac nach Les Chapieux
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