Day 8 of the Tour du Mont Blanc was our second zero day, and a weather-related one. Thunderstorms were in the weather forecast and the mountains were going to be socked in with no visibility, so we skipped the final stretch of trail, took a bus to Les Houches, and then took another bus into Chamonix that evening to celebrate finishing the loop.
This wasn’t the way I’d hoped to end the Tour du Mont Blanc, but the risk/reward ratio indicated high risk with low reward. This section climbs a balcony across the valley from Mont Blanc, and is known for the epic views — when it’s not socked-in with clouds. Plus, there would be over 5,000 feet of climbing and over 6,000 feet of descent. And so, we decided to end our hike at Le Moulin.
The Day
We started the day at Gîte-Refuge Le Moulin, where the Arve ran along the edge of the property. Because of the forecast, we skipped the hike and caught a bus from Le Moulin to Les Houches, where we’d started the loop a week earlier.
Our room at RockyPop wasn’t ready yet, so we had a beverage while we waited, then went to lunch at La Braise.
For dinner, we took the bus into Chamonix and made a night of it. We started with a glass of wine at ChaChaCha, moved on to a cocktail at L’Hydromel, and finished with a burger and a beer at Poco Loco. It was a celebratory night for completing the trip, even though we hadn’t hiked the last day.
Since we live just a three-hour drive away from Chamonix, I’ll return in 2027 to finish this section. Even without closing the loop on foot, it was a fantastic trip, and I’d highly recommend.
Highlights
- Finishing the loop.
- A celebratory night in Chamonix. Wine at ChaChaCha, a cocktail at L’Hydromel, and a burger and beer at Poco Loco.
- RockyPop. This was the one stay the previous owner of our reservations hadn’t booked, so I booked it myself. Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived from Le Moulin.
Practical Notes
- Buses: One from Le Moulin to Les Houches in the morning, and one into Chamonix in the evening.
- Getting home: Paul drove us to Les Houches at the start. At the end, I caught the train the next morning from Saint-Gervais to Dijon, with a change in Lyon.
The Day in Numbers
| Hiking | None (bus day) |
| Start | Gîte-Refuge Le Moulin |
| End | Les Houches (evening in Chamonix) |
| Weather | Thunderstorms forecast, no visibility in the mountains |
Originally spent August 20, 2026 with Paul Bessenbacher.
Jeff has hiked and explored trails for over 50 years, covering everything from casual canyon walks to rugged multi-day Sierra routes. He started SoCalHiker.net in 2010 to document the trails he loves — and to make it easier for others to discover them.
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