Tour du Mont Blanc Accessible Guide

The classic Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is a circuit of the Mt Blanc Massif of 170km and approximately 10000m of height gain. The route passes through France, Switzerland and Italy and offers panoramic views of the Massif from all directions.

The Accessible TMB was created for those people with reduced mobility, whether they be wheelchair-bound or not, who wish to complete the TMB. The route was tested during an expedition in summer 2021.

The route we describe follows the classic TMB routing where possible but, as there are sections on the classic route that are too narrow and/or very technical (with steps or boulder fields to cross for example), we have avoided these. Due to these impassable sections the route is not a closed loop, and you will start and finish at the same point each day. This allows you to minimise what you carry daily and also to ensure you have accommodation best adapted to your needs.

The Accessible TMB passes through all 3 countries, benefiting from panoramic views of Mont Blanc from all sides. It offers alternative routing to the impassable sections, as well as providing a range of routing options for different abilities and fitness levels.

We understand that no disability is the same and that the fitness level of team members will vary. Therefore, the guide will give you various routing and accommodation options allowing you to
choose the option that best suits you and your group.

Those who are able to follow the complete route described will enjoy a route of 160km with 8000m of height gain.

There is also a section describing accessible accommodation options around the route.

The guide has 4 different routing options and they are colour coded:

Black: the most difficult. Extremely challenging, steep and technical. Red: very technical routing and the longest days. Blue: technical routing with shorter days, or longer non-technical days. Green: least technical and shorter, using telecabines or trains if possible.

There are also 2 optional days:

A point-to-point from Les Houches to Les Contamines Montjoie as an alternative to the Les Houches loop on Day 1. An extra outing from Les Houches which climbs to Chalets de Chailloux. We strongly recommend hiring a mountain guide (AMM or IML) for your expedition. Whilst we have provided a detailed guide book and GPS tracks the paths may have eroded or changed, so local knowledge is vital. If using the Quadrix wheelchair the paths need to be a minimum of 1m in
width. Therefore, if you take a wrong turn you might be unable to go forward or turn around.

We also recommend a half day with your guide getting used to the Quadrix all terrain wheelchair if you are using it and to finalise any logistics or care issues. If you are using your own chair then this could still be a half day well spent so the guide can assess the limits of your chair, plus the abilities of you and your team.