TMB Day 1 …And the honeymoon in the Alps begin!
Day 1 Courmayeur to Bonatti Hut 12km, +1000m, -100m
September 1, 2012
I had always wanted to do this hike/run for a long time. This was an obsession of mine. I originally wanted to race it but in retrospect I would of missed so much. Sharing this with my love and taking the time to meet others along the way was priceless. So many times Andrew has told me "to stop and smell the roses" Its funny when we do this we see so much more and appreciate the life we live that much more.
We had a late start to the day but we managed to leave by noon. The essential of bread and cheese for snack as well as some grappa for the road. We needed to arrive at the hut by 6:30pm so that they could be ready for us with dinner.
Ascending up to Bertoni hut we met Alex from Estonia and stopped for cappuccino. He told us that the highest peak in Estonia is 300m. Estonia actually sits between Latvia and Russia and its highest mountain called Egg mountain in English reaches 318m or 1043 feet above sea level. The Alps.... this was a big deal to him. He asked if we appreciated the mountains since we are surrounded by mountains in our hometown of Squamish, BC. He was pleasantly surprised that we were just as excited as he was too be in the Alps. He thought we took the mountains for granted. The alps are big and open and much different then the coast mountains of BC. A novelty as hiking in the back country in Canada allows us no luxuries except a 40lb or 50lb pack stuffed with all of our essentials from tents to stoves, clothes and food.
Alex and us stopped at Bertoni hut for a quick beverage. He started in Courmayeur and planned to do the whole hike by himself.
We ended up going the wrong way for about 3km and had to back track. We started following everyone as the lower route would of still brought us to Bonatti but we wanted to take the higher route. Alex continued on the lower route and we turned around.
We hit some snow early on our ascent of Mont de le Saxe but sunshine greeted us soon after. We arrived just shy of 6:30 with enough time to shower and settle in to our bunk bed shared with several other people before 7pm dinner. Dinner consisted of communal stew, salad and bread followed by dessert. Beer and wine can be purchased for a small price. Bathroom and rooms are shared among male and females. Yes we are sharing a room with others on our honeymoon:)
have fun out there!
Kristie
Next up: Day 2 Snowy passes lead to sunshine and huckleberries
Previous post: Honeymooning on the TMB
Thanks for your entire labor on this site. Kim loves participating in investigations and it’s obvious why. A lot of people hear all relating to the dynamic manner you give efficient steps on the web blog and even attract response from visitors about this topic while our girl is really being taught a lot. Have fun with the rest of the new year. You’re carrying out a powerful job.