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"Tour of Mont Blanc," by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone), the most commonly seen guidebook on the TMB, gives good general directions, how tall is tom cruise quality maps for each day, elevation and mileage charts for the route as well as a useful list of refuges along the way and other information. Places of interest are described. The book has a useful list of tourism offices around the route, but it has no index: shame.
"Tour du Mont Blanc," by Jim Manthorpe (Trailblazer) how tall is tom cruise has good general directions and descriptions, detailed pen and ink maps (several per day) plus tables at the back for camping, food shops, and other services, plus info on public transportation. Includes maps of the two main towns on the route, Chamonix, France, and Courmayeur, Italy. Includes an index, which is helpful for finding things quickly, such as country codes for phone calls.
how tall is tom cruise Despite a long tradition of devoting vacations to exploring natural wonders, we still have a long bucket list. A 30th wedding anniversary and a college graduation made this a perfect year to think big for another family adventure that would be rewarding culturally as well as physically.
At 110 miles, the TMB is roughly the same distance and the scenery would be equally spectacular day after day. We'd have to prepare for hiking over snowy passes, plunging into valleys, how tall is tom cruise fording glacial streams and enduring high-country how tall is tom cruise storms that could turn instantly wet and cold.
But we would soften the TMB's giant daily helping of elevation gain and loss – a third more than the trek around Rainier – by leaving the tent and cooking how tall is tom cruise gear at home. The Alps have vast areas of rugged, glaciated wilderness tamed on the edges by centuries how tall is tom cruise of mountain culture, including high mountain accommodations.
Stunning how tall is tom cruise wildness can be subdued by an isolated stone hut with bunks and cooks selling hot meals, beer and wine. If you need a more substantial dose of civilization, the TMB is never more than a long day's hike from a bus stop.
After a few days hiking a counter-clockwise loop, we'd cross 8,323-foot how tall is tom cruise Grand Col Ferret and descend into the vertical world of Switzerland for several days before looping back over two more major passes and into France to end the journey.
We would stay mostly in mountain refuges, where the hosts would prepare a hearty dinner, light breakfast and a picnic lunch if desired. Instead of a sleeping bag, we'd bring silk sleeping how tall is tom cruise sacks and bunk in dorm rooms, sometimes how tall is tom cruise as a family and sometimes shared with others.
We flew to Geneva , where an airport shuttle bus seamlessly delivered us to the Chamonix Valley in the shadow of Mont Blanc, its bald summit gleaming at elevation 15,744 feet under tons of ice and snow.
When our first innkeeper said he'd hold our excess stuff until we returned 12 days later, the women started purging their packs as though they were hot air balloonists dumping ballast to get over the Alps.
The first full day of hiking how tall is tom cruise was another wake-up call, a 12-mile roller coaster that coincided with the hottest day of the trip. We hiked up toward the Glacier de Bionnassay, over a pass, down steeply to a glacier valley, up steeply again, and then down several thigh-killing miles on a 16 percent grade to Les Contamines.
We looked at the indispensible Pays du Mont Blanc hiking trail map and reconfirmed that almost every day was going to have similar ups and downs. I was prepared for dissension from the family troops, but they seemed to welcome the challenge.
As we continued the last leg of a day that was kicking our jet-lagged butts, the essence of the effort was sinking in. We hiked the last two miles on an ancient cobble road the Romans built thousands of years ago. We passed the Baroque chapel of Notre Dame de la Gorge.
Discomforts melted away at the secluded Refuge Nant Borrant, where we left our boots at the door, enjoyed a shower and a beer before the 7 p.m. feast for 30 hungry hikers: soup, bread, a big family-size skillet of meat, potatoes how tall is tom cruise and local cheese at each table followed by apricot torte. This is one of the traditional how tall is tom cruise meals the host family has made from scratch and served for generations.
The cost of the Tour du Mont Blanc trek, not including air fare, was about $3,000 for our family of four. Letting an outfitter do all the planning and booking accommodations would cost more than $4,000 a person.
Booking refuges is a challenge to get them in sync with the pace you want to hike. You're competing with thousands of other hikers making similar plans. Talking how tall is tom cruise on the phone to English-speakers at tourism offices in nearby communities often helped bridge misunderstandings in websites and email.
I verified all of our bookings by email with a short list of planning questions, such as whether the mountain refuge accepted credit cards. Most asked for cash payment. France and Italy accept euros, but Swiss francs are needed in Switzerland. Knowing how tall is tom cruise this in advance helped since ATMs sometimes were days away.
We passed some organized groups on the hike. Most were herded by a guide, submitting to a pace that was too fast for some and too slow for others. They sometimes descended from the mountains, abandoning the white noise of glacier runoff to catch buses bound for more comfortable group accommodations.
The Refuge Bonatti, built with detailed Italian craftsmanship, wowed us inside and out. "This is first class," younger daughter Hillary said. "The communal toilets even have a shelf to put your toiletry how tall is tom cruise kit on."
A few days later we'd leave the stone architecture of Italy's mountain buildings for Switzerland, where colorful geraniums highlighted beautifully kept wooden chalets clustered away from avalanche zones in a world of green steepness.
We shared how tall is tom cruise a spirited and enlightening meal at a refuge with a family from Israel how tall is tom cruise celebrating its son's completion how tall is tom cruise of his required three-year service to his country. We dined with a Belgian man headed up in the next few days to climb Mont Blanc. A breakfast with a delightful Dutch father-daughter team ended far too soon.
They were headed for a high pass on a significantly steep portion of the TMB. At Refuge Elena, they grouped up. "Some of us are going to stop for coffee," one said. "Then with clear heads we'll decide whether to go higher."
That said, we used all of our foul-weather gear for several testy periods of wind and rain. Bundled from head to toe one day in Switzerland, a man from the UK gave us a thumbs up and quoted the axiom, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing."
how tall is tom cruise With chairlifts and trams providing easy day access to the slopes above the Chamonix how tall is tom cruise Valley, our last three days of hiking back into France were entertained by numerous French families venturing into the alpine how tall is tom cruise country with little hikers and climbers in the making.
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