TMB Stage 10 Tre-le-champs to Flégère
10th day out of the 11 of the TMB, today we will start toward la Flégère. Our next camping place and the end of the stage 10. But as it is a short day, officially 3h15min we will use a variation. This stage is basically straight up and then down.
Once at the highest of the stage 10, we will keep going up toward the lac Blanc variation in order to see one of the nicest spots on the TMB. It will not add to much.
This stage is also famous for the ladders to use. This stage will be one of the most crowded of the TMB as there will lots of people, families on this stage doing 1-day hike to Lac Blanc.
We did this stage in Mid-July and we had an amazing weather.
Table of Contents
Mapping the day
Statistics
Today the statistics are as follow:
- Total distance: 8.13km
- Elevation gain: 1166 m
- Elevation Loss: -685m
- Highest elevation: 2351m
- Lowest elevation: 1398m
If we look by section of the stage, we have approximately:
- Tre-le-champs to the intersection: 3.23km, +787m, -73.8m
- Intersection to Lac de Cheresys: 974m, +130m, -38.2m
- Lac de Cheresys to Lac Blanc : 599m, +160m, -14.2m
- Lac Blanc to La Flégère : 3.32km, +96.4m, -559m
TMB Stage 10 Tre-le-champs to Flégère - Step by step
Departure from Tre-le-champ
We woke early, started packing our stuff. Stop when we only had the tent left and had breakfast. We brought oatmeal and dry fruit. And even made coffee before since our Jetboil also has a coffee press. It was quite cool to have coffee in the morning in the Alps.
We then packed all the rest and left.
Tre-le-champs to the intersection
From Tre-le-champs we walked back to the main route, crossed, and followed the sign “La Flégère”. It starts with a bit of forest hike but quickly goes out with super amazing views.
Along the way, there will be a section with lots of ladders to climb. It isn’t that hard or dangerous and it is certainly not climbing or alpinism. It is super fun to use and made for everybody.
There are a couples of ladders with different lengths and shapes. Take your time and it will be a cool experience.
At the end is the intersection located at “Tête aux Vents”. From there, you can opt to go down to la Flégère directly or add a bit to the day by going to the Lac Blanc.
Intersection to Lac de Cheresys
We opted for the Lac Blanc, but on the way there is the Lac de Cheresys, 15-min away. A beautiful mountain lac not too crowded and where you can actually swim in it.
Lac de Cheresys to Lac Blanc
From Cheresys, you can see a mountain hut on the top of the mountain, that’s Lac Blanc. To get there, it will be a bit thougher than Cheresys but nothing impossible. There is another ladder to take.
We heard that during crowded day, it can take up to 45-min way to be able to use the ladder. This wasn’t the case for us in mid-July, but it was definitely more crowded there.
There are actually 2 lacs there, so walk around to see both of them. If you need water, you can get some from the lake (where there is a flow. And do filter it).
In the mountain hut there, you will find toilet, food…
Lac Blanc to La Flégère
Behind the lake is the trail that goes down to the end of the stage. It is a scenic route that isn’t too hard and where views are still amazing.
At the end you will find the cable car station. The mountain hut is located right under it and the camping ground around the lake nearby.
La Flégère
We stayed in the campground near la Flégère. It is a free camping ground that is around the lake just below the mountain hut. The spot is amazing but there isn’t many commodities around. The lake is a reserve for the snow canon and there is a sign not to swim in it.
We saw many people swimming in it, so we also went in and it was amazing. Super fresh water.
In the Refuge de la Flégère, there are WC that you can use. But if you want to have drinkable water, take a shower (for 2€ and before 6pm if possible), charge your electronics, you will have to take diner, breakfast or something there.
Diner cost 22€ and you can have different options (vegetarian, vagan…). diner was made of 4 dishes. It was first a salad, then it was tartiflette with dry ham, without ham for vegetarian, without cheese and with olive oil for vegan. Then cheese, no vegan option, 3 desserts to choose from: chocolate mousse, apple pie or fromage blanc et fruits.
There we got a beer for 7€ and chilled outside with the view of Mont Blanc. This was totally worth it. The diner not that much.
“Returning home is the most difficult part of long-distance hiking. You have grown outside the puzzle and your piece no longer fits.”
