TMB Stage 11 La Flégère to Les Houches
11th day out of the 11 of the TMB. Today, we will be finishing the TMB. The stage 11 goes from La Flégère all the way down to les Houches.
It will be a beautiful morning through the Alps followed by one more summit to pass before finally heading all the way down to the valley and les Houches.
We loved this day but the end before les Houches was a bit boring.
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: 18km
- Elevation gain: 1270 m
- Elevation Loss: -2145m
- Highest elevation: 2480m
- Lowest elevation: 978m
If we look by section of the stage, we have approximately:
- La Flégère to PlanPraz: 5.15km, +509m, -321m
- PlanPraz to Brévent: 2.65km, +502m, -105m
- Brévent to Bellachat: 2.28km, +84.4m, -426m
- Bellachat to Les Houches : 8km, +187m, -1293m
TMB Stage 11 La Flégère to Les Houches - Step by Step
La Flégère to PlanPraz
The first part of the trail was our favourite of the day. The route is quite flat with breath-taking view of the mountains around and Mont Blanc.
At the end of the route, there is the PlanPraz station where you can find water and take a break with amazing views.
Better rest a bit before the hike up to Brévent.
PlanPraz to Brévent
Time to walk all the way up to Brévent. First follow the Col de Brévent which is before Brévent and where you also get some nice view. This part is basically all the way up.
From col de Brévent to Brévent, it become a bit more technical as it is only rock and there is a ladder at some point.
At the end there is the Brévent cablecar station where there is toilet, restaurant and a small snack bar. If you want water, you will have to buy it. Which we recommend as there won’t be water on the way down. We took 3 bottles of water (1.5L total) for 10.5€
We also had lunch there. We ate one of our dehydrated meals
Brévent to Bellachat
Now the way down start. The first part is quite nice through a rocky mountain. It is best to be a bit careful where you step as those rocky paths are quite trickly.
Then there will be the Bellachat mountain hut. There we also spotted some camping spot. Unfortunately, there is no water free, but they have a restaurant so buying is possible
Bellachat to Les Houches
And it is finally time to reach les Houches. This part is a big way down. Some parts are super steep and technical, and the end is through a forest.
There is right before Les Houches a small point of interest where you can go with a statue. It isn’t much more.
At the end, in Les Houches, there will be the TMB frame. From there, you can walk to camping Bellevue and buy some grocery on the way there.
Camping Bellevue
We stayed there for the last night. We arrived around 6pm without a reservation but it was fine. The camping was crowded but not full. Though at 9pm there was over 60 tents there. The camping is located at the bottom of a ski lane.
The camping spot is OK, we got a nice spot out of the crowd with a cool view. There is 5 showers and 3 WC for men separated from women. The only thing is that toilets are a bit far from the tent site. There are electric plugs next to the reception cabin.
If you need to use public transportation, ask for the host card which allows you to get on buses, trains, museums. The card is free and if you use it, you are saving lots of money.
There is a pizzeria, bakery, and cheese shop next to the camping as well. At night it was quiet.
It cost 4€ per person + 3€ per tent (for 2-3 person tent).
“It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
