The TMB with your dog
Dogs are a (wo)man’s best friend, that’s how the saying goes. Definitely true if you ask me. That’s why I take Tueli with me everywhere I go, thus also the Tour du Mont Blanc. I’d already done part of it before, but planning to do it with my white fluff monster proved more difficult than I had first thought. The info I found on the internet was very confusing and incomplete. I had to send multiple emails to different tourist info centers to get a picture of where dogs were allowed and where they were not (and to them, it wasn’t very clear either). So, if you want to hike the TMB with your dog, this one is for you.
Planning a hike is always slightly more difficult when you go with your dog. First of all, accommodations are sometimes difficult to find and resupplying isn’t the easiest to do either. Thirdly, info on the conditions of the path and whether or not your dog is actually able to hike them, isn’t always available. So, here is an overview of all of those issues.
Content:
The trail itself: is it doable to hike the TMB with your dog?
Accommodation
Public transport and cable cars
Resupplying and finding dog food
The Weather
The trail itself: is it doable to hike the TMB with your dog?
I’ll kick off with the most asked question: is it actually possible to hike the trail with your dog? The answer is yes, it is, if you make some slight modifications to it. On the trail, you cross through two different nature parks. If you start in Les Houches and go counterclockwise, the first one you will encounter is the reserve naturelles des Contamines-Montjoie. Dogs are allowed on this essential part of the trail, but your dog has to be kept on a leash at all times. Please do adhere to that rule, because otherwise they might make it prohibitive for dogs entirely in the future.
The second nature reserve is something entirely different. The reserve naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges is completely closed to all dogs. This means that, from Argentiere, you cannot hike the normal route, but you have to stay down in the valley until you can hike up directly to Flegere. From Flegere, you can hike up to Brevent and down to Refuge Bellachat. Know though, that the route from Brevent is really running on the border of the nature reserve. If you catch a guard or another official on a bad day, they might fine you and send you back. It’s safer to go around this route entirely. There are multiple options, one of which I will display down below. You can also choose to hike this entire section through the valley, however, you would miss out on a lot of beautiful views. The app Komoot gives a very nice overview of the reserve and the trails that do and don’t cross into it. All reserves are displayed in green.
Now, let’s talk about the overall trail and difficulties you may encounter with dogs. Overall, the trail is very easy to hike (meaning you never really have to scramble up rocks or anything like that). The paths are well-trodden and well maintained if you hike within the hiking season. If you go early though (June and early July), patches of snow may still cover parts of the trail. And those patches can be rather large. It’s advisable to bring microspikes and trekking poles to cross safely. Also never attach your dog to your hip belt or anything other. Always hold the leash in your hand. If your dog slides down or decides to have a go at digging in the snow, they might get you off balance and cause you to fall down as well. You can’t do anything to help your dog when you’re injured yourself. If your dog slides a bit down the mountain (which usually doesn’t happen, because, let’s face it, they are way more stable on their four legs than we are), don’t just go down after them. If they are not injured, they will probably come back up to you themselves. If the terrain is too steep or if they’re injured, reach out to the emergency services via the number 112 (or save the number of the local mountain rescue center in your phone). If there’s still a lot of snow and it’s cold, the snow may also gather on your dog’s feet in icy clumps, which is very uncomfortable. You might want to consider putting shoes on them.
Something else that is often asked about, are the ladders you find on trail (a quick google of the TMB already shows them). These ladders are in the forbidden section of the trail and have to be skipped anyway, so that’s one less thing to worry about.
The trail isn’t really rocky in general, but your dog can still get injured on trail, by stepping onto sharp edges or thorns. I always carry shoes and socks I can put on Tueli, so if she gets injured, I can treat the wound and put on her shoes, so she isn’t bothered as much by small cuts. You can also put them out of precaution. Accidents happen, of course, so something else I always carry for Tueli is a rescue harness. That way, you can always get your dog down the mountain safely if necessary. There are a lot of places on the Tour du Mont Blanc that are rather inaccessible and not reachable by cable car.
There is one variant of the regular TMB, however, that I do not recommed with your dog, unless both of you are really experienced with difficult mountain terrain. From Champex Lac, you have the option of going over X. This used to be a blue trail (alpine terrain) but due to the melting of the permanent snow and glacier ice, it has now become a regular hiking trail. This trail, however, is considerable more difficult than the rest of the TMB. There is scrambling over rocks, some sketchy sections when it has rained and there are definitely some fear-of-heights-inducing parts. I’ve done this section multiple times and each time I’ve seen people struggling, scared hikers, people turning back, people I wished would turn back because what they were doing was just plainly dangerous and so on. When you hike the TMB clockwise, you’ll get onto this section from Trient. When descending from the col, the markings aren’t entirely clear and a lot of people end up in a large boulder field (so did we the first time), which can be really dangerous and scary if you’re not used to this. It’s also a really bad idea to do this with a dog. The actual trail runs on the right of this boulder field so clearly look for the markings and do not go into that boulder field. There’s also no water on this trail (and it’s a long one), you’ll have to wait until you get down on each side before you can fill up again.
Lastly, something to consider is physical fitness. Yes, yours as well, but we sometimes forget our dogs can suffer from the same things we do: fatigue, sore muscles, painful paws, dehydration and so on. The TMB might be a rather easy trail when you look at objective difficulties you can encounter in the mountains, but it still is a very heavy trail to hike. There’s lots of steep ups and downs, the days can be long and conditions can be brutal in the mountains. It’s imperative your dog is well trained before you take him or her along. If your dog will hike the trail with their own backpack, the actual wearing of the pack has to be trained as well. Start out with small hikes, just the empty pack on their back to help them get used to the feeling of carrying it. Next, start building up the weight. Sources vary on how much weight dogs are allowed to carry on their backs, but it’s safe to assume that we have to adhere to the same regulations as we do for ourselves: between 10 and 20 percent of their body weight. During the hike, remember to take off their pack whenever you take a break (I mean, we take our packs off during a break too, the same should go for your dog).
Tueli op de Tour du Mont Blanc, bivouac La Rollaz.
Accommodation
Another eternal struggle is finding places to stay with your dog. Honestly, the only way to hike the TMB with your dog is by doing it by tent. It’s impossible to rely fully on mountain huts and hotels. There are a couple of mountain huts that allow dogs, but in those they usually have to sleep outside or in a shack that is filled with chemicals and other dangerous items (not exactly the place where you want to leave your dog for the night). In the Italian huts, it’s no use even asking because it’s just not allowed. In Les Chapieux, I had reserved a room WITH dog in Auberge Nova, but when I got there with Tueli, it had rained the entire day and Tueli was quite dirty. When the owner saw that, they just plainly refused us the room, even when I showed them my reservation. He just shrugged and said “we only take dogs when the weather is good”. There was a big thunderstorm coming in and I really didn’t want to sleep in my tent, so I kept insisting. It was only when I threathened them with awful reviews and mentions in several Facebook groups, that they let me stay, but I’d never met such unfriendly people.
In Chamonix and Courmayeur, however, there are plenty of dog-friendly options. I’ve stayed in several hotels that were perfectly accommodation to dog owners. In Chamonix, I really can recommend Hotel Le Morgane. It’s not cheap, about 130 euros for a room, but it’s a really nice hotel with a free spa (I love a sauna after a long day of hiking). Chamonix is a dog friendly village in general. In most stores, apart from super markets, they can just come in with you and in a lot of restaurants, they get their own bowl of water without asking. In Courmayeur, we’ve stayed in Hotel Cristal, also no issues with dogs whatsoever. They do only speak Italian though (officially they speak Italian, English and French, but let’s just say that we didn’t get much further than “hello”). In both villages, they are allowed on most of the cable cars (not on the Aguille de Midi in Chamonix).
There are a lot of places where you can camp easily on the TMB. On the French part, you can basically put your tent next to any mountain hut and you can even get diner in the hut if you pay for it. I usually call in advance to reserve a spot (just the day beforehand), because it can get very busy. You can’t actually reserve a spot earlier than that. And even if you’ve “reserved”, it’s still a little first come first serve. The areas for tents usually aren’t that big and the TMB can get very busy. Furthermore, there are also a couple of bivouac sites on the French part that are very beautiful. My favourite is “La Rollaz”, a small bivouac next to a river that is lovely to bath in when it’s hot. It’s just ahead of Nant Borrant, the first cabin you pass when you hike up from Les Contamines. About a half hour further up the mountain, there is another bivouac site. Lastly, there is a big area where you can camp for free in Les Chapieux (also next to a river, so plenty of water for drinking, cooking and cleaning). Water access is easy in all of these bivouacs, as well as in the area of the mountain huts (which is imperative when you hike with your dog). Do take into account that these bivouac sites don’t have any amenities. They’re just a flat spot of land where you are allowed to put your tent. Some sites do have bins, but don’t expect a toilet or power points. From Les Chapieux until the Italian border, there’s still one more cabin (Les Mottets), but you can’t put your tent next to that one (I asked). Also, there are not many flat spaces to wild camp in this area. The mountain flanks are quite steep on both sides. On the other side of the river (at the bus stop), there is some room, but this is private land so you would have to ask permission (and since the TMB gets so many visitors, chances are that they will say no). There are two accommodations in Les Chapieux, but you have to book them beforehand because they aren’t very large (and as said, I would definitely not recommend Auberge de la Nova with a dog).
On the Italian part of the TMB, wild camping is strictly forbidden under 2500m. Basically that means that they only place where you are allowed to camp is Col de la Seigne (which is beautiful, but not a spot where you want to get caught in bad weather). You can and will actually be fined when some official finds you camping anywhere on Italian land. However, the chances that someone will actually find you are rather small. If everybody on the TMB would stay in mountain huts, there wouldn’t even be enough mountain huts. People know that a lot of people wild camp and that if they were to go up in the mountains at night, they would find people to fine. But, they don’t, so if you just set up late and leave early, you should be fine. What’s harder on the Italian part, is water access. There are plenty of points to refill your water, but the areas with water aren’t really places where you can easily set up a tent. They are often quite wet and soggy or just in plain sight (which isn’t what you want when camping is illegal). You will have to collect enought water for both you and your dog in advance. Especially the part between Courmayeur and Rifuggio Elena can be quite dry later in summer. There is one spot that is used quite often as wild camping go-to: a collection of small ruins a little after Rifugio Bonatti. I’m pretty sure everybody knows people camp there, but nobody does anything about it.
Another option (and the one I prefer) is to stay in campsite “Les Grandes Jorasses” up in the valley of Val Ferret. From this campsite, a beautiful hiking path runs up the mountain, connecting you to the TMB again. There are multiple reasons why this route is preferable, the first one being that the views from this trail are way more beautiful than the ones on the path running from Courmayeur up to Rifugio Bertone, which actually runs along the back of the mountains so you can’t see anything of the beautiful view behind. The latter is very steep and often very crowded, so not advisable when you hike with your dog. There are busses that run along the valley of Val Ferret, which can take you up and down from Courmayeur. Do bring a muzzle, because when it’s busy, you can be asked to put it on your fluffy companion.
The Swiss part of the TMB is the real grey area considering wild camping. Technically, it’s not allowed but if you’re discrete, nobody cares nor will fine you.In Switzerland, it’s basically up to the villages to decide wether it’s allowed to wild camp (under the treeline, above it’s fine if it’s for one night). So set up late, be gone early and you should be okay. The first part of the Swiss section, when you descend down into Switzerland from Rifugio Elena, is not ideal to put up your tent. There are few flat spots next to the trail, however it’s not impossible. The terrain gets a little better once you descend below 2000 meters. There are also multiple camp sites in the valley where you can camp. Most hotels in the valley do not allow dogs though. You’ll find some in Champex-Lac (according to booking.com), but I did not use those.
The next town with accommodations is Trient. Again, there are multiple options. There is a campground in Le Peuty where you can put up your tent (but don’t expect much, it’s not manned, they just come to collect a couple of Swiss franks at the end of the day). There’s also Auberde Mont Blanc, which accepts dogs. Do reserve in advance though.
Public Transport and cable cars
There are multiple ways to skip certain sections of the TMB when you’re in a hurry or you just can’t be bothered to do a long descend. Starting in Les Houches, cable car Bellevue allows dogs and saves you a gruesome climb over a wide dirt road up to Col de Voza. Up on Col de Voza, when you would like to visit the glacier near Refuge Nid d’Aigle, there’s a train that goes up all the way (tickets can be bought at the station on the col) and that one allows dogs as well (no muzzle needed, dogs go up for free). Do mind that this train makes a lot of noise, so if your dog is scared of loud noises, it’s probably a bad idea.
Hiking down from Col de Voza, there’s quite a long, boring walk from Les Contamines up to La Gorge, which also runs along the main road in some parts. I skipped this part because it was extremely hot that day and I noticed Tueli just wasn’t up for it. There’s a shuttle bus that will take you from the Tourist info in Les Contamines up to the church, where the path continues up.
In Les Chapieux, a lot of people take a shuttle bus to skip a particularly long road walk up to Les Mottets. Dogs are allowed free of charge and without muzzle. Tickets can be bought at the small office at the bus (look for the very pink busses). There’s no transport back into the main valley from this point on, so getting off trail here is extremely difficult. There’s only a very expensive taxi (like, 200 euros expensive) or hitchhiking, which is also not very convenient since there are barely any people here and you might have a dog with you since you’re reading this article.
When you pass over Col de la Seigne and decide to hike down into the valley, not up the mountain where the actual TMB runs, there are busses that can bring you down into Courmayeur. When the weather is bad, the hike up the mountain is not advisable, since the trail is really exposed and there is no shelter at all on this section. You just hike past Rifugio Combal, down into Val Veny until you start seeing cars parked next to the road. That’s where you will find the bus stop. Of course, you can hike all the way down into Courmayeur, but especially with a dog, it’s rather dangerous. You have to walk on the road, where cars are constantly passing by and there is no designated area for people on foot. There’s no hiking trail running all the way down to Courmayeur either. A muzzle is mandatory.
If you do take the actual TMB up the mountain from Rifugio Combal (which might actually be one of the most beautiful sections of the TMB), there’s the possibility of skipping the long descent into Courmayeur. The first lift you’ll have to take is a chair lift, but it is possible with a dog. They put your dog in a special cage and attach it to one of the chairs. You’ll go down with the next one. The second part is a normal cable car, but a muzzle is mandatory.
For people that only want to hike a part of the TMB, there is a bus from Courmayeur back to Chamonix. Dogs are allowed on this bus free of charge. You can get a ticket at the bus station (it’s about 20 euros). If you want to get back to Chamonix fancy-style, you can also take the cable cars up and over the Mont Blanc. Unfortunately, that’s not allowed with a dog (the Aguille du Midi doesn’t allow dogs).
The next bus that allows you to skip a part of the trail, is in Switzerland. You can skip the section between La Fouly and Champex Lac. There are actually a lot of people that skip this section, since it is often considered the ‘most boring’ section of the TMB. Dogs are allowed, not entirely sure if they have to pay and wether muzzles are allowed because we didn’t take this one and I didn’t run into someone that did.
From Trient, you have to hike up to Col de la Balme and hike down into Chamonix. There is a cable car which can help you skip the descent if you want to, but they don’t take dogs on the first part (chair lift). They allow dogs in the normal cable cars. Do mind that getting out of Le Tour (down by the cable car) is rather boring and not always easy. There is little public transport available in that section. If you would want to end your hike here, I would advise you to hike around to the cable cars that descend into Vallorcine. The cable car station is right next to the train station, where you can take trains back into Chamonix or to Martigny.
From Le Tour/Argentiere, you can’t go via the normal TMB route, since dogs are not allowed into Les Aguilles Rouges. Dogs are allowed on the cable car up to Flegere and Brevent, because those are located just outside of the nature reserve. Muzzles weren’t necessary when I was there, but when it’s busy, they can ask you to put one on.
Lastly, throughout the valley of Chamonix, there are several trains and buses you can take to move around or get back to the main valleys of Martigny or Sallanches. Both allow dogs, for the train you have to get a special ticket. Not all vending machines in the train stations give you the option to buy a ticket for a dog. I had to go to the service desk and they provided me with a children’s ticket, crossed out “child” with a pen and wrote dog on it instead.
On most tourist attractions in Chamonix, dogs are allowed. The big exception is the cable car that runs up to Aguille du Midi. Should you really want to visit this area, I recommend you to do so in Courmayeur. The Italian counterpart (Skyway Mont Blanc) does allow dogs up to the platforms. Other attractions are are the Mont Vers train, which takes you up to the glacier beneath the Grandes Jorasses and does allow dogs. I, however, would not recommend going down to the glacier caves there because one, it’s just not that spectacular, extremely busy and a lot of money for what you get, and two, it’s a very long way down, all over these grated metal stair treads which are horrible on your dog’s feet. I put shoes on Tueli, which made it doable, and she loved licking the walls of the ice cave, but it’s still not a great excursion with a dog. I would instead advise that you hike up there via the various trails leading up the mountain, enjoy the view and hike back down. It’s possible to take a train down, but it can get extremely crowded up there. We had to wait for more than an hour in a queue before we finally got onto the train.
Resupplying and finding dog food
It’s usually hard enough to carry a lot of food for ourselves, but when you’re hiking with your dog, you have to think about them too. There are several places where you can buy food along the way, or you can send out packages to different locations that you will pass along the way. I’ll start by explaining that system, since that is the system I use most often.
I have a very picky eater. Tueli doesn’t just eat cheap dog food (she especially hates chicken, unless they are still alive and breathing, then they seem to be tasty enough). It’s also possible that your dog is on a special diet or just doesn’t do well on random dog food you buy along the way. Therefore, it can be quite useful to send some packages ahead, which you can pick up later on. Now, we aren’t on the Pacific Crest Trail here, so post offices don’t just hold packages for hikers. You could send your package to a post office, but it’s really not recommended. I usually book a hotel or two along the way where we can have a zero day or just stay for the night. I then contact the hotel in advance to ask if it’s okay if I send a package ahead of time, which I can pick up if I stay with them. This system has never been a problem before and another advantage is that you’re not bound to the opening hours of the place, since you’re staying there anyway. You could also try to get in contact with locals through FB groups or other fora and send the package to them, but that’s again not the easiest. When it’s too expensive to send the package, I sometimes even drop them off myself. It’s always cheaper to send the packages in the same country as they have to be delivered in. Sending them from your own country might cost you a kidney.
When your dog is an easy one when dealing with nutrition, you can also just buy food along the way. I’ll put a list down here with the places that have stores or other options for both you and your dog.
Chamonix: several big stores. I don’t recommend the store chain called “Casino”, they are extremely expensive and don’t have that many options. Just outside of Chamonix is a big Carrefour, the largest supermarket in the area. There are several stores where you can get backpacking meals (for example the Decathlon and Snell Sports).
Col de Voza: there is a small restaurant on top of Col de Voza where you can get food for yourself, but there is barely any room to sit, so if the weather is bad, you have to wait outside in the rain. They don’t have many options, basically just an omelet and a cheese/meat board. If you don’t mind spending the money, you can take the train up to Refuge Nid d’Aigle, the food there is quite good, you can sit inside and the view is really good.
Les Contamines: there are multiple restaurants and a large enough supermarket.
Col de la Croix de Bonhomme: you pass by two refuges that offer food (Nant Borrand and Refuge de la Croix de Bonhomme). There are no other options to get food but these.
Les Chapieux: you can get food in Auberge de la Nova, which is quite good and the portion sizes are decent. There is a small store, but they only have local delicacies, not quite food for camping. There’s nothing else to get food on this section of the TMB and there’s also no way to go back into the main valley. You can also get food in Les Mottets. I also wouldn’t recommend sending packages here, since this place is so remote. I doubt they get regular mail services.
Val Veny: from Les Chapieux, you go over Col de la Seigne into Val Veny. You pass by Rifugio Elisabetta, where you can get a good Italian meal. A bit further down the trail, there’s also Rifugio Combal, but their options are really limited and it gets extremely crowded because it’s a tourist hotspot that’s easily accessible. Other than that, you have to descend quite a bit down into the valley before you start running into accommodations like camp sites and refuges where you can get food. When you follow the TMB up the mountain from Rifugio Combal, there’s literally nothing until you reach the cable cars right above Courmayeur.
Courmayeur: many options, including restaurants with amazing Italian food, supermarkets and stores where you can get backpacking meals.
Val Ferret: for Val Ferret it’s basically the same as for Val Veny. In the beginning of the valley, there is a campsite where you can buy snacks (even less than in Val Veny though), but that’s it. On the official TMB though, you pass by several mountain huts where you can have a meal. The first one is Rifugio Bertone, then you have Rifugio Bonatti (where choices were also rather limited, but that may have been due to covid, you also couldn’t sit inside then) and lastly there is Rifugio Elena.
La Fouly: there is a small supermarket here, as well as some restaurants. Before you hike into La Fouly, you also pass by Gîte de la Léchère, which has a restaurant as well. On your way through the valley, you’ll pass by some other restaurants as well. Do check the opening hours in advance, because some have closing days or aren’t open for lunch.
Champex-Lac: there’s a small supermarket here, as well as a bakery and some restaurants. It’s the last stop with a supermarket before getting back into Chamonix.
Trient: you can dine in Auberge Mont Blanc, portion sizes are quite small though. You can get small snacks next to the camp site in Le Peuty (check opening hours though).
Col de Balme: There is a cabin where you can eat on top of Col de Balme and you can eat in a small snack bar next to the cable car a little ways down.
The weather
One last thing to consider when going on an adventure with your dog is the weather. In the mountains it’s always important to check the weather services and to constantly monitor the clouds, but I personally think hiking with your pet can complicates things even more. First of all, sleeping in a tent together with a soaking wet dog can be quite, well, wet. I carry a rain coat for Tueli to ward off most of the rain and I dry off her paws and belly with a lightweight towel that dries quickly. Apart from that, it’s really important how your dog behaves in all types of weather. Are they scared of thunder storms? How do they react to those? Do you know how they signal that they’re getting dehydrated, cold or too hot? I knew my dog’s behaviour at home when I started hiking with her, but I only learned how she behaved outdoors when we really began to go on adventures together. Important things to think about are:
Having them drink water before they are thirsty
Finding enough spots in the shade to rest when the sun is hot
Making sure they dry up as much as they can before they go to sleep in a tent at night so they don’t get cold, especially if your dog has a short coat
So, that’s about it! If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me through my email or my Instagram page!
