Hikers circle Mont Blanc

Considered the most popular long-distance trek in Europe, the Tour du Mont Blanc is a 110-mile route through the Alps circumnavigating the 15,744-foot peak. The trail goes through France, Italy and Switzerland and over passes up to 8,480 feet in elevation. Total elevation gain for the hike is 35,000 feet. These photos follow the Landers family of Spokane as they hike the route, stay at mountain refuges and soak in the culture they experienced during their 12-day muscle-powered adventure. Read the full story.

Section:Gallery

Sat., Sept. 15, 2012

The Tour du Mont Blanc hiking route in the Alps of France, Italy and Switzerland.
Day 1: The Mont Blanc Tramway arrives at Col de Voza. The "rack and adhesion" mountain railway climbs grades up to 24 percent to ascend from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Le Fayet station (near Chamonix, France) to the Nid d'Aigle station at the Bionnassay glacier on the slopes of Mont Blanc at an altitude of 7,782 feet. Col de Voza is about 2 hours of hiking from les Houches, the usual starting point for the Tour du Mont Blanc. Some hikers use the railway or chairlifts to reach Col de Voza for the start of their Tour du Mont Blanc trip.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Day 1: The view from the first major pass from the Tour de Mont Blanc start in les Houches, France, -- Col de Tricot, elev. 6,955 feet -- looks down a steep descent to the Chalets de Mirage in the valley below Glacier de Miage. The route continues up and down the ridges in the distance toward les Contamines-Montjoie.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Day 1: Meredith Heick walks toward the Chalets de Mirage in the valley below Glacier de Miage on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Day 1: Tour du Mont Blanc hikers pass the Baroque chapel Notre Dame de la Gorge as they walk on an ancient Roman cobblestone road south of les Contamines.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Day 1: Cow bells -- some with deep haunting tones -- are on the necks of livestock to help herders keep track of them as they move from pasture area to pasture area along the alpine slopes. The bells are music to the ears of hikers on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 2: After staying at Chalet de Nant Borrant south of les Contamines, the family hikes up past Chalet de la Balme toward Col du Bonhomme on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 2: In the first week of July, hikers still had to trudge through snow as they approached Col du Bonhomme, elev. 7641 feet, and other mountain passes on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 2: The Landers family hikes the rugged, wild area of the Tour de Mont Blanc in France near Col du Bonhomme, elev. 7641 feet.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 2: Alpine wildflowers are prolific on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 2: Hikers descend from Col de la Croix du Bonhomme area toward Chapieux on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 3: After staying at Refuge de la Nova in les Chapieux, France, the Landers family hiked out of the village area toward Italy on the Tour du Mont Blanc..

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 3: Meredith Heick helps here daughter, Hillary Landers, get gloves out of her pack. The hikers had to donn full rain gear during cold, wet weather soaking the Alps as they headed toward the France-Italy border on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 3: Hillary Landers fords a mountain stream as she Hikes up to the France-Italy border on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 3: Meredith Heick gets ready to ford a glacial stream pouring off a steep hillside on the Tour du Mont Blanc hiking route in the Alps near the France-Italy border.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 3: After crossing from France over Col de la Seigne, elev. 8,255 feet, the Landers family marches into Italy on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 3: Alpine wildflowers are prolific on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: Italy's Rifugio Elisabetta stands on a spur overlooking the Vallon de la Lee Blanche and backed by the Glacier d'Estellette and Glacier de la Lee Blanche. It's a popular stop for hikers on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: The mountains and glaciers behind Rifugio Elisabetta reflect in Lac de Combal as hikers on the Tour du Mont Blanc continue above Val Venny toward Courmayeur, Italy.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: A hiker hops stones across a stream above Val Venny on her way to Courmayeur on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: A marmot feeds in the lush alpine grass above Italy's Val Venny as hikers pass on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: The Tour du Mont Blanc route descends through a forest of larch and deciduous trees as it enters the Italian skiing and climbing town of Courmayeur.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: The Tour du Mont Blanc passes through narrow streets in the medieval village of Dolonne and into the skiing and climbing hub of Courmayeur, Italy.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: The Tour du Mont Blanc passes through narrow streets in the medieval village of Dolonne and into the skiing and climbing hub of Courmayeur, Italy.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: The Tour du Mont Blanc passes through narrow streets in the medieval village of Dolonne, where hand-carved doors spell out history, before hikers head into the skiing and climbing hub of Courmayeur, Italy.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: The Tour du Mont Blanc passes through narrow cobblestone streets in the medieval village of Dolonne and into the skiing and climbing hub of Courmayeur, Italy.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: The Tour du Mont Blanc passes through Courmayeur, Italy, where many hikers can't resist stopping for real Italian pizza.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
DAY 4: After hiking from Refugio Elisabetta to Courmayeur and then up one of the steeper grades on the Tour du Mont Blanc, the Landers family was more than ready for the four-course dinner at the Refuge Bertone. Here the refuge staff serves the second course, wild mushroom polenta. The refuge is run by the grandaughter of the climber who founded the refuge, which is supplied by helicopter.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 5: With Courmayeur, Italy, in the valley below, the Landers family climbs up from their Day 5 lodging at Refuge Bertone as they continue into the second half of their 11-day trek on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 5: With Mont Blanc in the background, Hillary Landers strides out on a high alpine ridge between Italy's Refuge Bertone and Refuge Bonatti on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 5: Alpine wildflowers are prolific on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 5: With jagged peaks of the Mont Blanc massif in the background, Meredith Heick strides out on a high alpine ridge between Italy's Refuge Bertone and Refuge Bonatti on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 5: Brook and Hillary Landers descend from a high point at Tete Bernada above lush glaciated valleys down to Col Sapin. They are hiking between Italy's Refuge Bertone and Refuge Bonatti on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 5: Hikers relax at the elegant Refuge Bonatti on the Tour du Mont Blanc up the Val Ferret from Courmayeur, Italy.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 5: Hillary Landers and Meredith Heick (back center) relax and snack at Refuge Bonatti with the Hoffman family from Israel. The Hoffmans -- from left, Or, Ya'ara, Rachel and Nir -- were among the hikers from many nations who offered cultural enrichment to the American family's experience as they trekked the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Day 6: The Tour du Mont Blanc hangs up on the high slopes and past the occasional crumbling stone building above Val Ferret on their way to the Italy-Switzerland border.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 6: Meredith Heick crosses an improvised bridge over a stream down a steep slope on the Tour du Mont Blanc near Refuge Bonatti.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 6: Members of the Swiss Alpine Club from Geneva -- all 65 or older -- pause for a break near Italy's Refuge Elena during a day hiking trip on a portion of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 6: Hillary Landers pauses at the Italy-Switzerland border at Grand Col Ferret, elev. 8,255 feet, before descending into Switzerland on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 6: Brook Landers pauses in the rain at la Peule, the first refuge in Switzerland after dropping down from Grand Col Ferret on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 6: Tidy wooden chalets are a sign that Tour du Mont Blanc hikers have entered Switzerland and the village of Ferret.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 6: Tidy stacks of firewood are a sign that Tour du Mont Blanc hikers have entered Switzerland.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 7: Water troughs with flowing potable water are common an available for hikers at villages, refuges and other sites along the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 7: Rich Landers couldn't help jumping aboard a zip line at a recreation park for a short break as he descended on the Tour du Mont Blanc as he hiked from the Swiss ski town of la Fouly toward the resort town of Champex.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 8: European larch greet hikers as they ascend to the high country from the Swiss resort town of Champex.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
DAY 8: Hillary Landers hangs laundry after hiking from Champex to Trient in Switzerland on the Tour du Mont Blanc. Hikers wash some of their clothing almost every day to minimize what they carry on the 11-day trek.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 9: Tour du Mont Blanc hikers ascend from Trient, Switzerland, toward Col de Balme, elev. 7,188 feet.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 9: The Landers ladies pose among the colorful alpenrose just below the Switzerland-France border at Col de Balme, elev. 7,188 feet. The flowers are common along the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Alps.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 9: The Landers family pauses on the Switzerland-France border at Col de Balme, elev. 7,188 feet.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 9: The Landers ladies trek above the Chamonix Valley toward Tre-le-Champ with Mont Blanc gleaming in the background. The mountain is in constant view on clear days for hikers on this popular stretch of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 10: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure for hikers looking to prevent blisters as they trek the Tour du Mont Blanc. Meredith Heick tended to her feet religiously, even on the last days of her alpine adventure.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 10: Hillary Landers climbs ladders bolted into the granite cliffs to ascend a notorious section of the Tour du Mont Blanc between Le Brevent and Col du Brevent above the Chamonix Valley.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 10: Meredith Heick climbs ladders bolted into the granite cliffs to ascend a notorious section of the Tour du Mont Blanc between Le Brevent and Col du Brevent above the Chamonix Valley.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 10: Brook Landers climbs the last of the ladders bolted into the granite cliffs to ascend a notorious section of the Tour du Mont Blanc between Le Brevent and Col du Brevent above the Chamonix Valley.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 10: Hillary Landers pauses near an alpine tarn near Lac Blanc while hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc above the Chamonix Valley. Mont Blanc looms in the background.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 11: Hikers follow the Tour du Mont Blanc above the Chamonix Valley.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 11: Ibex climb the rocky cliffs near the Tour du Mont Blanc above the Chamonix Valley.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 11: The Chalet du Lac Blanc along the Tour du Mont Blanc also is a popular destination for day hikers who gain the alpine country on chair lifts from the Chamonix Valley.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 11: The Landers family shares a dorm room with a couple from Ohio at the Chalet de la Flegere along the Tour du Mont Blanc above the Chamonix Valley.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 12: The Landers girls patiently wait as their mom prepares her feet for the last day of hiking on the Tour du Mont Blanc, involving a lot of downhill from Chalet de la Flegere to les Houches.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 12: The Landers girls found plenty of downhill hiking from high above the Chamonix Valley at Chalet de la Flegere to les Houches on the last day of their trek on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 12: One final pit stop at a mountain refuge -- Refuge de Bel Lachat -- was a pleasant break in the downhill hiking from high above the Chamonix Valley at Chalet de la Flegere to les Houches on the last day of trekking on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
DAY 12: The Landers family celebrates completing the 110-mile Tour du Mont Blanc at a street-side cafe in Chamonix, France.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review