Finally, the part 2 everyone has been waiting for! In case you missed part 1 you can read it here. My apologies for taking so long to get around to this. I gave myself a final deadline for my mom’s birthday, which happens to be today, and that is why I’ve sat myself down on this beautiful breezy September day with a cup of coffee and a cleared schedule. So, without further ado.

My parent’s trip began the way most stories worth telling do—with a few hiccups. They flew into Geneva airport with dreams of a seamless journey to Les Contamines. The plan was to take a bus from Geneva to Les Contamines, spend the first night at their Peace Corps friend’s chalet, and then head to Les Houches the next day to stay in a cozy hotel right at the start of the trail.

Here’s what really happened: they arrived in Geneva without bus tickets—an intentional decision made in the hope that if things went awry, they’d just grab tickets in person, take the train, or worst case scenario splurge on an Uber. They were sure it wouldn’t be a problem.

Turns out, that was a mistake. They landed on time, luggage in hand, but as luck would have it buying tickets in person wasn’t an option. The only option was to get them online, but of course, my dad’s e-SIM card was glitching and my mom didn’t have one at all. They were offline and time was ticking. So, in the name of adventure, they opted for the train.

While they admired the charming Mont Blanc train line, part of its charm was an added 4 hours in transit, and they ended up arriving in Saint-Gervais around 8 o’clock. So with no data and still no idea how to get to Les Contamines, they set out in search of food and a place to get online.

A pizzeria answered their prayers, and my mom does the same thing I do when I’m blind with hunger: she panics and orders the first thing that pops into her head, which, bless her vegan heart, is pizza marinara. I could write an entire blog about her struggle to stay vegan as Switzerland, France, and Italy each pull out every trick in the book. So, her pizza marinara arrives—her first meal in France, by the way—and it turns out to be a piece of bread with some tomato sauce smeared on top like an afterthought.

As the evening wears on my parent’s realize it’s getting really late, so they flag down the waiter and ask about getting a taxi to Les Contamines. He replies, “Very complicated, tonight is impossible,” and is gone before they can blink. They chalk it up to a language barrier but decide it’s probably best to just find a hotel. After some searching, they discover only one hotel is open, and luckily, it’s just a few blocks from the restaurant.

It’s around 10 p.m. as they’re pulling their luggage into the lobby, and the woman behind the desk is about to turn off the vacancy sign. When she spots them she ushers them in and exclaims how lucky they are that she has one room left.

The next day is, of course, Sunday and the one day buses don’t run, so they take an expensive taxi to Les Contamines, drop their extra baggage off at their friend’s chalet, and then head for Les Houches to spend the last night before their official start of the trail.

So, in the interest of keeping this blog-length friendly, and because my mom did such an amazingly thorough job updating everyone each day on Facebook with a short passage recounting the highlights, I will pass the mic over to her (a few edits and tweaking from me but mostly in her words).

Day 1: Hello beautiful winding trails through high meadows of wildflowers, babbling brooks, and quaint mountain towns. Today’s considered an easy day by most hiker’s standards, stretching only 9 miles with a 1,249 feet climb. Onward!

Day 2: The longest and hardest day of them all. About 4000 feet up and 4000 feet down for a total of 13 miles. I self-sabotaged and did not sleep the night before. Ric slept like a baby. The day was one foot in front of the other, and one lesson we learned was that it’s best to put on microspikes before the icy section, not during. From Les Contamines, we climbed up to the windy, snowy Col Du Bomhomme where we sought brief shelter in a crowded hut. We huddled against the side of the hut from the blistery wind and ate hummus baguette sandwhiches, before continuing our ascent to the Refuge du Col de la Croix du Bonhomme for hot tea paired with pecan pie and chocolate cake. Just before we were about to leave for our descent, the sun broke through the clouds and for the first time that day we got a glimpse of the view. Worth it! We then descended to our next refuge at Auberge de la Nova, enjoying some butt sliding along the way.

Day 3: From La Ville des Glaciers, we climbed up to Col de la Seigne where we crossed the border into Italy. The stretch of trail consisted of sketchy snow bridge crossings that called for microspikes and poles, and then further along we were rewarded with perfect snowy butt sliding. We stopped for a pasta lunch at Refugio Elisabetta, and then continued onto Cabane du Combal at the base of Glacier du Miage.

Day 4: First day in Italy. Jarringly steep snowy crossings paired tastefully with roaring streams as we climbed from Combal. We stopped at Refugio Masion Vielle for lunch, then braved the steep descent into Courmayer, otherwise known as the “knee buster.” Was overjoyed to find vegan pizza waiting for me at the base of Combal.

Day 5: Aka, my favorite day. A challenging but beautiful ascent into Courmayer led to breathtaking views at Refugio Bertone, followed by a flat-ish hike and final climb up to Refugio Bonatti, named after the famous Italian alpinist, Walter Bonatti. The refugio faces magnificent Mont Blanc. The helicopter made their biweekly food drop just before we arrived. New friends at dinner from Melbourne, Australia, Bangkok and Hong Kong!

Day 6: Beautiful day but challenging! So grateful we can do hard and beautiful things! The climb up to Grand Col Ferret took strength of body and mind. Looking back into the distance, seeing where we had come from was stunning and dizzying. More snow crossings with microspikes and narrow paths with steep drops. So hard to describe the experience.

Day 7: We hiked and climbed through forest today and small charming Swiss villages. More steep narrow paths at heights that make my legs a bit wobbly. Grateful for the chain to hold as I carefully passed. Learning to look ahead and not down. Appreciating all the moments. Stopping to smell the wildflowers. Lovely surprises of the day: cafe selling delicious crepes and vegan ice cream, children with cold lemonade and soaking tired feet in Champex-Lac at the end of our hike. Editors note: this also happened to be the day that Switzerland broke my mom’s 10 year vegan streak…while the ice cream was indeed vegan, the crepes not so much. But not to worry everyone, while she continued to make a few exceptions for the rest of the trip, she went right back to her veganism as soon as she landed back on American ground.

Day 8: More mountains climbed with tired legs but happy hearts. We ended the day in small Swiss village of Le Peuty and spent the night in a yurt. Caught some of the World Cup game and saw a rainbow.

Day 9: Left La Peuty and climbed up to another blustery, foggy mountain pass (Col du Balme). Stopped for lunch at the top in a warm, cozy, crowded refuge full of enthusiastic TMB trekers. Hiked down through another beautiful alpine meadow and through small French towns of Les Tours and onto Argentierre to our hotel with spa! Sauna, hot tub and cold plunges were amazing.

Day 10: Our trek started in the rain with forecasted thunderstorms from our cozy hotel in Argentierre. Before leaving, we debated which route to take and I am grateful that we landed on the less challenging section with fewer ladders. We found the route we chose plenty challenging enough with its one ladder and wooden steps bolted into rock, and we were rewarded by close encounters with ibex, pristine glacier lakes, and hot french onion soup at the Refuge du Lac Blanc at the top of the pass.

Day 11: Our final day has caught up with us, or we have caught up with it. We got creative with navigation following recommendations to avoid both sides of Col du Brevent due to snow. We followed trails for a more “gentle” descent, though it still included scrambling over large boulders and narrow ledges with steep dtops (thank you fog for obstructing my view). We saw paragliders floating overhead, children zip lining in the park, and climbers practicing on a large rock face. We decided to dip into Chamonix for a cafe stop and walk along lush forest trails into Les Houches for the classic finish photo. TMB, you have been beautiful and epic.

How cute are they?? I hope everyone is out there enjoying their ascents and descents, whether that is applied to hiking, career, education, or just life in general. I sure am. When my mom was retelling their experience to me she said, “Every day there was something hard and there was something surprising, always a gorgeous view, and always good food.”

I hope that we are all so lucky to experience this in our day to day. And for anyone considering hiking this trail, my parents are now both experts, and my dad in particular happens to be an expert advice giver. Shoot me a comment and I’ll send you his way!