Tour du Mont Blanc Day 8: Finishing Trekking with a Cable Car Chance Due to Bad Weather Forecast for the Next Day

The 8th-day journey of the Alpine trekking course Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) has been revealed on the YouTube channel 'Mountain Climbing JSun'. According to the video description, this is a record of the 8th day visited on August 19, 2026. The participant stated that they would start the day at Le Petit Campsite and plan to cross Col de Balme, which serves as the border between Switzerland and France, to return to France. Although they originally intended to walk for one more day, they predicted that this would be the last trekking day, and the reason was the weather for the next day.

Reaching Col de Balme after climbing 800m, with Mont Blanc unfolding behind

After walking about 10 minutes from the campsite, a path leading to Col de Balme appears, and after climbing this path for about two and a half hours, one reaches Col de Balme. The participant explained that the current altitude is slightly less than 1,400m and Col de Balme is 2,200m, so they only need to climb steadily for about 800m. They also confessed that the Tour du Mont Blanc is certainly not easy, mentioning that their leg muscles were very sore while sleeping after crossing the pass the previous day. However, they reported that the path on this day was manageable because it climbed steadily in a zigzag pattern.

The weather was good during the ascent, and the air was clean. Upon arriving at Col de Balme, the participant announced that they had recorded two hours, 5km, and a total elevation gain of 830m to get here. A magnificent view unfolded behind the Col de Balme hut, and he remarked that this was probably Mont Blanc. He ordered a cup of coffee at the hut, noting that there seems to be a reason why many people say the latter half of the Tour du Mont Blanc is the highlight.

Looking back at the Tour du Mont Blanc, he said that days 1 and 2 seemed to be the worst. It was quite difficult, and the scenery was not as outstanding compared to other overseas treks, but he shared his impression that the scenery was wonderful upon entering the Italian section on the 3rd day, and he was once again amazed while crossing Col de Balme at the end. He was surprised that these mountains are around 4,800m, noting how wonderful they are even though they are lower than the 5,400m pass he crossed in March.

Choosing a cable car instead of the regular course due to bad weather forecast for tomorrow

The original plan was to follow the ridge connected from Col de Balme to Lac Blanc. However, the participant stated that after checking, while the weather is extremely good today, it is forecast to be bad tomorrow, so they would skip the somewhat difficult section and use a cable car chance to finish the trekking on this day. He mentioned that the foreign trekkers met at the campsite also seemed to be in the mood to finish on this day. He added that he left earlier than usual because there wouldn't be enough time to return to the Chamonix campsite to secure a spot and then take a cable car to do the Lac Blanc trekking.

Instead of the regular course, he decided to go down to a place called Le Tour via Col des Posettes. It took 2 hours 49 minutes and 7.8km to reach Col des Posettes. He could have taken a cable car from there, but he thought it might be expensive and decided to walk down since he only needed to descend about 300–400m. The record upon arriving at the bottom was 3 hours 41 minutes, 11.7km, and an elevation gain of 900m. Right next to the cable car station, he took bus number 2 toward the Chamonix campsite where he stayed on the first day.

Warped hiking boots and a bakery recommended by a subscriber

He set up the tent again at the Chamonix campsite, but he was in a distressed state because the tent was completely soaked. The participant put his luggage inside and headed out to take the La Flégère cable car. The weather was so good that paragliders could be seen in the sky. He showed that his hiking boots had become warped and the soles were heavily damaged, saying he was glad it happened near the end of the trekking. He added that although he has to go to Switzerland after the trekking is over, he won't be doing such difficult trekking there, so it should be possible even with the torn shoes.

Before taking the cable car, he stopped by a bakery in Chamonix recommended by a subscriber. At this shop, which has a Google rating of 4.9, he ate lemonade and a sandwich, evaluating that while the ends of the sandwich were too hard, it was incredibly delicious. He stated that he plans to go up to La Flégère after eating the bread. At the beginning of the video, he mentioned that many people had asked about the expenses, so he promised to explain in detail how much he spent in the latter half of the video.