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Hi Guys,

Greetings! We are thinking of doing the Tour do Mont Blanc (Counter clockwise) at the end of May (25th May - 5 June) this year. We had a few quick questions to prepare for it and would really appreciate your help.

1. Will there be lot of snow on the trail? Can we do it in regular hiking boots (or do we need crampons, snow shows, ice axe, etc.)?
2. Are the cabins/huts open?
3. If the cabins are closed, can we come down to the valley/towns for accommodation?

Thanks guys! Help from someone who lives near Mont Blanc, or someone who visited recently would be helpful in estimating the snow conditions this year!

Thanks again!

Regards,
John

Guys... any help/insights will be useful for our prep. Thanks again!

Counter clockwise is the "normal" way to do the TMB. Difficult to know how how fast the snow will melt in the next few months; Some passages (Petit col Ferret, for example) requires at least one ice-ax for the descent. Fenêtre d'Arpette is steep both sides, better to follow Bovine track to col de la Forclaz. The descent from La Croix du Bonhomme should not cause problems, it faces south.

For more infos check with followings
http://www.guidecourmayeur.com/montebianco/home-guide-alpine-courmayeur-english.html
http://www.champex.info/
http://www.chamoniarde.com/?lang=en

Huts
http://lerefugedubonhomme.free.fr/tarifs.html winter cabin open from to September 15th to June 15th ( this is the only one cabin open during winter season)
Val Veny http://www.rifugioelisabetta.com/ private hut no winter cabin, open June
Plenty of accommodations in the valley
Val Ferret (italian side) http://www.lavachey.com/pagen/homepage.htm
Val Ferret (swiss side) http://www.orsieres.ch/index.cfm?Page=B ... &langue=En
But keep in mind : due to the ealy season, no accommodation possible between Col de la Croix du Bonhomme and Courmayeur !!!
Then tent, sleeping bags and mattresses are highly recommended

Ice-axe (and crampons) is (are) compulsory, no snow-shoes or AT skis.

Hope this are useful