Tour du Mont Blanc – Mountain route/after radiotherapy 4K #tourdumontblanc #backpacking #wildcamping

Tour du Mont Blanc – Mountain route/after radiotherapy 4K #tourdumontblanc #backpacking #wildcamping

It is estimated that about 20 000 people each year hike most famous trail Tour du Mont Blanc. So it doesn’t make me really special that I now belong between them.

Maybe it’s not special for others but I can guarantee you, that is special for every single one of those 20 000 who accomplished this trail and everyone is doing it from different reason.

When I come home and they ask me:
“So how was your trip?” I don’t know what to really answer. Simply because there are no words how to explain this. To me was this trail also special because I set off on t hike 170 kilometres 11 days through Alps just 10 h after I finished my radiotherapy treatment and unofficially cancer treatment. So I can call myself cancer survivor.

To me, every day going up and down through those mountains was like life itself – ups and downs.

Where things come and go, to live in one with nature, to heal broken body and soul. Drinking a water from Alpine’s streams, to breathe fresh air from trees and rocks. To let sun go through my skin and let it soak in rain.

From this 20 000 people hiking TMB let’s say 90% is a normal hikers and 10% is YouTube creators. For those 90% is this hike one-way journey with essential worries, and a normal itinerary. For film makers is extra challenge. Going back for the camera, not easy job on such a steep slopes. Protecting camera gear from the rain and humidity. Dealing with troubles, such as condensation, water in microphone and low batteries. Thinking you pressed record button whilst camera is off. Accidentally deleting footage, charging two camera and phones on the top of your camping gear. Carrying extra weights on camera gear such a tripod, selfie stick, chargers, solar panel, etc. Losing hiking time while repetitively set up camera for perfect shot and obsession of capturing everything around you.

But all this I love to do and is my passion and I’m doing it not just for the people who can’t go out there or who looking for inspiration, but also for me so I can relive this adventure again and again.

Tour du Mont Blanc is considered to be most challenging hike in Western Europe. It’s a 170 kilometre loop around the massive of Mt.Blanc, crossing three countries : France, Italy and a Switzerland, with ascends over 12 000 m which is technically more than Mt.Everest.

It is also most expansive trail, why? Because people stays at a refugees or hotels, eating in the restaurants, drinking and taking trail and have more leisure experience.

I did this Trail on a low budget. 11 days in Alps avoiding civilisation. My base weights was 12 kg with extra crampons for the snow fields and I took 4kg food from UK. I didn’t have a time and a budget for shopping food at a France.
You are allowed wild camp in France from a 7 p.m. till 9am, except some aeras. In Italy over 2500 metres only and a Switzerland, not at all. So I wild camped 7nights, 2 nights at a campsites and one night I camped at a loft in a shed by the refuge. I restocked after seven days. Most of time with no electric, warmth, washing clothes at rivers and cleaning myself in streams.
Encountering thunderstorms, snowfields, snow bridges, rain, heat winds and my own fears.

After first 8km on day one, I had 80% doubts I can make it to the end. My body is weak after one year and a half on cancer treatment, radiotherapy causing me breathing issues, and my arm after surgery was screaming, but every day I gained more and more power. And I felt how life is running through my veins instead chemotherapy, how sun makes my skin tan instead of burned from radiation. This was my therapy after the dark age.

Seeing into darkness is clarity. Knowing how to heal is strength.
link yo useful information and planning

Thank you for watching
Lucy

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Content of video
00:00 – Intro
01:15 – Day 1 – Les Houches to passed Bellevue (France)
04:39 – Day 2 – Bellevue ish to Le Bon Nant ( via Col de Tricot)
17:22 – Day 3 – Le Bon Nant to Ruisseau des Tufs ( via Col des Fours)
28:41 – Day 4 – Ruisseau des Tufs to Mont Favre ish ( via Lac Vesses route) crossing to Italy
40:42 – Day 5- Mont Favre to Testa Bernarda ( via Monte des la Saxe)
51:20 – Day 6 – Testa Bernarda to Grand Col Ferret ( crossing to Switzerland)
1:04:53 -D7 – Grand Ferret to Camping des Glaciers ( La Fouly)
1:10:59 – Day 8 – La Fouly to Camping le Relais ( Champex-Lac)
1:19:36 Day 9 – Champex-Lac to Les Grands
1:29:54 – Day 10 – Les Grands to Parsa ( via Col de Possetes, via ladders, via Lac Blanc) – crossing back to France)
1:39:49 – ladder section)
1:51:28 – Day 11 – Parsa to Les Houches via Le Brevent- Final leg