TMB Day 6: Rifugio Bonatti to La Fouly

Distance: 13.06 miles (21km)

Ascent: 3,020 feet

Descent: 4,403 feet

Highest Point: 8,457 feet

Border crossing from Italy into Switzerland

Today we left our idyllic Italian mountain refuge behind, and crossed into Switzerland. Clocking in at 13 miles, it was the longest day of our trek so far. First, it was down the splendidly beautiful Val Ferret and then up the aptly named Col Ferret. At the top was the “border.” The crossing, as ever, was very official: a pile of rocks with the letter “I” on one side of the rock and an “S” on the other. I did pull out my passport and showed it to the rock just in case 😉

It was a foggy start to our day…and somehow that made the trekking all the more peaceful. Without the grand alpine vistas, it was easier to take in the flower-laden valleys instead; to get lost in it, and your thoughts…And while there are days I’m hanging at the back of the group because I find it hard to keep up on the climbs (shocker for this Midwestern girl I know), today I purposely hung back picturing myself alone on the foggy mountain valley.

Four hours later, as if on cue, just across into Switzerland the skies began to clear. The Eastern edge of the Mont Blanc range coming into view, along with the Grand Jurasses. The last time we will see them for a bit. And Grand they are. A three hour descent into the Village of La Fouly went from lovely to downright treacherous as the clouds once again closed in, a shower, quickly turned into a downpour, which then turned into a hail storm. Of course this would happen on the steepest part of the descent.

If it weren’t for Magnus (one of the two guys in our group) who kept me company to make sure I didn’t kill myself, I’m pretty sure I would have, at the very least ended up a muddy, battered mess. Special shoutout to Tommy as well. Our resident pain in the behind, made up for the usual attititude in spades by lending me his walking pole, when one of mine decided to stop working earlier in the day. All the babysitting in the world wouldn’t have gotten me through that hail storm adventure without both trekking poles in tow. Needless to say, wine was on me at dinner, which by the way was lovely.