Tour du Mont Blanc Gear List: 170 km Camping Loop in Three Countries

The Tour du Mont Blanc loops 170 km around the Mont Blanc massif through France, Italy and Switzerland, with about 10,000 m of climbing along the way. This is the camping version of the list for mid-June to mid-September: you carry a shelter and sleep system, but the hut infrastructure means you can eat cooked meals most evenings and resupply almost daily.

Camping on the TMB is legal but structured. Valley campsites at Les Houches, Les Chapieux, Courmayeur, La Fouly and Champex do most of the work. The French reserves are stricter now; Contamines-Montjoie restricts bivouacking to a few bookable areas, and the Swiss section prohibits wild camping outright. Plan your nights ahead the way hut hikers book beds.

Weather shaped the clothing. Afternoon thunderstorms are near daily in July, so the shell is a 400 g Torrentshell rather than a 180 g race jacket: heavier, but it shrugs off a week of wet. Insulation is synthetic for the same reason. Early season, snow lingers on Col des Fours and the Fenêtre d'Arpette into July; lugged trail runners plus poles handle it, and liner gloves earn their spot.

The mix here leans budget on purpose. A 690 g Lanshan 1 Pro and Decathlon's 700 g MT900 down bag do the same job as gear at three times the price, and on a social, well-marked trail with a bakery every day or two there's no prize for an expensive list.

Base weight: 6.0 kg (13.2 lb). Food carries stay under two days everywhere; buy gas in Chamonix or Courmayeur, one small canister lasts the loop. Copy this list, then decide which dinners you'll cook and which ones you'll spend on tartiflette at a refuge.