Tour du Mont Blanc, Day 1: Le Brévent (Chamonix) to Le Coupeau (Les Houches)
Saturday, August 1: Chamonix to Les Houches, mostly downhill Ten days of walking around Mont Blanc, and the first one starts with a cable car ride up and a hike down . The Alps have a sense of humor. This is the first of ten day-by-day posts; the overview and the all-days map are in the trip summary post . The day in numbers: 5.9 mi / 9.5 km · 846 ft / 258 m up · 3,915 ft / 1,193 m down · high point 7,600 ft / 2,316 m · 10:09 to 15:34, 3 h 35 min moving. Chamonix, 8 a.m. Woke up at our friend's flat in Chamonix. Packed the bag one last time and left a pile of warm-weather clothes behind, which felt optimistic at the time. Walked down to the square in front of the Compagnie des Guides office on Place de l'Église and had a pastry and coffee at La Panière , which is exactly the breakfast you want before a day in the mountains and exactly the one your doctor doesn't. Met up with the rest of the group and our guide from the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix . And off to the rac...