Stage 11: Flégère → Les Houches

17.2 km from Refuge de la Flégère (1877 m) to Les Houches (1007 m), with 860 m of ascent and 1731 m of descent.

Walking time by fitness profile

Times computed with the RandoNav planning algorithm. Breaks not included.

On the trail

The last day, and far better than a last day has any right to be. From La Flégère the balcony continues to Planpraz and then climbs to the Brévent at 2525 m — the highest point of the western side and the single best viewpoint on the Tour, looking straight across eight kilometres of air at Mont Blanc, the Aiguille du Midi and the Bossons glacier.

After the Brévent the trail crosses to Bellachat at 2136 m, where the last refuge sits on a spur with the mountain filling the sky, and then drops 1100 m through the Aiguillette du Brévent and forest into Les Houches. That descent is long and hard on the knees; the cable car from Planpraz or Le Brévent is there if you would rather not. However you get down, the loop closes in the village where it started: 166 km, 10,400 m of climbing, three countries and eleven cols later.

Start / end

Stops along the way

These places between the endpoints let you split the stage into shorter days:

About this stage

Stage 11 links Refuge de la Flégère (1877 m) with Les Houches (1007 m) over 17.2 km, climbing 860 m and descending 1731 m. This stage is in the eastern half of the Tour, after Courmayeur — the Italian balcony, Switzerland, and the Aiguilles Rouges finale above Chamonix. 3 stops punctuate the route, so you can split this stage into shorter days. Water is available at every stop on this stage. Full resupply (shop) is possible at Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.