Stage 2: Les Contamines-Montjoie → Les Chapieux

18.8 km from Les Contamines-Montjoie (1164 m) to Les Chapieux (1560 m), with 1402 m of ascent and 974 m of descent.

Walking time by fitness profile

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

On the trail

The longest sustained climb on the Tour, and the day most people underestimate. It opens deceptively: an hour of flat valley to Notre-Dame de la Gorge, where a baroque chapel sits at the foot of a cobbled Roman road, and then the road tilts up and does not stop. Nant Borrant, then La Balme, then the treeline, and after that a long open haul to the Col du Bonhomme at 2329 m with nothing between you and the weather.

The col is not the top. A traverse of another 150 m — exposed, sometimes snowy into July — leads to the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme at 2479 m, and only then does the day turn downhill. The descent to Les Chapieux is 900 m of stony path and takes longer than it looks. Roughly 1400 m of climbing over 19 km. Start early, carry water for the section above La Balme, and check the col before you go: this is the stage where an early-season party most often turns back.

Start / end

Stops along the way

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

About this stage

Stage 2 links Les Contamines-Montjoie (1164 m) with Les Chapieux (1560 m) over 18.8 km, climbing 1402 m and descending 974 m. This stage is in the western half of the Tour, before Courmayeur — the French approach and the two big cols that take you into Italy. 7 stops punctuate the route, so you can split this stage into shorter days. Water is available at every stop on this stage. Along the way only snacks and meals are available — no full resupply until the end of the stage.