CR Adventures 250722: TMB Day 1 - Les Houches to Refuge de La Balme via the Bellevue Cable Car, Col de Tricot and Les Contaminés

TMB Day 1 starts in La Houches with a ride on the Bellevue cable car.
We arrived fairly early to avoid the queues and booked in advance as there's normally queues at the ticket office to minimize delays.
The cable car ride gave me time to reflect on whether our goal for the first day is too tough with Refuge de la Balme some 21km away coupled with an elevation gain of 1155m.

From the Bellevue Cable Car (1785m) we take the TMB variant route towards the Col de Tricot which involves a steep climb up to the Col and a long steep descent towards the Refuge de Miage.
The views in all directions are amazing and the walk along the suspension bridge was an experience that crosses the river of melt water from the Glacier de Bionnassay.
We continue our ascent towards the Col (2120m) taking a welcome break from the heat of the day at the top before the descent and taking the opportunity to take a few pictures of the stunning panorama.
We finally arrive at the refuge where we cool off and top up with water before the next leg of the journey to Contamines via the beautifully situated Auberge du Truc.
The journey starts again with a steep ascent through the woods which gives us some respite from the midday sun and continuing on until we reach the Auberge du Truc with excellent views of the Domes de Miage after which we continue with a steep descent into the town of Contamines.
The final leg of our journey continues out of the town towards the beautiful chapel of Notre Dame de la Gorge before we make the final steep ascent through the trees on an old Roman road towards our final destination Refuge de la Balme passing the Refuge Nant -Borrant on our way located below the Aguilles de la Pennaz.

Contamines:
Les Contamines-Montjoie is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.

In 1760 the parish became independent of the parish of Saint-Nicolas de Véroce.
Creation of the local Mountain Guides Company which was established in 1850, marked the first corporation in the village dedicated to tourism. Further development surged after 1900, in the form of hotels, restaurants, and, in 1911, a local ski club. The first ski lift began operation in 1937.

After World War II, in 1949, the name was changed to Les Contamines-Montjoie.
The first chair lift opened three years later, in 1952, along with a summer attraction at l'Etape.

The village of Les Contamines is a jewel at the heart of the Mont Blanc region. The sensation of a hidden valley results in a very close knit local community. The village has preserved its historic aspect. More than 70% of old farm buildings have been restored in respect of the local Savoy architecture.

Refuge de la Balme:
I must say that Michael Gut the caretaker like his father and grand father is a wonderful guy and a real gentleman as we gave him a ring to say that we were likely to be late for the evening meal and to make sure we arrived on time he came down with his 4x4 to pick us up when we were at a point just after the Refuge Nant-Borrant.

Located in the commune of CONTAMINES MONTJOIE (74170, in Haute-Savoie) in the heart of the nature reserve, a privileged and preserved place.
A Mountain refuge located at 1706m, at the foot of the Aiguille de la Pennaz (2668m), on the paths of the T.M.B, GR5, Tour du Beaufortain, Tour des Pays du Mont-Blanc.