Day 7: Courmayeur to Val Ferret

Woke at 5.00am. The first thing Gaby asked was, “Are we halfway yet?” It was unclear whether that was enthusiasm or a request for an estimated completion date.

We left the hotel at 5.45am. The first 4km contained around 800m of ascent, which may have answered Gaby's question. It was at least cool, and the views were excellent. We reached Refuge Bertone with our first proper views across the vast Val Ferret, stretching from Mont Blanc, past Dent du Géant and the Grandes Jorasses, to the peaks at the head of the valley. Those views would remain with us for most of the day.

The next few hours were more civilised as we followed the balcony route, a largely level path contouring above the valley to Refuge Bonatti. Over an ice-cold Fanta we considered our options and decided to drop into the valley to make use of the free bus service to our campsite. Had we continued walking, we would have arrived just after the next bus and faced a two-hour wait.

On the descent, Gaby demonstrated the full extent of her Italian vocabulary. After exchanging "buongiorno" with a passing couple, they asked her a question in Italian. She replied, "Just buongiorno," implying that her linguistic abilities ended there. The couple laughed and continued on their way.

We only waited ten minutes for the free valley bus. It then carried us 4km to our campsite, back in the direction we had come from.

We arrived early enough for a relaxed lunch and were first into the showers. We were also first out. There appeared to be no hot water. Having already changed back into my dirty clothes and headed for reception to investigate, I was asked which shower I had used. It turned out that particular shower did not always work. A sign might have saved a considerable amount of unnecessary dressing and undressing.

The campsite itself was in a beautiful pine forest setting and one of the nicest locations so far. The service was less memorable.