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Stage 1

from Courmayeur (1228 m, I) to Rifugio Bertone (1991 m, I)

Uphill difference of level / in height: 760 m
Refuges on the way: none
Average duration of the stage: 1 h 30 min

We set off at about 15 on the 8th of August at the cableway car of Courmayeur, where we take a bus to Planpencieux (1579 m), to avoid walking for some boring kilometres on the asphalt road. We go along the easy path under a drizzling rain: we see indistinctly through the rain and the clouds the peak of the Mount Blanc. At the beginning the path winds through the trees, becoming more and more steep as we go along; we eventually come out of the wood and reach a hill that overlooks the Rifugio Bertone. It takes us in all one hour and a half, walking quite slowly.

At the Rifugio Bertone we settle in in the big dormitory, that can contain up to more or less 40 people. The dinner, not sublime but surely very rich, is served at 7 p.m. We give a look at the map, studying the route for tomorrow, and it's already time we went to bed: light turns off at 22.