Cycling from Pallon to Chamonix and beyond..

The Mont Blanc Project

This has been the toughest project of my year so far... On August 9, 2025, I successfully climbed one of the "Snow Leopard peaks," Lenin Peak, which at 7,134 meters above sea level is the second highest summit in the Pamir Mountains. After a long expedition, I spent just a few hours in Hungary before getting the opportunity to travel to the Provence region in France for rock climbing. Since I had always wanted to cycle the Tour de France route, I took my Neuzer bike with me. But how did this then become Mont Blanc??? Well…

Before leaving, during those few hours while I was at my apartment in Budapest, I started planning the trip to Chamonix. I told myself, "It will only be a short ride." 250 km…

I started from Camping Allouviers near Ballon. The goal was Chamonix. According to Mappy, it was 250 km and 4000 meters elevation gain, but in reality it was 250 km with 4400 meters elevation. All of this while carrying a very heavy pack that included a complete mountaineering gear. (The ice axe and crampons were duct-taped to the bike.) The first day was 165 km with 2600 meters climbing, then 2.5 hours of sleep on a bike path, followed by the remaining 85 km with 1800 meters climbing.

Since I had a complex ankle surgery in February and had only just returned a few days ago from a 7000m+ mountaineering expedition, my ankle gave out around the 120 km mark. I secured it with duct tape. The cycling was brutal this way. My determination was strong enough that no pain could deter me from the set goal, which was not really Mont Blanc itself, but pushing and discovering my own limits — to find out the level after which I could no longer continue the struggle.

After I successfully reached Chamonix, following half a day of rest, I headed up Mont Blanc. From Les Houches (~1000m), I hiked up to 1750m to catch my breath in a small eerie little hut, then after my Scottish friend from Switzerland also arrived at 3200m, after 1 to 1.5 hours of tossing and turning, we rushed up to Mont Blanc and then went straight back down to 1750m, avoiding the big storm that came that night...

A Mont Blanc projekt képekben