120km Around Mont Blanc: On Trails, Friendship, and Home on the Back

They say Mont Blanc isn’t going anywhere, and sure you can technically hike it whenever you want. But finding a window where a group of your favourite people can all hit the trail ? 

That’s rare!

So, despite a very real housing deadline waiting for me back in London, I stopped overthinking, packed my bag including a few trusted Snow Peak items, and just went.

The plan was simple on paper, but ambitious on the legs: 7 days, 120 km, and endless vertical elevation around Mont Blanc circuit. Planning to camp out along the route, we had to carry all our gear. Seemed like a tough ask, but with good lightweight gear that you can rely on it can be done.

What I love most about long hikes, beyond the breath-taking alpine views, is the unspoken bond on the trail. You might all start at a different times in the morning, drifting along the mountain paths at your own pace. But late afternoon, you bump into each other again at a campsite. Everyone gathers around, sharing stories from the day, the tough climbs, the wild goat sighting, or just the sheer magic of the landscape.

On a trip like this, every grams counts! 

My home for the week was the Fal Pro. Air 2. After a long day of relentless uphill hiking, setting up in the middle of pine forest campsite felt almost effortless.

What makes the Fal Pro Air 2 so perfect for trekking is its brilliant simplicity. 

It uses a super-fast, two-pole system that allows me to set up an outer shelter in well under a minute. In high-altitude environments where bad weather can roll in without warning, being able to get undercover that quickly is a game-changer.

The sleeved pole fixtures are easy to navigate, and when the weather was calm and warm, I loved that I could easily attach or detach the inner tent. It gave me the flexibility to adapt to changing cold or wet weather on the fly.

After a relentless day of uphill hiking, crawling inside at night, watching the warm glow of my Mini Hozuki in its candle mode, flickering gently against the inner tent, it truly felt like a cosy home and was my absolute favourite way to relax and unwind! It's worth noting that the mini hozuki has a flashing mode too which was a helpful safety feature if I'd needed to signal to my friends on the hike at any point.

And then there were the small dinner rituals. Having fresh salads and local cherries with my trusted Titanium Spork and Backpackers Cup. It really proved that minimal gears doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort.

It’s been a month since we finished those 122km, but a part of my mind is still wandering up in those mountains. The flat hunting back home eventually worked itself out (as it always does), but the memories of those trail days with great friends are still crystal clear.

I’m already looking forward to the next time I get to put my boots on and hit the trail.