Why the Tour du Mont Blanc?

I have been a recreational hiker for most of my life, spending hours or a whole day exploring the woods. I grew up in the mostly flat Midwest, and except for one climb in the White Mountains of New Hampshire when I was 10, most of my hikes consisted of fairly flat terrain. I moved to upstate New York for graduate school, and occasionally my friends and I would venture a few hours away to the Adirondacks for a hike. But it wasn't until I moved to Washington, DC that I had easy access to more difficult terrain. I started with rock-hopping on the Billy Goat Trail and soon began venturing a bit further, exploring trails (and learning how to hike uphill and down) at Sugarloaf Mountain, Shenandoah National Park, and Catoctin Mountain Park.

Luckily, I married someone who also enjoys recreational hiking. When my wife and I sat down to plan our next "big trip", we agreed that we wanted to try a hiking vacation. But where? Neither of us has backpacked, so we weren't interested in a hike that would require us to carry a tent, cooking implements, and other gear for days on end. Instead, we looked for vacations that consisted of out-and-back day hikes or with baggage transfer service - freeing us up to hike with just a daypack each. We looked into hiking in Utah, British Columbia, Alberta, and Mexico.

Then my wife had the brilliant idea to Google "hiking vacation with cheese". And thus we found the Tour du Mont Blanc (aka TMB). (Go ahead - try it. The first page of results is packed with links to stories about the TMB in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and other sources.) After several weeks of sorting through the myriad tour options available, asking friends who have hiked in the Alps for advice about timing and gear, and asking our bosses for time off, we've selected a trip and have a target date. We set off on September 1.

Which means we've got eight months to get in shape for a ten day, 110 mile hike.