I was very glad to share the incredible experience of climbing up to the Fenêtre d’Arpette with my trail friends Pieter and Nico, the coolest brothers on the TMB.

We climbed slowly and with a steady pace, reaching the summit at around lunch time…

… words cannot fully describe how I felt when we took our “victory“ picture!

I suddenly felt so emotional and proud of myself.

The views were stunning during the whole stage, and I couldn’t stop gazing at the majestic glacier on the other side of the pass.

Shortly before reaching the Chalet du Glacier, I lost focus while descending the never-ending zigzag trail… and UUUPS! I slipped… slipped and fell… slipped and fell off trail… slipped, fell off trail and started rolling down the slope like a funny panda… I instinctively grabbed whatever I could feel below my hands to stop the fall. Luckily, nothing worse than a small scratch on my knee happened and I could easily climb up again with shaking legs, but gosh I got scared!

As we arrived at Col de La Forclaz, I reunited with Chris, a Swiss guy I met on the very first day. I shared a last beer together with my trail friends, and had to hold back my tears as I waved goodbye while catching the bus towards home.