How to Hike to the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix, France
Are you looking for a more off-the-beaten hike in Chamonix that brings you to incredible alpine views? Then we recommend checking out the hike to the Albert Premier Refuge! This moderate half day hike starts out of the village of Le Tour and weaves its way into a glacier valley to a hidden mountain refuge with stunning panoramic views over the Le Tour Glacier and its picturesque mountain backdrop. In this guide, we cover everything you need to know to hike to the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix, including how to get there, when to go, what to expect on the trail, and much more!
Chamonix is a picturesque mountain town tucked between the French Alps and filled with incredible hikes and mountain vistas. Many people head to Chamonix for the more popular and famous attractions like the Aiguille du Midi and the hike to Lac Blanc, and these picturesque sights are certainly worthy of a top spot on anyone’s list of things to do in Chamonix. But, if you’re looking for something away from the crowds and a bit more off-the-beaten-path, there are plenty of hidden gems around Chamonix Valley- you just need to know where to look.
The Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix is one of those places. The hike to the Albert Premier Refuge is one of the best hikes in Chamonix to escape the larger crowds, and to easily access Chamonix’s incredible high alpine environment and get up-close views of one of its massive glaciers.
The Albert Premier Refuge (also called the Albert 1er Refuge), is a high alpine mountain hut, sitting at 8,800 feet and perched just above the massive Le Tour Glacier. On the hike up to the hut, you’ll walk right alongside the glacier and get up-close views of its jagged features and crevasses. From the refuge, you get jaw-dropping panoramic views of the entire icefield and its jagged mountain backdrop. You can even eat at the refuge’s restaurant, or spend the night and fall asleep next to breathtaking alpine views.
The hike to the Albert Premier Refuge and Le Tour Glacier is a moderate half day hike that starts from the small village of Le Tour at the far end of Chamonix Valley, and although it’s relatively short and accessible, this trail isn’t for everyone- especially those uncomfortable with heights and a bit of exposure. In this guide, we’ll share everything you need to know to hike to the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix, including how to get there, the best time to go, what to expect along the trail, and our best tips for the hike.
So, let’s get to it!
In this Albert Premier Refuge hiking guide:
Where is the Albert Premier Refuge?
The Albert Premier Refuge is located in the Balme area of Chamonix Valley. The most direct way to reach this area is through the village of Le Tour, which sits right at the far northeastern end of the valley, near the French and Swiss border. This end of Chamonix Valley felt very quiet and quaint, and Le Tour felt almost like a ghost town compared to the crowded epicenter of Chamonix. It felt like a breath of fresh air after doing more popular attractions such as the Aiguille du Midi and the hike to Lac Blanc.
From Le Tour, a series of lifts will bring you up to the Balme area. This high subalpine region above the valley is filled with beautiful meadows, views of Chamonix Valley and Mont Blanc, and a collection of biking and hiking trails including the trailhead for the Albert Premier Refuge hike. The hike follows a path along the slopes of the jagged peaks separating France and Switzerland, and then heads directly into Le Tour Valley, where the Albert Premier Refuge sits perched above incredible panoramic views over Le Tour Glacier.
On the trail to the Albert Premier Refuge, with views of Le Tour Glacier
How to Hike to the Albert Premier Refuge
There are a few different ways to hike to the Albert Premier Refuge:
You can hike all the way from Le Tour village in the valley up to the Refuge. This is definitely the longest way with the most elevation gain (about 4,000 feet of it!), and in our opinion doesn’t really offer much more than the shorter hikes below.
You can take the Charamillon Gondola from Le Tour to the midway station and start the hike to the Albert Premier Refuge from there. This would be about a 3 mile hike one-way, involving 2,800 feet of elevation gain, so it’s still quite a climb.
The easiest way to hike to the Albert Premier Refuge is to take the Charmillon Gondola from Le Tour, and then the Autannes Chairlift up to the top station and start the hike from here. This eliminates a lot of elevation gain, requiring only about 1600 feet of climbing in just over 2.5 miles to the refuge.
You can do any of these Albert Premier Refuge hikes as an out and back, or you can combine 2 of them to make a loop (for example, hike to the refuge from the top station, and back down to the midstation).
We decided to do the Albert Premier Refuge hike as an out and back hike from the top station (from the top of the Autannes chairlift) because it’s the easiest and quickest way, and we didn’t think adding the additional mileage and elevation gain on the other trails really added anything more to the hike in terms of views. Plus, we didn’t have the clearest weather during our hike, so there was no need to extend it any longer than it needed to be! We also had the Mont Blanc Multipass (more on this below), so we wanted to take advantage of it and use the lifts as much as we could!
So, for the rest of this guide, we’ll be describing the hike to the Albert Premiere Refuge as we did it on the out and back trail from the Autannes chairlift.
Map of Albert Premier Refuge hiking trails
Here is a map of the different hiking trails to the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix to help you better visualize your options for getting there!
This map shows the two main trails to hike to the Albert Premier Refuge- one from the Autannes Chairlift (red) and one from the Charamillon Gondola (pink).
How Long is the Hike to the Albert Premier Refuge?
The hike to the Albert Premier Refuge is relatively short given the huge payoff you get at the end of the trail! Here are our stats for the Albert Premier Refuge trail as an out and back hike from the Autannes Chairlift.
Length: 5.4 miles roundtrip
Elevation gain: 1,817 feet
Time: Allow for 4 to 5 hours, including time to hang out at the refuge
Elevation profile:
Our elevation profile of the hike to the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix
Albert Premier Refuge trail map:
A map of our hike to the Albert Premier Refuge (red) from the top of the Autannes Chairlift
How Hard is the Hike to the Albert Premier Refuge?
Though the hike to the Albert Premier Refuge is relatively short, and it’s considered one of the more accessible mountain huts of the Chamonix Valley, this trail should not be underestimated.
While it starts off pretty gentle and straightforward, the latter half of the hike becomes pretty rugged and rocky, and there are long stretches of trail that have quite a bit of exposure as the trail skirts along the rocky cliff faces of Le Tour Valley.
A couple sections have chains or metal railings to help guide you across the rocky terrain, particularly on narrower sections of trail. The exposure can definitely be a bit nervewracking, so it’s something to be aware of, and we definitely wouldn’t recommend doing this hike in wet conditions because of it.
A narrow and exposed portion of the Albert Premier Refuge trail
The last part of the hike to the Albert Premier Refuge heads up a steep spine of the glacial moraine, and this final push is pretty relentless and exhausting. It’s nothing technical, but the altitude might slow you down on this hike, as the hut sits at 8,800 feet.
Just beneath the hut is one final steep ascent up rocks and boulders that requires one or two scramble moves to get past some spots.
Heading up the steep moraine beneath the Albert Premier Refuge
In our trail description below, we’ll show you all these trail elements to help you decide if the Albert Premiere Refuge hike is something you want to tackle. Overall, it really isn’t too difficult- the end just becomes a slog but it’s doable. And if you’re comfortable with a little exposure, this hike is definitely worth it for the rewarding glacier views at the end!
How to Get to the Trailhead for the Albert Premier Refuge Hike
The journey to the Albert Premier Refuge trailhead starts from the small village of Le Tour at the end of Chamonix Valley. From Le Tour, you’ll take the Charamillon Gondola, and then the Autannes Chairlift to the trailhead.
The bottom station for these lifts is called Domaine du Tour on Google Maps. There’s a free parking lot at the station, or you can get here easily by public transportation.
If taking the bus, take Bus Line 2 directly to the bottom station, found on Google Maps here.
If taking the train, get off at the stop called Montroc Le Planet, which is a small town just below Le Tour. There is a bus station for the Line 2 bus just across the street (here on Google Maps) and it’s usually timed up pretty well with the incoming train. The bus will then bring you the short way up to the station in Le Tour. If you miss the bus, you can always just walk up to the bottom station. It’s a slight uphill walk, and should take about 20 minutes.
Walking by the Montroc bus stop, with the Montroc train station just ahead
Walking through the village of Montroc near Le Tour
It doesn’t really matter whether you take the train or the bus to Le Tour, just check out the timetables and see what’s most convenient for your schedule and whether a bus or train station is closest to your starting point. You can find the Chamonix bus schedules here and the Chamonix train schedules here, and they are also posted at all the stops.
We were going to Le Tour from the opposite side of the valley (from the Les Houches area) and it took us about an hour to get there, but if you’re coming from Chamonix center, it should take about a half hour to get to Le Tour.
Once in Le Tour, you can actually look up and see your destination for the day- the Albert Premier Refuge perched above the foot of the Le Tour Glacier!
The foot of the Tour Glacier from Le Tour village below
The bottom station for the Charamillon Gondola in Le Tour
Charamillon Gondola and Autannes Chairlift
Head into the bottom station in Le Tour and follow signs to the gondola on the upper level. As we said above, this side of Chamonix Valley felt pretty quiet, empty, and off-the-beaten path, and we were the only ones getting on the gondola! It was a nice change of pace from the crowded cable cars closer to Chamonix, for sure. It’s about a 5 minute ride up to the midstation, and the higher you get, the more the views into the valley and over Mont Blanc appear. Below, you can see all the little bike and walking paths weaving their way up the hill, and it sure made me glad we could just ride up!
Riding the Charamillon Gondola from Le Tour
At the midstation, hop off and walk down the gravel road to the Autannes chairlift. You can hike to the Albert Premiere Refuge from here (there will be trail signs and a map to direct you), but we decided to just take the chairlift to eliminate a lot of the elevation gain. From this midstation, you also get nice views towards Chamonix and Mont Blanc.
The Autannes Chairlift station with views to Mont Blanc and Chamonix Valley
A view from the Autannes Chairlift back toward Le Tour
We were the only ones getting onto the chairlift here, and it was such a quiet and peaceful ride up the hillside. After another 5 minutes, we were at the top station.
Cost and timetables for the Balme lifts
The Balme lifts are generally open from early June to early September. In the season we visited, these lifts seemed to close a bit earlier than most others- the last day of operation for the summer season was September 8th, so we basically moved up our trip dates specifically so we wouldn’t miss out on being able to use these lifts and do the Albert Premier Refuge hike.
Also note that during the peak times between July and August, the lifts have wider daily run times than in the more shoulder seasons of June and September, giving you a bit more time to explore the area.
For the most up-to-date timetables, opening and closing dates, and one-way and roundtrip costs for the gondola and chairlift, check out the Mont Blanc website.
The Mont Blanc Multipass
If you plan on doing a few different things while in Chamonix aside from the Albert Premier Refuge hike, such as the Aiguille du Midi or the hike to Lac Blanc, then you’ll be needing to take several different lifts throughout the valley, and you should definitely consider getting the Mont Blanc Multipass.
This magical pass is a one-time purchase that gives you access to pretty much all the lifts in Chamonix Valley (including the ones for the Albert Premier Refuge hike), so it’s super convenient, and also a much better deal than paying for all the separate lifts individually.
Check out the prices of the multipass here based on the number of days you plan on being in Chamonix. Once you purchase the pass, you’ll get sent a QR code to your email. In Chamonix, scan the QR code at one of the designated kiosks around the valley to print your ticket and voila! You now have access to all the lifts in Chamonix, including the Balme lifts up to the Albert Premiere Refuge hike!
The Albert Premier Refuge Hike: Our Experience
Here’s our experience hiking to the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix. We’ll make sure to show all the trail features, including the exposure, steepness, and terrain to help you decide if this Chamonix hike is something you want to tackle!
Once off the chairlift at the top station, you’ll see trail signs- the trail to the Albert Premier Refuge heads to the right. The sign states the hike should take about 2 hours from this point- I feel that’s a bit aggressive, but then again, I wasn’t the fastest person on the trail by any means!
The start of the Albert Premier Refuge hike from the top of the Autannes Chairlift
As we started the hike, there was one guided group that was just starting as well. We let them start and get ahead for a bit, and their pace was pretty fast. So, once we got started, this trail was actually so quiet- just a few people here and there, and we really appreciated the solitude out here.
Right from the get-go, the trail starts off pretty much by steadily climbing- but not steeply at all. It’s a good warm-up for the legs for what’s to come later!
The steady uphill hike to the Albert Premier Refuge
There’s an obvious dirt track to follow here, and already there are good views down Chamonix Valley and out to Mont Blanc. Unfortunately, we did this hike on a pretty overcast and slightly rainy day (we had pretty bad luck with the weather when we were in Chamonix!) and we could only make out the base of the mountain, but on a cloudless day, there would be really great views of Mont Blanc from here. You’ll also have great views out to the peaks of the Aiguilles Rouge on the other side of the valley.
Chamonix Valley and Mont Blanc (shrouded in clouds) from the Albert Premier Refuge hike
As you round the corner to follow the slopes and head toward Mont Blanc, you now have a view to your right back toward the lifts and the mountains of the Vallorcine region. We also really liked the pretty wildflowers that lined the trail here.
A look back over to the Autannes Chairlift and the peaks in Vallorcine
During this part of the Albert Premier Refuge hike, you’re pretty much hiking across the slopes beneath the peaks that separate France and Switzerland, and the views are pretty into the valley. The trail is pretty straightforward here, although there are some places that are a bit more narrow and are along a bit of an edge, but this didn’t really phase me. However, you can use this as sort of a litmus test and if you find the bit of exposure here uncomfortable, you might not want to continue all the way to the refuge.
Traversing the grassy slopes on the Albert Premier Refuge hike
Some exposure early on in the Albert Premier Refuge hike
Shortly into the hike, you’ll come to a short rocky stair climb, and at the top, there’s an unmarked trail split- you can either continue straight or take a sharp right. Take the sharp right here to continue crossing the slope.
The stone steps just before the trail split
Take the sharp right after the stair climb to continue to the Albert Premier Refuge
Shortly after this point, about a half an hour into the hike, you’ll reach a junction. Here you’ll continue straight. The trail to the right heads steeply down to the Charamillon Gondola midstation and if you look out, you can see the trail sprawling across the meadows below. Often, people take this trail on their way back down, but we preferred to just hike back the way we came to the chairlift for a quicker and easier descent.
Looking back at the trail junction on the Albert Refuge Premiere hike- the path to the left will take you back down to the top of the Charamillon Gondola
A view of the trail that heads back down to the Charamillon Gondola
From the junction, the trail continues its gradual climb across the slopes. Keep your eyes peeled for marmots along the rocks- we spotted several!
Getting close to Le Tour Glacier Valley
Eventually, the trail rounds a corner and heads into Le Tour Glacier valley, and this is where the hike gets good (and a bit more challenging)! As soon as you round this corner, the foot of the Le Tour Glacier comes into view along with a beautiful and massive waterfall cascading down the valley. And if you look closely, you can even see the Albert Premier Refuge perched just above the glacier on the left. It’s a super pretty sight, and it only gets better from here.
First views of the Le Tour Glacier and its waterfall from the Albert Premier Refuge hike!
But, as the views get better, the trail gets rockier, steeper, and more rugged. Shortly into the valley, you’ll reach a set of short but steep switchbacks. These get a bit rocky and rugged, but the views here will really keep you motivated.
Heading up the steep switchbacks in the Le Tour Valley
Amazing views of the Le Tour Glacier from the trail!
Once done with the switchbacks, you’ll follow a narrow trail that runs along the rocky cliffs and slopes that line the edge of the glacial valley. Here, the trail actually heads down quite a bit, and the views to the glacier and waterfall continue. We really liked the fact that the only thing you can hear as you hike deeper into the valley is the sound of the nearby rushing waterfall.
Along this part of the trail, there’s quite a bit of exposure in places, but for the most part, the trail is pretty wide. There are some points along the trail with metal rails to help guide you along the path, and there’s one particularly narrow semi-eroded part of the path- it’s very brief and there’s a chain there to help. This part made me the most nervous, but honestly, I think the chain being there was kind of psyching me out, and if it wasn’t there, I’d probably think nothing of this section- it doesn’t even look like much in pictures!
Hiking across the slopes of Le Tour Glacier Valley to the Albert Premier Refuge
The Albert Premier Refuge trail has a bit of exposure in places!
Skirting the edge of the grassy slopes in Le Tour Glacier Valley
Crossing the portion of the Albert Premier Refuge trail with the metal chain
Looking back at the narrow part of the trail with the metal chain
The clouds also kept rolling in and out of the valley, and at one point we were hiking through fog which made the trail a bit creepy and like we were walking alongside a giant abyss.
The narrow Albert Premier Refuge trail
The trail has a few rocky scramble sections!
Hiking through the fog!
Once down this rockier more exposed portion, the trail eases up a bit as it flattens out and heads across a grassy slope towards the glacier. You’re now done with the scariest parts of the trail (now you just have the hardest part left!).
Crossing the grassy slope towards Le Tour Glacier. From here, you can see the Albert Premier Refuge above.
The grassy slope leads to a rockier path as you get closer to the foot of the glacier. As you hike, the jagged features of the glacier become clearer and clearer, and it’s really cool to be able to get this close. The whole time, the Albert Premier Refuge lurks high above you, and at this point you know the trail to it is gonna get steep…
Heading towards the Le Tour Glacier
The Albert Premier Refuge is so close, yet so far…
Eventually, you’ll reach a trail sign (we got here at about an hour and a half into our hike). This sign doesn’t point towards the refuge, but you know where you have to go from here…and that’s up.
From this trail sign, head straight up the moraine to the Refuge
At this point, you’re on a narrow spine of the glacial moraine that runs along side the Le Tour Glacier. From the trail sign, it’s a steep relentless climb up this rocky spine to the refuge. There are several intermingling herd paths through the rocks that you can follow, but sometimes you’ll find you’ll have to navigate some rockier sections- but basically just go up the path of least resistance.
Heading up the steep moraine along the Le Tour Glacier
Nearing the top of the moraine!
For me, this was definitely the most challenging part of the Albert Premier Refuge hike, and it was a very slow-going climb (Kevin went much faster!). I think the altitude was getting to me a bit, but it was also just plain steep. And honestly, it seemed never-ending- I would keep looking up and that dang refuge never seemed to get any closer!
However, you’re walking right along the Le Tour Glacier, so the views here are incredible and you can really get an up-close look at all the glacial features and crevasses.
Up-close views of the Le Tour Glacier!
And during your breaks to catch your breath, be sure to look behind you, because that’s a pretty cool sight as well- you’ll see the trail you just hike stretched out along the slopes, and the villages in the valley far below.
Heading up the moraine, with views back towards the trail and Le Tour
As you get towards the top of the spine, you’ve climbed above the foot and can now really start seeing the true expanse of the Le Tour Glacier- but it’s still nothing compared to the view you get from the Refuge…so keep going!
At the top of the spine, you’re now at the bottom of basically a large rock pile sitting beneath the Albert Premier Refuge. You’ll also now see red trail blazes and arrows on the rocks- use these to navigate through this rock pile and up to the refuge. The way up is well- worn in places as the path switchbacks up through the rocks, but the arrows are super helpful. Near the top, just below the refuge, are just a couple of places where you might have to use your hands to maneuver up some things, so it’s a slight scramble here but nothing major.
The final push to the Albert Premier Refuge through a rock field beneath the hut
The view of the Le Tour Glacier just keep getting better!
We got to the Albert Premier Refuge in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Here, the glacier was almost in full view, but obstructing that view is a smaller wooden building sitting next to the refuge. Walk past that and step out onto the porch on its backside and here…well, it’s a “wow” moment for sure. The view of the entire sprawl of the Le Tour Glacier and the surrounding peaks comes into view and it’s truly incredible. We stared in awe for a bit before snapping a thousand pictures and just taking it all in. We felt grateful to see everything as clear as we did despite the weather being not so ideal. This view was definitely worth the climb to get here!
Topping out at the Albert Premier Refuge! Make sure to head around to the other side of the huts to get the full view of Le Tour Glacier!
Insane views of the Le Tour Glacier from the Albert Premier Refuge- I mean, wow, right?!
Admiring the views of the massive Le Tour Glacier
We did read that you can walk some short herd paths a bit past the refuge for more views, but we decided to sit at the lodge and eat our packed lunch. There’s a restaurant here serving food- the prices didn’t seem too bad given that we were at a high mountain lodge, but make sure to bring cash. When we were there, they were serving omelettes for about 10 to 14 Euro, soups and salads from 10-15 Euro, and charcuterie boards for 15-25 Euro. Be prepared to be joined by some mischievous birds looking for handouts! There are also bathrooms here with flush toilets and running water.
We hung out for about 45 minutes before heading down- we wanted to make sure to catch the last chairlift and gondola down and we weren’t sure how long it would take to hike back. But the way down ended up being much faster than we thought it would be. We flew back down the spine of the moraine in about 25 minutes. It was much easier to see all the little herd paths when going down, so it wasn’t bad.
Once at the bottom of the spine, you’ll reach the trail sign again. Head right here to return the way you came. We did read that you can actually continue straight here to continue hiking down the spine and end up all the way back in Le Tour, however, this way is much harder and on slick and steep terrain so it’s definitely not recommended.
As we hiked back out along the rocky slopes, it rained on us a bit and our views into the valley disappeared (so we were super thankful for the ones we had on the way in!). Being fogged in on a wet trail wasn’t the most ideal thing in the world, and we wouldn’t recommend hiking the trail in this kind of weather for sure, especially if you’re already uncomfortable with this kind of exposure. Luckily, we had no issue and we were able to get off this portion of the hike relatively quickly.
Navigating the trail in fog and drizzle
By the end of the hike, the rain let up, the clouds began to disperse, and we began to see views across the valley to the peaks of the Aiguilles Rouge.
It took us just over an hour and a half to get back to the chairlift station, and from there we made our way back down to Le Tour on the lifts.
Once in Le Tour, we looked at the bus schedule at the stop just outside of the gondola station and saw that one wouldn’t be leaving for a while, so we decided to take the nice 20 minute downhill walk back to Montroc to take the train back towards Chamonix.
Best Time to Hike to the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix
The best time to hike in Chamonix in general is from July to mid-September. Snow can linger on the higher elevation trails well into June and sometimes even into early July. The Albert Premier Refuge hike would be particularly treacherous with snow, so be sure to check the trail conditions before you attempt this one (we like to use AllTrails to read reviews from recent hikers).
September is usually a pretty decent month in terms of weather, though our experience would say otherwise. We visited Chamonix in early September and had a particularly (and unusually) bad stretch of weather, with lots of rain and storms in the forecast. The weather was a bit unstable in the entire Alps region that month, with an early heatwave followed by an unseasonal polar vortex that dropped a lot of snow at the higher elevations. So, come prepared for anything!
However, we would say the earlier you come in September the better if you want to take advantage of those cable cars- they stop running relatively early in the season, so keep an eye on those time tables!
Drizzly foggy weather on the Albert Premier Refuge trail in September!
While we don’t normally recommend traveling somewhere during peak season, we think Chamonix is one place where it’s worth it to do so. In the peak months of July and August, the lifts open earlier and close later each day, giving you a chance to squeeze more into each day in Chamonix. When we visited in September, we did feel a bit rushed trying to get things done each day before the last lifts stopped running, and I think we would have been able to be more flexible and relaxed had we come earlier in the season. However, if you’re not looking to pack a ton into each day, this shouldn’t really affect you too much!
How to Stay at the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix
If you want to spend the night with front row views over the Le Tour Glacier, then you can absolutely book a spot in the Albert Premier Refuge! This is a 140-bed dorm style hut that also provides half board with meals included. Check out the Albert Premier Refuge website for more information, up-to-date costs, and to book ahead.
Wake up to these views by staying at the Albert Premier Refuge!
More Tips for Hiking to the Albert Premier Refuge in Chamonix
What to bring on the Albert Premier Refuge hike- Make sure to wear a good sturdy pair of hiking boots for this one. The trail is rugged, and the spine can be slick with lots of loose rock underfoot. Having trekking poles for the descent could be helpful as well. Make sure to bring sunscreen and other sun protection, as the entire Albert Premier Refuge hike is exposed to the sun. Bring plenty of water and snacks, and if you plan to get food at the restaurant at the refuge, be sure to bring cash as they don’t accept credit cards. Also be sure to pack layers, as it can get chilly at the refuge and near the glacier.
Come prepared for rocky trails and mountain weather!
Check the weather- We don’t recommend hiking to the Albert Premiere Refuge in rainy and wet conditions, so be sure to check the weather before you head out. This can be tricky, as the weather can be so unpredictable in the mountains and changes daily, but in general, checking the night before a hike will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. We recommend checking Meteoblue and/or
En.chamonix.com and the Mont Blanc website (checking multiple forecasts is a good idea because sometimes they all say something a little different).
We also like to use the Mountain Forecast website to see the forecast for different elevations of nearby mountains to get an idea of whether or not different parts of the range will be in or out of the clouds.
Check the webcams- This is one of our favorite tips for hiking in Chamonix in general! It gives you a good sense of what the views will be like before you commit to hiking anywhere. This is super helpful, because sometimes it might be foggy and viewless down in the valley, but super clear and sunny in the mountains due to an inversion. Or, some parts of the range may be socked in with clouds while others aren’t. You can check the Albert Premier Refuge website for webcams in the area.
More Chamonix Guides
Planning a visit to Chamonix and looking for other things to do besides the Albert Premier Refuge hike? Be sure to check out all our Chamonix guides to help you plan your trip!
Things to Do in Chamonix + A Complete Guide to Chamonix in the Summer
Chamonix Itinerary for 1 to 4 Days
Our Favorite Hikes in Chamonix Valley
How to Visit the Aiguille du Midi- One of the Best Things to Do in Chamonix
How to Hike the Grand Balcon Nord Trail in Chamonix
How to Hike to Lac Blanc- Chamonix’s Best Day Hike!
Are you looking to hike to the Albert Premier Refuge and the Le Tour Glacier? Let us know if you have any questions in the comments! We loved the Albert Premier Refuge hike and think it’s well worth the effort for the incredible in-your-face glacier views and the solitude on this end of Chamonix Valley. Let us know what you think!