Rifugio Elena

At 2055 m under the Pré de Bar glacier, the last Italian refuge and the closest bed to the Grand Col Ferret.

The place

At 2055 m under the Pré de Bar glacier, the last refuge in Italy and the highest bed before the Grand Col Ferret. The building is new — the old one was destroyed by an avalanche — and it is mostly window, pointed at a glacier that tumbles down almost to the path.

Thirty minutes above Arnouvaz, so it costs almost nothing to gain the extra height, and it leaves you 500 m below the col instead of 750. It books directly rather than through the Tour portal. The morning from here is one of the best of the walk: an hour and a half up to the col, a look back down the whole Val Ferret to the Jorasses, then over the top and into Switzerland, where the valley below is suddenly greener and the cowbells get louder.

Getting there

Booking

Book on montourdumontblanc.com

This hut sells its beds through the Tour du Mont-Blanc booking portal, so the planner can show you its live availability night by night — and warn you the moment a full night frees up. Every night on the Tour must be booked; there is no walk-in option in season.

Other places to stay nearby

• Hôtel Chalet Val Ferret Chalet · 1780 m
  2.5 km back down the Tour, at 1780 m. Bookable on the Tour du Mont-Blanc portal, so the planner shows its availability night by night.
• Gîte Alpage de La Peule Gîte · 2100 m
  5.9 km further along the Tour, at 2100 m. Bookable on the Tour du Mont-Blanc portal, so the planner shows its availability night by night.

For when this stop is full. These book themselves and are not on the Tour du Mont-Blanc portal — contact each directly and confirm before you rely on it.

Stages passing this stop

• Stage 6: Rifugio Walter Bonatti → La Fouly