Rifugio Maison Vieille

On the Col Chécrouit at 1956 m, above Courmayeur, with the whole Italian face of Mont Blanc across the valley.

The place

On the Col Chécrouit at 1956 m, on the ridge above Courmayeur, with the entire Italian face of Mont Blanc across the valley — the Brenva, the Grandes Jorasses, the Dent du Géant, all of it at once. It is a ski-area building in winter and a famously convivial refuge in summer, run with more personality than most.

Sleeping here instead of dropping into Courmayeur is a real tactical choice. You stay high, you skip 800 m of descent and the 800 m of re-ascent that follows it, and you get the best view of the Tour with dinner. You give up the supermarket, the pharmacy and the rest day. Walkers on a tight schedule almost always take the col; walkers who need to resupply or wash something properly go down.

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

• Rifugio Monte Bianco - Cai Uget Rifugio · 1700 m
  0.6 km further along the Tour, at 1700 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 4: Rifugio Elisabetta → Courmayeur