Too much snow, inaccessible hiking, closed huts, rainy weather, inoperative ski lifts. I forgot these concerns about hiking Chamonix in May when I found a luxury Airbnb at a 75% discount. Sitting in our apartment in Stamford, Connecticut, the idea of spending a month in a gorgeous chalet tucked away in the snowy French Alps at a price lesser than our rent seemed too magical to turn down. We booked with haste, and when we reached the chalet, I felt grateful for our impulsivity.
Chamonix welcomed us with sunny mornings, crowd-free trails, curious chamois, blooming flower buds, beautiful alpine huts, partially frozen lakes, and incredible views of snow-capped mountains. It’s true that the snow line was lower in May but that allowed us to do a big chunk of hikes that we would have probably overlooked in the summer. We left some of the hikes above 2,200m (7,200 feet) for the middle and the end of the month. We primarily used Alltrails and Chamoniarde to plan all our hikes. This Alltrails list has all the hikes we completed (also detailed below). The days we were unsure about the weather (forecasts were inaccurate sometimes), we checked Bergfex webcams to see the conditions on top.
Complete list with details:
These were the hikes we completed in the area, all under 40 minutes of where we were staying, along with the dates we completed them on.
- Aiguillette des Posettes – 5.6 miles, 2,600 feet, May 27th, Highest Point: 2,201 meters (7,221 feet)
- Lake Cheserys – 6 miles, 2,800 feet, May 31st, Highest Point: 2,240 meters (7,349 feet)
- Grand Balcon Sud – Argentiere to Plan Praz – 8 miles, 3,800 feet, May 22nd, Highest Point: Plan Praz at 2,000 meters (6,562 feet)
- Rifugio Bertone to Bonatti (Courmayeur side) – 7.3 miles, 3,520 feet, May 26th, Highest Point: Rifugio Bonatti at 2,025 meters (6,646 feet)
- La Croix De Loriaz – 4.5 miles, 2,040 feet, May 16th, Highest Point: 1,950 meters (6,398 feet)
- Alpages de Blaitiere – 4.3 miles, 2,190 feet, May 8th, Highest Point: 1,800 meters (5,905 feet)
- Chalets de Chailloux – 4.5 miles, 1,810 feet, May 18th, Highest Point: 1,923 meters (6,309 feet)
- Panorama du Glacier des Bossons – 1.6 miles, 920 feet, May 20th, Highest Point: 1,700 meters (5,577 feet)
- Le Chapeau via the Sources of Aveyron – 4.1 miles, 1,650 feet, May 6th, Highest Point: 1,600 meters (5,249 feet)
- Chalet Floria – 1.9 miles, 870 feet, May 7th, Highest Point: 1,350 meters (4,429 feet)
- Charousse Pasture to Col De Voza and Col De La Forclaz – 6 miles, 2,200 feet, May 28th, Highest Point: Col de Voza at 1,653 meters (5,423 feet)
Note:
We completed some of the higher altitude hikes listed above towards the middle and end of the month – even waiting just a week sometimes made a difference. Also, conditions can vary every year so what was snow-free for us might not be the case a different year and some snow covered trails might have less snow in a different year. Finally, if anyone plans to go above 2200m earlier in the month, I would recommend snowshoes, and checking Chamoniarde for the latest conditions.
Hikes By Difficulty Level:
Hard:
Aiguillette des Posettes – 5.6 miles, 2600 feet
This was one of our absolute favorite hikes on the trip. Only a 5.6 mile round trip, the hike was incredibly rewarding with epic vistas for little effort. The hike gets out of the forest quickly after a mile. From there it’s a mix of scrambling and climbing rugged staircases to the summit. The unique thing about this mountain is that it’s located right between the 2 edges of the Chamonix valley. When we got to the top we had stunning 360 degree views of both sides (including Mont Blanc standing tall against its neighbors). The descent ended up taking longer than we thought because we stopped every few minutes to take in the jaw-dropping valley views that continued all the way down to the forest.
Tip: We started from Montroc and had 95% of the trail snow-free. The alternative path up from Le Tour did have some snow according to the Chamoniarde website.
Lake Cheserys – 6 miles, 2800 feet
Lake Cheserys was slightly more strenuous compared to Aiguillette Des Posettes, but just as stunning. We climbed a series of nerve-racking ladders after the forest portion. Luckily, we didn’t have to climb these down because the trail is a loop. There was a lot of snow at the top and the lakes were still partially frozen. However, seeing the lakes in the middle of their melting process was humbling. We spent a while admiring the brilliant glacier blues. There was at least a mile of snow in the descent. In some sections, we just slid straight down on our butts, our bellies tickled from the steepness. While coming down, we also got fantastic views that showed the full depth of the Mont Blanc range rather than just across like most other hikes. The descent is open and not through a forest so we enjoyed these views all the way down.
Sliding down snowy slopes
Grand Balcon Sud – Argentiere to Plan Praz – 8 miles, 3800 feet
Another one of our favorite hikes in Chamonix – but this hike was a little different from others. It’s point to point and ends at the top of a ski lift. When we did the hike, the lifts weren’t on so we walked down the ski lift path. Aside from that, the views on this hike were comparable to the first two.
Starting in Argentiere, the hike offers a different perspective of the Mont Blanc Range against the backdrop of the opposite side. Most of the ascent in this hike is in the beginning through the forest. After the first 2 miles of climbing, the hike completely opened up. The whole time, we were walking along a ridge to the right side of the valley with continuous views of the range on our left. On the way to Plan Praz, we also crossed the Flegere hut. Towards the end, there was so much snow and we had to navigate a hill that was buried a few feet in.
Rifugio Bertone to Bonatti (Courmayeur side) – 7.3 miles, 3520 feet
We crossed the Mont Blanc tunnel for this hike. The hike offers some of the best views of the range from the Italian side and is also a segment of the Tour du Mont Blanc. It’s point to point so was logistically a bit tricky. We had to walk a little extra at the end to get a bus back to the starting point. Along the hike, we saw two Italian refugios, lots of wildflowers, and beautiful mountain valley views. The mountains felt a lot closer on this hike compared to the French side. We were in awe of how dramatic and large they felt the whole time once we were out of the initial forest climb.
There was quite a bit of snow on this hike too, and both rifugios were still closed – but we didn’t encounter a single other person on the hike (except a cute family of chamois) until we got to the second hut and the isolated beauty and remoteness we experienced was absolutely worth it.
Medium:
La Croix De Loriaz – 4.5 miles, 2040 feet
This would have to be my favorite hike ever for viewing wildflowers. We had never seen such large beds of wildflowers in our lives. Once we got to the Loriaz huts, we spent a long time just sitting on the top admiring the purples and whites of the flowers against the backdrop of the snow covered mountains. Again, the first time we did the hike, there was a lot of rain, but we came back and thoroughly enjoyed the clear skies. There was quite a bit of snow too, but most of it had melted the second time we were there (a week and a half later).
Alpages de Blaitiere – 4.3 miles, 2190 feet
Starting only a few minutes walk from the Chamonix city Center, this hike climbs into remoteness very quickly. The first time we did this hike, the clouds had completely covered the peaks on the other side. The second time, we got to experience what the less famous side of the valley looked like. It has its own unique beauty that we spent a lot of time taking in from the wide expanse of greenery around the top of the hill.
Charousse Pasture to Col De Voza and Col De La Forclaz – 6 miles, 2200 feet
This hike was a little different from others – it did not have the standard climb through the forest and then rewarding views from the top. We also modified the route to make it more of a rest day. First, we climbed to Col De Forclaz from the starting point. We then went across and followed another route up to Col de Vaza. We passed many cute little huts placed in gorgeous valleys in the most picturesque ways. There was a restaurant as well, but it was closed. There is also a possibility to hike to the top of Le Prarion, but we skipped it.
Chalets de Chailloux – 4.5 miles, 1810 feet
On the opposite end of the valley, this hike starts in Les Houches. It climbs gradually through the forest into an open pasture and several mountain huts. The mountain huts and pastures offer beautiful views of the Mont Blanc range from the opposite end of Argentierre. There was plenty of place to rest on the top and we saw many people relaxing on many picnic spots on the top enjoying the views with sandwiches. We were also lucky to witness a big family of mountain goats strolling along the pasture! On the way down, we enjoyed views of Chamonix.
Panorama du Glacier des Bossons – 1.6 miles, 920 feet
This hike was our steepest hike, the shortest one, and the one with the wildest story. It climbs very quickly through the forest before reaching the glacier. When we reached the top, we saw an Indian flag and were pretty confused. Going further, we saw people crowded around a plane wing. We were shocked and horrified to learn that there was not 1, but two plane crashes into Mont Blanc. Both crashes happened in the middle of the 20th century under the same circumstances, and both planes were from India. We finally had an explanation for the restaurant named Malabar Princess in Chamonix. (One of the planes that had crashed)
After the plane wing, we continued up to get a closer view of the Bossons Glacier. The path got treacherous very quickly and we decided to turn around after about half a mile.
Le Chapeau via the Sources of Aveyron – 4.1 miles, 1650 feet
This was our first hike in Chamonix. The hike opens up to some pretty valley views after the first ascent. After some more climbing, we reached Le Chapeau. Even though the restaurant was closed, we spent a good amount of time soaking the sun in and admiring the glacier from the restaurant deck. There is one final 100 feet climb after the restaurant. From the top, we got a slightly closer look at the La Mer De Glace. It was the perfect hike to get us kickstarted for the season, not too difficult, but still worked up a sweat.
Chalet Floria – 1.9 miles, 870 feet
The ascent for this hike was consistently gradual and a pretty short one with no dangerous/sketchy parts. Floria was the only chalet that was open in our whole month in Chamonix. We forgot to carry cash, otherwise it would have been perfect for a quick coffee/snack. It was cloudy when we went up but that made the chalet feel even cozier. We spent some time huddled on the log benches behind the chalet taking in the mountains before leaving.
My husband and I are going to Chamonix this May and I can’t tell you how helpful this post is—thank you so much for sharing your experience!!
So happy to hear that, thank you Michelle and excited for you!