Climb the Aiguille du Tour with a Guide

The Aiguille du Tour is one of the most common first alpine summits in the massif — a genuinely beautiful glacier route with a hut night and an early start, without technical climbing or serious objective danger. It usually runs over two days with an IFMGA guide. It is possible to do it in one day, but this is reserved for very advanced parties.

The approach. From Le Tour the lifts cut out the first section, leaving two to three hours up the moraine to the Albert 1er refuge. A straightforward, beautiful path with the Tour glacier and its seracs opening up alongside it.

The late afternoon in the refuge. Most guides use it for skills — crampon technique, roped movement, a session on the glacier below the refuge. Useful for both learning the skills, as well as letting the guide see how you move before the summit day.

The summit day. Starting early in the morning with a breakfast provided by the refuge, roped and in crampons, up the Tour glacier as the sun rises. The ascent is pleasant, with crevassed sections on the glacier. The final section is a short rock scramble, easy but exposed.

What it demands. Good mountain fitness and a willingness to move roped on a glacier. Crampon experience helps considerably — a mountaineering course beforehand can often be helpful, but is not required.

Guides often combine it with the Tête Blanche or the Petite Fourche from the same hut, or run it as part of a longer skills week — request a guide and say what you are after.

The Aiguille du Tour is one of the most beautiful experiences as a first alpine summit!

The route starts at Le Tour, at the head of the Chamonix valley, where the Charamillon gondola and Autannes chairlift give height before the walk to the Albert 1er hut at 2,702 m. The hut sits on the moraine overlooking the Glacier du Tour.

From the hut the route crosses the glacier to the Col Supérieur du Tour on the Swiss border, then climbs the short summit block. The 3,542 m summit looks onto the Trient plateau on the Swiss side and back down the Chamonix valley on the French side.

The same hut serves the Tête Blanche, the Petite Fourche and the Aiguille Purtscheller, so the Aiguille du Tour can be one objective within a longer stay.

The season runs June to September. Earlier gives better snow cover on the glacier and firmer bridges; by late summer the crevasses are more open and route-finding can take longer.