Rifugio Elena sits high above the Italian Val Ferret on the climb up to the Grand Col Ferret. This is a large rifugio, with 127 beds available. The location doesn’t make it an obvious stopping point for TMB hikers, although it can be an option should you find Rifugio Bonatti and other Val Ferret accomodation fully booked.
Bookings are made by contacting the rifugio staff directly and can be somewhat frustrating to organize. There is no clear date for when bookings become available, although January seems to be the earliest they will take them in recent years.
There are both dormitory beds as well as multiple private rooms available here and the bar/restaurant is open throughout the day for a coffee or lunch stop as hikers ascend the Grand Col Ferret.
Read on below for a detailed description of what it is like to stay at Rifugio Elena while hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc!
Rifugio Elena Experience
Photos & Write Up Contributed by: Ivan Shannon
Rifugio Elena, 2054m, is approached by the rear of the property via either a short steep climb from Val Ferret in the anti-clockwise direction or 480m descent from the Grand Col Ferret, clockwise direction. From either route the rifugio is a haven for tired hikers.
The property reopened for the season at the beginning of July in 2024 and at lunchtime of the first week the rifugio was buzzing with a mixture of day-hikers, trail runners, TMB hikers and alpine tourists.
The building is a narrow, long but low building built into the hill with outstanding views of Italian Val Ferret, Glacier Pre De Bar and east face of Grandes Jorasses. The building is relatively new, replacing a previous building destroyed by an avalanche but the layout adds to the confusion.
The distance from the entrance to the cash register is narrow, leading to a queuing and a sense of bewilderment. There were sufficient numbers of staff, clearly identifiable in matching t-shirts, fluent in various languages but everything had to ordered and paid for in advance, from a strictly an Italian menu, before finding a space in the large open dining area.
Lunch was served in a disposable box which did not do justice to the quality and
favour of the food, €19 for Italian sausages in tomato sauce with polenta and a glass of red wine was tasty and good value.
Check-in, was after 3:00 pm, or end of the lunchtime, and was again a slightly disorganised affair due to the layout of the building and lack of systematic approach. After initial confusion, I was told that I did not have a booking for the dormitory /half board, I was offered a single private room without shower.
It would appear that all the other rooms on the floor were double rooms, ensuite including shower. The room was clean and sufficient space for one person with a set of bunkbeds, disposable sheets and a view.
The double rooms were larger, providing plenty of room for two persons. The dormitory was in the basement of the property with bunkbeds, a separate space for boots, storage of transfer bags and clothes hangers for drying wet jackets etc.
The shower block was also clean with the ubiquitous coin operated showers common in Italian rifugios. The area of private rooms was quiet during the night although the talk at the breakfast table related to the noise during the night in the dormitory but it was due to the individuals rather than the design of the actual dormitory.
The private room was very much appreciated especially considering I had not scheduled a rest day in my itinerary. Unfortunately, half board did not match the quality of the lunch, both the evening meal and breakfast were forgettable.
It was not the first time the lunch offering surpassed that offered as half-board.
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