We are on the RS Eastern France tour in August-Sep and have a full day in Chamonix. RS office says don’t buy tickets ahead of time for the Aiguille du Midi lift in case of inclement weather. The Chamonix tourist office says to buy tickets ahead of time because it will be busy that time of year. Has anyone done this tour and the Lift? Or on your own just showed up to the Lift and gotten tickets? Wondering what to do? Any suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Chicago
8465 posts
From experience buy the tickets the night before or early in the morning for the first ascent once you see the weather is going to cooperate. Do not buy in advance those tickets; there is no need to do that if you go as early as possible unlike the average. You don't want to go up if it is raining or foggy where you can't see anything.
Posted by
Chicago
9144 posts
We did what jazz suggests. I booked the bus and the gondola the night before once I had a good weather forecast. In our case we would not have needed to book -- it was mid May and just at the end of the COVID shut down and no reservation s were needed. It may be more crowded now -- but i'd not book till close to the date with a good chance of weather.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2023/03/27/quick-trip-up-the-aiquille-du-midi-chamonix/
Posted by
Chicago
957 posts
Both answers in the original post, though diametrically opposite, are accurate.
It's not that the tickets will sell out, because you don't buy a ticket for a particular
date or time. It's that the reservations for the Aiguille du Midi, which are made
a bit later in the online booking process, can fill up completely, especially in
busy season, which is most likely until the end of the first weekend in September.
But, as noted, if you are willing to get there very early, then you should most
likely be able to get a reservation and waiting for the weather forecast is the
right thing to do.