Two passes compete for your week in Chamonix: the CHAMONIX Le Pass, which covers the valley's ski areas, and the MONT BLANC Unlimited, which adds the Aiguille du Midi, the Montenvers, Les Houches and two resorts abroad. The first is enough for most groups, and buying it does not tie you to anything: you can upgrade to the second mid-holiday, just by paying the difference.
- In Chamonix a lift pass is bought per person, not per group. A beginner, a non-skier and someone booked on the Vallée Blanche have no reason to hold the same pass, and our concierge routinely buys several different ones for the same party.
- The CHAMONIX Le Pass covers three of the four ski areas, 110 km of runs. €74 an adult day in high season, €360 for six days.
- The MONT BLANC Unlimited adds the Aiguille du Midi, the Montenvers, Les Houches, seven Évasion Mont-Blanc resorts, Italy and Switzerland. That is €120 more over six days, about one and a half times the price of a return trip up the Aiguille du Midi.
- Getting it wrong costs you nothing. The Compagnie du Mont-Blanc lets you move from Le Pass to the Unlimited at any point in the week, for the difference between the two.
- Two catches are not reflected in the price. Italy and Switzerland only open from the two-day pass upwards, and the Aiguille du Midi has to be booked even when you hold the pass.
Which lift passes Chamonix sells, and what each one opens
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc does not sell just one lift pass. It sells a whole range, and only two of them are proper ski passes. The rest cover narrower needs: learning to ski, or going up the mountain without skis.
Start from the thing that shapes everything else. Except for Brévent and Flégère, the valley's ski areas are not linked to each other. A pass therefore buys you a collection of separate sectors reached by road or rail, not one continuous mountain, which is exactly why one group can need several different passes.
| Pass | What it opens | Adult price |
|---|---|---|
| CHAMONIX Le Pass | Brévent-Flégère, Balme, Les Grands Montets and four valley-floor learning areas | €74 a day, €360 for six days |
| MONT BLANC Unlimited | Everything in Le Pass, plus the Aiguille du Midi, the Montenvers, Les Houches, Évasion Mont-Blanc, Italy and Switzerland | €100 a day, €480 for six days |
| Les Houches-Saint-Gervais | The one valley ski area sold separately, plus the Tramway du Mont-Blanc | Its own price list |
| Débutant CMB | Five learning areas, two of them at altitude | €27.50 a day, €165 for six days |
| Pedestrian pass | Brévent-Flégère and Balme without skis, plus the Aiguille du Midi and the Montenvers | €113 for two days, €173 for six |
CHAMONIX Le Pass, the valley pass
CHAMONIX Le Pass is the valley pass: Brévent-Flégère, the Balme area between Le Tour and Vallorcine, and Les Grands Montets, whose summit is closed while the cable cars are rebuilt. Four valley-floor areas come with it: Les Planards, Le Savoy, Les Chosalets and La Vormaine.
That adds up to 110 km of runs, 86 pistes and 43 lifts. It is what most groups buy, and it comfortably fills a week.
One benefit tends to go unnoticed: the pass doubles as a bus ticket across the valley network, from Chamonix to Vallorcine. Since you cannot ski from one area to the next, that matters more here than elsewhere.
MONT BLANC Unlimited, and what it actually adds
The MONT BLANC Unlimited takes the whole of Le Pass and adds four things. First, the valley's three sightseeing lifts: the Aiguille du Midi cable car, the Montenvers rack railway up to the Mer de Glace, and the Tramway du Mont-Blanc. Then the Les Houches-Saint-Gervais ski area, the seven Évasion Mont-Blanc resorts around Megève, and two foreign destinations, Courmayeur with its Skyway cable car in Italy and Crans-Montana in Switzerland.
It is the pass for skiers who want the whole massif, and the only one that opens the Aiguille du Midi without a separate ticket. It costs considerably more, and some of what it opens takes a full day to reach.
Read more: Chamonix ski areas explained: which one for your group
The three passes that are not the valley pass
The Les Houches-Saint-Gervais pass covers the one valley ski area sold separately, 31 km of largely wooded runs, and it includes the Tramway du Mont-Blanc. It is what you fall back on when the cloud comes down everywhere else.
Several British guides get this one wrong: they claim Chamonix has no beginner pass, and it does. The Débutant CMB, where débutant simply means beginner and CMB is the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc that runs the valley's lifts, covers five dedicated areas, two of them at altitude. The pedestrian pass opens the lifts on Brévent-Flégère and Balme, plus the Aiguille du Midi and the Montenvers, to anyone who is not skiing.
Both cost far less than a ski pass, and that is exactly why mixing them makes sense. The Débutant CMB buys lift access and nothing else: ski school for a genuine beginner is booked separately, and it is the part worth sorting out first.
What a Chamonix lift pass costs
The rates below come from the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc's published price list for high season, 20 December to 27 March, February half term included. They are ticket-office prices.
One thing to bear in mind if you are planning the coming season: this is the most recently published list, covering winter 2025-2026. Treat it as accurate to within a few euros, since the operator has announced a rise of roughly 4% without yet publishing the new rates.
| Duration | Le Pass adult | Le Pass reduced | Unlimited adult | Unlimited reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 hrs | €64.00 | €54.40 | not sold | not sold |
| 1 day | €74.00 | €62.90 | €100.00 | €85.00 |
| 2 days | €140.00 | €119.00 | €190.00 | €161.50 |
| 3 days | €205.00 | €174.30 | €285.00 | €242.30 |
| 6 days | €360.00 | €306.00 | €480.00 | €408.00 |
| 7 days | €405.00 | €344.30 | €535.00 | €454.80 |
The reduced rate covers 5 to 14 year olds and 65 to 79 year olds, at the same price. From age 80, the over-80s rate halves the adult price: €37 a day on Le Pass. Under-fives ski free with ID.
Two lines on the price list deserve a second look. The "4 hrs" option counts four hours from your first lift and can be bought again as often as you like during the week, which suits anyone who does not fancy a full day on the slopes. More importantly, multi-day passes are sold as consecutive days, so skiing Monday, Wednesday and Friday does not qualify.
Outside high season, Le Pass is only sold by the day
Within high season the daily rate falls as the pass gets longer: six days works out at €60 a day against €74 for a single day. That is the usual argument for a week's pass, and it holds.
Outside high season the pricing works differently. From 15 November to 19 December and again from 28 March to 3 May, Le Pass appears only as a day pass at €59.20, or four hours at €51.20. The MONT BLANC Unlimited keeps its multi-day rates: €284 for six days.
The result catches people out. Over those weeks the wider pass works out at €47 a day, less than a single day on Le Pass at €59.20. Spring skiing is the one time to price the Unlimited before the valley pass, which goes against what most people would assume.
What the price list does not show
Two extras land on top of the advertised price. The hands-free card that opens the gates costs €3 from the two-day pass upwards; it is rechargeable and non-refundable, so it is worth keeping between seasons.
You need a photo from the ten-day pass onwards. For a group staying a fortnight, that is one more thing to sort out before queueing at the desk.
These are the rates for winter 2025-2026, the most recent published. The Compagnie du Mont-Blanc has announced a price rise of 3.56% on the CHAMONIX Le Pass and 3.98% on the MONT BLANC Unlimited for the 2026-2027 season, without publishing the new list. The rounded figures circulating for that season are estimates rather than official rates.
Your group does not need one single lift pass
This is the most common and most expensive habit: settle on a pass, then multiply it by the number of people. Passes are bought per person, and nothing requires everyone to hold the same one.
In a party of ten to fourteen, people's needs are rarely the same. Two or three ski every day and want to see everything, while half the group skis four days out of six. Someone is learning, and someone else will not be putting skis on at all.
| Profile | The pass that fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Skis daily, wants the Aiguille du Midi or the Vallée Blanche | MONT BLANC Unlimited | The only pass that opens the sightseeing lifts without a separate ticket |
| Skis daily, staying in the valley | CHAMONIX Le Pass, multi-day | 110 km of runs, and the daily rate drops as the pass lengthens |
| Skis three or four days, but not back to back | Le Pass by the day | Multi-day passes are sold as consecutive days |
| Learning | Débutant CMB | Well under half the valley pass, on areas built for it |
| Child aged 5 to 14 | Reduced rate, or inside the family pass | The family rate absorbs up to five children |
| Not skiing | Pedestrian pass | Opens the lifts, the Aiguille du Midi and the Montenvers, without skis |
The pedestrian pass is worth a further mention, because it does more than keep the non-skier busy: it lets them come up and have lunch with everyone else. In a week with mixed abilities, that is what decides whether the group meets up at midday or splits for the day.
Why the one-pass habit does not travel to Chamonix
If your last few holidays were in the Trois Vallées, Paradiski or the Portes du Soleil, buying a single pass for the whole party was simply the sensible thing to do. Those are linked areas: one pass, one lift network, everybody skis the same terrain and meets wherever they like.
Chamonix is not built that way, and the habit costs money here. Because the areas are separate and reached by bus or train, nobody skis the whole valley in a week anyway. The standard mistake British visitors make is paying for coverage the group will never actually use.
The family pass, and how far it stretches
The family rate covers two adults and two children aged 5 to 14, and this is where it gets interesting: the third, fourth and fifth children go free. One family can therefore cover seven people while paying for four. Le Pass over six days at the family rate is listed at €1,116, a little over €200 below the four passes bought separately, so the discount is worth having before you even count the free children.
The two adults have to be the children's parents or grandparents. That rules out a group of friends, but it is ideal for a three-generation family, and nothing stops you setting up two family passes in one group, one per couple, or having the grandparents hold it rather than the parents.
Bonami's tip: work out how many days each person will actually ski before deciding which pass they need. Across a seven-night week a group rarely skis six days, what with the arrival day, the departure day and the one where half the party would rather use the pool. Decide on six days for everyone back in October, and you will always end up with two or three nobody uses; once you have worked that out, buy as early as you like.
Read more: Is Chamonix good for beginners? Where you learn, and how far you get
Chamonix Le Pass or Mont Blanc Unlimited: where the tipping point sits
For the members of your group skiing seriously all week, the choice comes down to two passes. Over six days in high season the gap is €120.
What that €120 buys
A pedestrian return up the Aiguille du Midi costs €81 at the published rate. One trip therefore swallows two thirds of the gap, and two trips clear it comfortably.
On top of that you also get the Montenvers and its Ice Cave, the Les Houches ski area, the seven Évasion Mont-Blanc resorts and the two foreign destinations. The Unlimited plainly gives you far more; the question is whether your week leaves time to use it.
The tipping point sits at two outings. A group skiing six days in the valley and coming home each evening will never see Italy, and Le Pass covers them; one that sets aside a sightseeing day and a day at Les Houches will already have made that money back.
The conditions the coverage list does not mention
Two restrictions never appear in the list of resorts, and they are the ones that spoil days. Access to Courmayeur and the Skyway in Italy, and to Crans-Montana in Switzerland, only opens from the two-day pass upwards. A one-day MONT BLANC Unlimited gives you neither.
The Aiguille du Midi and the Tramway du Mont-Blanc also require a booking, pass or no pass. If you turn up at the cable car on a February morning assuming the pass is enough, you will go home without getting on it.
The Vallée Blanche needs the Mont Blanc Unlimited
The Vallée Blanche drops from the Aiguille du Midi and finishes at the Mer de Glace, from where you come back up by gondola and the Montenvers railway. The Aiguille du Midi return ticket does not cover that climb back.
The route needs access to both places, and only the Unlimited gives you that. Anyone without the relevant experience also needs a guide, booked separately.
Booking for the Aiguille du Midi and the Tramway du Mont-Blanc is compulsory even with the pass, and is done online. It applies to pedestrian pass holders too, because the Aiguille du Midi is included in their pass. Over February half term the morning slots book up days in advance, so fix the group's sightseeing day as soon as its date is settled.
Getting the pass wrong: what you can undo, and what you cannot
None of the English-language guides to Chamonix passes mention this next bit, and it is what makes the whole decision far less stressful than it looks.
Moving up mid-holiday
Anyone holding a CHAMONIX Le Pass can switch to the MONT BLANC Unlimited at any point in their stay, paying only the difference between the two passes of the same length. The Compagnie du Mont-Blanc prints this on its own price lists.
One thing to understand before relying on it: the switch applies to the whole pass, not to a single day, which is also what makes Italy and Switzerland reachable, since they need a two-day pass at minimum. If you hold a six-day Pass and want one trip up the Aiguille du Midi, you pay the six-day difference, and you are often better off buying a pedestrian ticket instead.
Bottom line: when in doubt, buy Le Pass. If the weather turns, or the mood shifts towards the Aiguille du Midi or Italy, the switch happens on the spot, without having paid for the wider pass up front.
So nobody has to guess in October what they will feel like in February. You start narrow and adjust.
Days paid for and not skied
The reverse does not work. You will not get a refund on a pass you have already started, even if someone gets hurt on day three.
That risk is covered by ski insurance, offered when you buy the pass, which reimburses unused days after an accident. In a party of twelve or fourteen spanning ages six to seventy-five, there is a real chance someone will not finish the week.
Where and when to buy your lift pass
Where and when you buy matters almost as much as which pass you choose.
Online or at the ticket office
The Compagnie du Mont-Blanc runs dynamic pricing on its online shop: the price moves with the date of purchase and the period, and buying ahead comes in well below the published rate. The prices in this article are ticket-office prices, which act as the ceiling.
Multiply that by twelve people and six days, and it adds up fast. It is worth sorting before you travel, at least for those whose plans are already fixed.
February half term is the worst week to leave it late
Half term brings British families to Chamonix during the French February holidays, the busiest stretch of the season and the point at which dynamic pricing is least generous. France staggers those holidays across three zones over about four weeks, so the exact week you pick changes how crowded the valley feels, though half term falls squarely inside that stretch whichever week you choose. It is also when the Aiguille du Midi morning slots disappear first.
If your week falls there, treat the passes as something to sort out weeks ahead rather than on arrival, for everyone whose plans are settled.
Buying for ten or fourteen people
Three things are worth sorting out in advance. The hands-free card is rechargeable, so anyone who already has one brings it and everyone else pays €3, while a photo is needed beyond ten days. The family rate, meanwhile, calls for proof of the family relationship.
There is no point hoping for a group rate, either. The Compagnie du Mont-Blanc's group pricing starts at twenty people and goes through its sales office, so a party of fourteen buys at the public rate like everyone else, and the family rate is the only discount within reach.
None of this takes any time for one person. For fourteen, at the desk, on a February morning, it swallows the first morning's skiing.
Chalet Bonami is in Les Bois, 550 m from the Flégère gondola, a five-minute walk. Our concierge handles the group's lift passes, including different ones for different people: the valley pass for some, the Débutant CMB or the pedestrian pass for others. Tell us who is skiing how many days, and nobody spends their first morning at the ticket desk. We have the kit delivered to the chalet as well, children's sizes, helmets and boots included.
For a one-off trip up, a pedestrian return on the Flégère gondola, whose bottom station is at Les Praz just below the hamlet, costs €24 an adult, or €74.40 at the family rate: enough to come up for lunch with the skiers without buying a week's pass.
Set against the cost of the week, the lift passes are a small sum, which is worth remembering when weighing up two passes €120 apart. Our breakdown of what a luxury chalet in Chamonix costs puts each item back in proportion.
Chalet Bonami is let direct: tell us your dates and we reply within 24 hours.
Read more: Skiing in Chamonix when abilities differ
Chamonix lift pass questions
The ones that come up when a single person is buying for the whole party.
Which Chamonix lift pass should I buy for a week?
The CHAMONIX Le Pass over six days suits most groups: three of the four ski areas, 110 km of runs, €360 an adult in high season. The MONT BLANC Unlimited at €480 only earns its keep if the week includes the Aiguille du Midi, the Montenvers, Les Houches or a day abroad. When in doubt buy Le Pass, since you can move up to the Unlimited later on the spot, for the difference.
Does everyone in a group need the same lift pass?
No, passes are bought per person. A beginner takes the Débutant CMB at €27.50 a day, anyone not skiing takes the pedestrian pass, and only those skiing every day need a valley pass. Mixing is the norm in a group.
Can you upgrade a Chamonix lift pass mid-holiday?
Yes, in one direction. You can move from the CHAMONIX Le Pass to the MONT BLANC Unlimited at any point, paying the difference between the two passes of the same length. There is no move the other way, and a pass that has been started is not refunded.
Does a Chamonix lift pass include the buses?
Yes. A valid Compagnie du Mont-Blanc pass acts as a bus ticket across the valley network, from Chamonix to Vallorcine. Since the ski areas are not linked and are reached by road, that is a real benefit, and it saves buying tickets for the skiers in the party.
Is it cheaper to buy Chamonix lift passes online?
Yes, for anyone whose plans are fixed: the online shop uses dynamic pricing that runs below the ticket-office rate, and buying ahead of February half term matters most. Leave the desk for those who do not yet know how many days they will ski, and for single-day passes.