Ultra-Trails in Switzerland

Of the 82 peaks over 4,000 m in the Alps, Switzerland is home to nearly half of them 🏔. The Valais, the Grisons and the Engadine concentrate the deep valleys, dams and passes that ultra runners love to string together. In between, the country keeps its wooden villages and its cog railways that carry broken legs back down to the plains. Distances look short on the map, then the vertical gets involved and a valley becomes a whole day.

Running long here means accepting to climb high. Courses regularly exceed 2,500 m, where the weather turns within an hour and the night chills everything. The rules require a jacket, gloves and a hat well into August, and cut-off times take the long walking sections into account. The useful window runs from late June to mid-September, once the snowfields have settled. Organizers rely on the network of Swiss Alpine Club huts for aid stations, and on cable cars to bring down those who give up 🚠.

The Swiss ultra-trail calendar starts strong with the SwissPeaks Trail, which crosses the Valais from one end to the other. On the Grisons side, the Swiss Irontrail links Davos to the neighboring valleys. The Transalpine Run spans three countries in a week of stages. More accessible, the Montreux Trail Festival opens its balconies above Lake Geneva 🙂.

The Great St Bernard pass, with its monks and rescue dogs, is a reminder that crossing the Alps on foot is hardly a recent trend. Ultra-trails in Switzerland follow these old passages, Roman milestones included. If 100 km still feels far away, trails in Switzerland and mountain races build the step before. Many runners spend two full seasons there before lining up for a first 100 km format 💪.