Ultra-Trails in the Canton of Bern

Lining up 80 km in the canton of Bern means linking meadows, forests and scree slopes without ever tiring the eye 🏔️. Between the moraines of the Jungfrau, the shores of Lake Thun and the alpine pastures of the Gstaad region, the ultra-trail in the canton of Bern rewards those who know how to manage their effort over the long haul.

The terrain demands respect. Climbs are counted in thousands of meters, passes exceed 2,500 m and the weather can turn within minutes, even in the middle of summer ☀️. The ideal window runs from July to September, when the snowfields have melted and the nights remain mild. The headlamp almost always finds its way into the pack 🌙, because a single day isn't enough to take it all in. The aid stations then take on the feel of mountain huts, with their hot soup, smiling volunteers and words of encouragement.

The Bernese ultra-trail calendar is short, but prestigious. In July, the Eiger Ultra-Trail by UTMB® brings together runners from all over the world in Grindelwald facing the famous north face, with several formats to match the goal to your level. In September, the Swiss Trail Tour takes over around Lenk, in the Simmental, for a more intimate immersion in the Bernese Alps 🌲. To compare profiles, a look at the neighboring ultra-trails in Valais is a must.

The canton also has its famous figures. Paul Klee, born near Bern, loved making the invisible visible, and at three in the morning under your headlamp, the trail does just the same 😄. At the finish, a Meiringen meringue, that specialty invented in the Oberland, is thoroughly earned. From your first mountain ultra to the goal of an entire season, preparation starts early: choose your race according to your level, your experience on the terrain and your taste for verticality, then let the mountain do the rest. The ultra-trails in Switzerland offer other training grounds.