Ultra Tour Monte Rosa is a 100 mile / 170 km ultra trail race along a classic European long distance footpath, the Tour de Monte Rosa. The race route leads anticlockwise around the Monte Rosa massif, making a compete circuit of the Mischabel Peaks and the 4000m summits of the Nadelgrat ridge. At 4634m Monte Rosa is the second highest mountain in the Alps and western Europe. On its eastern side the mountain falls away in an almost vertical 2,400m wall of granite and ice, the biggest in Europe. The route encircles a total of 29 of the 4000m summits, and is surrounded by many more, a magnificent landscape!

The Ultra Tour Monte Rosa event consists of 100 miles / 170 km as a single-day ultra race, or as a four-day stage race. It also has a beautiful 63 km route following the höhenweg of the Mischabel range and a wonderful 19 km Berglauf!

The full tour is an alternative to the UTMB, though more technical and more wild, taking runners 20% longer to complete than the UTMB course. The races are held in early September, the optimal time for stable weather and for the high passes to be clear of snow.

Lizzy Hawker

All camps are led by Lizzy Hawker. On foot whenever possible, as an elite athlete Lizzy held the world record for 24 hours on the road and won the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc an unprecedented 5 times. She has twice crossed the Great Himalaya Trail, alone through the Nepal Himalaya. Now race director of the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa her passion for exploring is taking her far beyond competition to high, wild places often in Nepal. 

The running tour makes a full circuit of Monte Rosa in the Pennine Alps bordering Italy and Switzerland. The spectacular Monte Rosa massif itself includes seven summits over 4000m, including the Dufourspitze, the highest peak in Switzerland. The circuit on wildly beautiful trails follows ancient routes linking the Swiss and Italian valleys, making a challenging and diverse high-level route.

Day 1. Grachen to Zermatt

(40 km on the Europaweg, crossing the bridge, the world's second longest "Hängebrücke" at 494m) 

From Grächen there's an easy and enjoyable first 10 km on forest trails right down to the valley floor. Look up to your left – high on the mountainside is the Europaweg, which is a 1100m straight up steep climb, so prepare yourself mentally! Enjoy the feeling of being up high. The first checkpoint at Europahütte will offer relief. From here a short descent to cross "the bridge" – a definite highlight. From here it's a mix of small technical sections, runnable trails, climbs and descents, which bring Zermatt and the Matterhorn ever closer.

Day 2. Zermatt to Gressoney

(Over to Italy, via an icy crossing of the Theodulgletscher with awesome views of the Matterhorn on the way up) 

The streets of Zermatt will be empty as you start the stage before dawn. As the morning light arrives you'll pass very traditional hamlets as the climbing begins after just 1.5 km. 12 km later you'll be standing on the Theodulpass at 3295m after crossing about 2 km on ice. Please take care of crevasses! It's a rocky moonscape under the face of Monte Cervino on the other side until you climb over the next pass, the green returns on the long descent towards St Jacques. Only the steep and rocky pass of Colle de Rothorn stands in your way before the long descent to Gressoney, where comfort and good food await.

Day 3. Gressoney to Macugnaga

(46.5 km over the grand passes of Salati and Turlo, through traditional Walser country.)

This stage probably feels the wildest and most challenging. Both of the long, long descents, from Passo Salati and Passo Turlo will offer you solitude and challenge for several hours!

This is Walser country – the farm houses are beautifully made and often decorated with summer flowers. The gorgeous village of Alagna is typical example of this traditional culture. The high mountains here make rain, which means extra lush, verdant landscape.

The long climb to and descent from Passo Turlo will stay in your memory. The route follows an ancient, hand-made Roman road. It's not steep, which means it's long, very long.
Rifugio Crocette's refreshments offer relief from the endless descent on paving stones as the valley becomes flat. If you're lucky, the glorious view of Monte Rosa will appear as you enter Macugnaga. What a magical location!

Day 4. Macugnaga to Grachen

(44.1 km with the promise of an exceptional mountain experience on the Monte Moro pass)

For runner Ruth Croft, this was her favourite stage. "It did start off with tired legs and a relentless, steep climb in the dark, but things quickly turned around with the epic sunrise on Monte Moro Pass," she says. See the stage profile below, the climb is indeed relentless!

In the rifugio at the pass On Running situate their awesome aid-station, where you most need it. Recharged, there is a technical descent into Switzerland with "views of the turquoise Mattmarksee, sitting between the massifs of Rimpfischhorn and Stellihorn," remembers Croft.

After a long runnable section to Saas Fee, the day is only half over. The Höhenweg comes next – 20 km of unrelenting twisting and undulating trail. It's the final challenge of this Bold, Brutal & Beautiful course.

Cost

1250 CHF per person (approx £1200) (based on a minimum of four participants, maximum of eight).

• 4 day running tour led by Lizzy Hawker, with training tips and discussions
• 5 nights bed and breakfast accommodation in shared/twin room in superior village hotels (plus dinner in Gressoney)
• baggage transfer from start to finish of each running stage

Lizzy Hawker 'RUNNER'

This is the complete story of long-distance runner Lizzy Hawker's journey from a school girl running the streets of London to a world record-breaking athlete racing on mountains.

Scared witless and surrounded by a sea of people, Lizzy Hawker stands in the church square at the centre of Chamonix on a late August evening, waiting for the start of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. The mountains towering over the pack of runners promise a gruelling 8,600 metres of ascent and descent over 158 kilometres of challenging terrain that will test the feet, legs, heart and mind. These nervous moments before the race signal not just the beginning of nearly twenty-seven hours of effort that saw Lizzy finish as first woman, but the start of the career of one of Britain's most successful endurance athletes. She went on to become the 100km Women's World Champion, win the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc an unprecedented five times, hold the world record for 24 hours road running and become the first woman to stand on the overall winners' podium at Spartathlon.

An innate endurance and natural affinity with the mountains has led Lizzy to push herself to the absolute limits, including a staggering 320 kilometre run through the Himalayas, from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu in Nepal. Lizzy's remarkable spirit was recognised in 2013 when she was a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. These ultimate challenges ask not just what the feet and legs can do, but question the inner thoughts and contemplations of a runner.Lizzy's astonishing story uncovers the physical, mental and emotional challenges that runners go through at the edge of human endurance – inspiring us to get out of the chair and go running in the mountains. 

*** Available in all good book stores ***