Ultra Tour des Lacs aux Cimes (UTLAC)

When we first presented the Ultra Tour of the Summit Lakes to some lucky runners that we know, we loved seeing the excitement in their eyes! Then when they estimated the finish time the quickest amongst them could do it in, we thought perhaps we’d taken on too much…but then again perhaps not!

Once you’ve recovered from reading about the distance and the elevation of our major new race in the Samoëns Trail Tour, you can take on this (very) big loop of our valley, via 6 lakes, 8 mountain passes and 3 summits. Some of the course will definitely be covered in snow, it will be very technical for some and it will be physically very demanding for everyone! To run through the night, to climb up several peaks, to hang out in the playground of the ibex, chamois and marmottes, in short to undertake a true Alpine trail. This is the experience which awaits you with this big loop.

So where are we going to take you on this little outing? You will start with your co-runners from the UTHG until you get to Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, but you won’t catch up with them straight away at the Combe de Gers… no before that, you must tackle the steep and winding climb up to the Refuge de Grenairon, which offers one of the most beautiful views of the Fiz range. Then, after coming down and going to edge of the dizzying Cirque des Fonts, you’ll reach the bottom of the Fiz via the Petit Col d’Anterne and the Alfred Wills Refuge, before coming down to the waterfalls of the Pleureuse and the Sauffaz.

These signify the start of the last climb…and they’re not just there for you to play to the gallery: the Sales pass, its refuge and then a climb up to the Combe des Foges until you reach the Col Pelouse, the ultimate ‘high point’ of the course. From there, you will only need to join up with the Lac de Gers, where at last you can have a well-earned rest, a few kilometres further and a few hundred meters lower down the trail…