Gran Trail Courmayeur

We all know the French side of the Mont-Blanc: its wait times on the normal route and its ultra which makes the August headlines every month (UTMB®, of course) 🗓️. But on the other side of the tunnel, where the coffee becomes ristretto and where the D+ is called dislivello, there’s a gem hiding: the Gran Trail Courmayeur ✨. Nestled at the bottom of the Aosta Valley, at 1 224 meters above sea level, this Italian trail invites you to turn your back on the crowded trails to discover the Roof of Europe under its best profile, well, depends on whom you ask 🤓. Three formats on the menu, from the 30 km accessible to the monstrous 100 km, all with start and finish on the Piazza Abbé Henry, in the historic heart of Courmayeur 📍.

Behind this modern name lies an old soul 🤌. The GTC is the direct heir of the Gran Trail Valdigne, born in 2007, in other words: the trail’s stone age, when we still ran in cotton T-shirts 😵‍💫. It was then the first high-mountain race over 80 km tracked entirely on Italian soil, and it quickly became a reference on the continent 🇮🇹. Today, the GTC belongs to the big family of TORX®, the same team as the legendary Tor des Géants ⭐️. And that’s not just a line on the pedigree: it completes the GTC100 and you score one of the 100 bibs that open the doors to the Tor des Géants for the next year! So at least you avoid the draw 😲. An golden ticket to one of the toughest ultras on the planet, earned purely by your legs, that’s stylish 🤓.

On the ground, the 100 doesn’t mess around: about a hundred kilometers for 7 400 mD+, all winding around its Majesty Mont-Blanc 👑. The course takes you into the two jewels of the massif, the Val Veny and the Val Ferret, two glaciated valleys you’ll learn to love (then curse, then re-love 🤣). Here, you ascend high: the race peaks at 2 830 meters under the Mont Nix, after ticking off panoramic cols above 2 500 as you pile pasta plates at the hut 🍝. The program includes breathtaking balconies with turquoise Alpine lakes, a few névés players in mid July, and a short section equipped with chains, to remind you you’re truly in the mountains 🏔️. Cherry on the panettone : a high-alti stop at Mont Fortin (2 755 m), a mobile heli-port bivouac like a base camp ⛺️. Moving? Very little. Foot-breaking? Definitely ✅.

The “GTC 100”, the flagship event, kicks off in the evening, under a dark sky with a headlamp becoming your best friend for the first hours of the race 🔦. But you don’t need to be a cyborg: there are three distances in total! 😄 The ultra-trail isn’t for everyone’s thighs, so other options are available 🤠. The GTC30 on a 30 km route with 2 000 mD+, which showcases its magnificent balconata of the Val Ferret, for those who want to dip a toe into the scenery without paying in skin 😉. Otherwise, the GTC55 offers 3 500 m D+ over 55 km and takes you through the most beautiful cols of the Val Veny 🏞️.

But reducing the GTC to just these numbers would miss the point 📍. In recent editions, the race has transformed into a true festival with the Mont Blanc Trail Fest, a village set up at Parc du Bollino where finishers, supporters and onlookers mingle between brand stands, worthy beers and stories of cols that grow with every glass 🍻. And then there’s that special vibe of the Valle d'Aostabetween Italy and France. There, you’re encouraged in dialect as much as in Italian, and the finish line awaits with a hot meal you’ll never feel you deserved more 🤤.

So if the buzz of Chamonix catches your eye but you dream of a wilder Mont-Blanc, the Gran Trail Courmayeur waits on the other side! Buona fortuna 💫.