Gran Trail Courmayeur

Every July, Piazza Abbé Henry in Courmayeur (1,224 m) hosts the start of the Gran Trail Courmayeur, organised by VDA Trailers, the team behind the Tor des Géants. Its roots go back to the Gran Trail Valdigne, launched in 2007 as the first high altitude race over 80 km run entirely on Italian soil. Three races share the trails at the foot of Mont Blanc: the GTC100 (about 100 km, 7,400 m of climbing, 33 hour limit), which starts at 10 pm on Friday; the GTC55 (55 km, 3,500 m), mostly in Val Veny; and the GTC30 (30 km, 2,000 m), devoted to the Val Ferret. All three finish at the Mont Blanc Trail Fest village in Parco del Bollino.

The GTC100 is a highly technical course, run almost entirely on marked hiking paths. Leaving in the dark, it heads towards La Thuile over the Colle della Croce and Rifugio Deffeyes, descends past the Rutor waterfalls, then climbs to its high point just below Mont Nix at 2,830 m. It links Colle di Youlaz, the Col du Berrio Blanc, Mont Fortin and the Col Chavanne before crossing the Col de la Seigne and dropping towards the Elisabetta refuge and Lake Combal. The route then joins the Tour du Mont Blanc via Lago Checrouit and Maison Vieille, passes the Pavillon du Mont Fréty on the Skyway Monte Bianco and follows the Val Ferret balcony between the Bertone and Bonatti refuges, before the final passes of Entre deux Sauts and Col Sapin and the view over Courmayeur from La Suche.

The GTC100 is also a gateway to the Tor des Géants: every finisher, whatever their ranking, is offered one of 100 places in the following TOR330, with no lottery. Between the glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif, alpine huts and the lively village of Courmayeur, it is a race that pairs serious mountain terrain with the warm welcome of the Aosta Valley.