Route
The route follows basically the Tour du Mont Blanc hiking path, that is usually completed in 7 to 9 days by hikers. This is a loop around Mont Blanc.
It starts from Chamonix (1,035 m) and goes up to the Col de Voza (1,653 m) to reach Les Contamines (1,150 m). It then climbs to the Croix du Bonhomme (2,479 m) before going down back to Les Chapieux (1,549 m), which is the first life base. The path then runs up to the Col de la Seigne (2,516 m) to enter Italy, follows the ridge of the Mont-Favre (2,435 m) before going down to Courmayeur (1,190 m), the second life base. It climbs again to the Refuge Bertone (1,989 m) and Arnuva (1,769 m) before reaching its highest point, the Grand Col Ferret (2537 m), which also marks the border with Switzerland. The path goes down again to Praz de Fort (1,151 m) via La Fouly (1,593 m) before reaching the third life base, Champex d'en Bas (1,391m). The last part includes two rather low cols: Bovine (1,987 m) and Les Tseppes (1932 m) separated by Trient (1,300 m). On the descent to Vallorcine (1,260 m), the path enters back France, crosses Argentière (1,260 m) before terminating at Chamonix, its starting point.
Slight variations are applied to the route every year sometimes for safety reasons. In 2010, the route was 166 km long for a total elevation gain of 9500m.
A more detailed profile can be found on the official web site: UTMB profile.
Read more about this topic: Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc
Famous quotes containing the word route:
“By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,
Where an eidolon, named Night,
On a black throne reigns upright,
I have reached these lands but newly
From an ultimate dim Thule—
From a wild weird clime that lieth, sublime,
Out of space—out of time.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)
“A Route of Evanescence
With a revolving Wheel—”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“The route through childhood is shaped by many forces, and it differs for each of us. Our biological inheritance, the temperament with which we are born, the care we receive, our family relationships, the place where we grow up, the schools we attend, the culture in which we participate, and the historical period in which we live—all these affect the paths we take through childhood and condition the remainder of our lives.”
—Robert H. Wozniak (20th century)