Ultra Tour Monte Rosa 2027: preparation, logistics and gear guide

The 170 km Ultra Tour starts from Grächen, a Valais village at 1,600 m on a terrace above the Mattertal, on 2027-09-02 at 04:00. The time limit is 60 hours, which places the finish closing on 2027-09-04, inside the "1 - 4 September 2027" window the organisation displays across its site. Three hundred starters at most, six ITRA points.

The route follows the Tour de Monte Rosa, the long-distance path encircling the second highest summit in the Alps, and it changes country twice. From Grächen it reaches the Europahütte, then Täschalp and Zermatt at kilometre 37.1; from there comes the major climb to the Theodulpass, at 3,295 m on the Italian-Swiss border, whose last two kilometres are on ice. The following checkpoints are Italian: Rifugio Ferraro, Gressoney-la-Trinité at kilometre 79.5, the Passo dei Salati, the Rifugio Pastore, the Colle del Turlo at 2,701 m, then Macugnaga below the south face of Monte Rosa. The Monte Moro Pass leads back into Switzerland towards Saas Fee, and the Höhenweg returns via Hannigalp to Grächen.

The difficulty is of two kinds. The climbing first: 11,600 m up and as much down, with five climbs of more than 1,300 m in one go — the Europahütte (2,018 m from the start), the Colle del Turlo (1,515 m), the Passo dei Salati (1,364 m), the Monte Moro (1,333 m) and the Trockenersteg (1,320 m). Then altitude: five waypoints above 2,700 m, one of them at 3,324 m at the Teodul checkpoint, on terrain the organisation calls alpine and technical.

This guide gathers what the official site publishes as of 2026-09-13. One reservation to keep in mind: apart from the home page, several pages of the site still carry dates from past editions — the race page's "Date" block, its programme and its cut-off table contradict one another. The clock times are stable from edition to edition; it is the calendar dates that need rechecking close to the race.

The entry filter says what you need to have done: the organisation asks for a 100-mile mountain race finish from 2019-01-01 onwards, and cites UTMB, Hardrock 100, Tor des Geants, Ronda dels Cims, Diagonale des Fous, X-Alpine 111, Scenic Trail 113 and Transgrancanaria 128 km. Failing that, you must argue in writing for equivalent mountain experience. Useful training therefore starts from much higher than a first big race.

Work the climbing in long blocks, not short repeats. Five climbs on the course exceed 1,300 m in one go and the first falls within the opening seventeen kilometres, at night, over 2,018 m of ascent from Grächen: reaching the Europahütte already damaged compromises everything after it. The sessions to imitate are a continuous 1,500 m climb followed by an equally long descent, repeated twice in the same day.

Train for altitude and cold as much as for the legs. Five waypoints exceed 2,700 m, the Teodul checkpoint sits at 3,324 m, and the section between Zermatt and Gressoney requires microspikes because the ice there changes quickly. One outing on snow or glacier with microspikes on your feet beats discovering them at 3,000 m in the middle of the second night.

Finally, prepare for two nights. With a 60-hour limit, a mid-pack runner sleeps little and walks two full nights: the rule of two headtorches each with spare batteries is not a formality, it says how long you stay in the dark.

Registration for 2027 opens on 2026-10-01. Selection is first come, first served, subject to the required experience, and the organisation keeps a few discretionary places. The fee is 340 CHF and covers the t-shirt, the race number and timing chip, GPS tracking, the refreshment points, baggage storage in Grächen, the transfer of three drop bags and the finisher's gift.

Race registration and the equipment check take place in Grächen on the eve of the start, from 15:00 to 19:00, and both are mandatory. You must show photographic identification and present every item on the list. Note: the page giving that timing still dates it to a past edition, but the hours and the principle — the day before, late afternoon — are the ones announced.

The final road book, with the finalised route, GPS files, profile, checkpoint locations, time barriers and the day-by-day schedule, is emailed by early July, then updated by email if needed. That document, not the public page, is what counts on race day.

Personal accident insurance covering evacuation costs in Italy and Switzerland is required, valid at least for the duration of the race. The organisation puts it plainly: helicopter evacuation is free in neither country, and the choice of evacuation method is theirs. Separate travel insurance is advised for accommodation and shuttles.

Supporters are admitted at designated checkpoints only, and only where they do not interfere with the checkpoint's operation. No support between checkpoints, no pacing and no muling. Drop bags, on the other hand, travel to Zermatt, Gressoney and Macugnaga.

Grächen is a village above St Niklaus, in the Matter valley. The organisation describes it as easily reached by public transport from Milan, Geneva and Zurich airports, with trains leaving directly from the Geneva and Zurich airport stations. Connections are worked out on the Swiss railway site, and the destination to enter is "Grächen Zentrum"; a ticket bought in advance costs less.

The village is largely car-free, and every hotel and apartment is within walking distance of the Dorfplatz, where the start, the finish and the registration area are. From Chamonix, the organisation indicates rail via Vallorcine, Martigny and Visp. Bus shuttles are offered, with a dedicated booking form.

Every participant arranges their own accommodation before and after the race: the organisation does not provide it. Grächen is a small village at 1,600 m, on a terrace above the Matterhorn valley, with a wide variety of small hotels and apartments.

The options the organisation lists are the recently reopened village campsite, its partner Hotel Hannigalp and the other Grächen hotels, or the usual booking platforms. It also offered budget accommodation booked directly through it — the page marks that as unavailable for a past edition, so it is worth rechecking when registration opens on 2026-10-01.

The Ultra Tour Monte Rosa is decided by three choices made long before the start: getting the 100-mile qualifier, being ready on 2026-10-01 when registration opens, and gathering nineteen lines of equipment including microspikes you will not find the day before. Open a TrailCompanion Prep from this guide to date those decisions and follow the cut-offs checkpoint by checkpoint.