X-Traversee

X-Traversee

It is a point-to-point line over five passes. From La Fouly the course climbs past the Fenêtre lakes to the Fenêtre pass, the first of the five, then crosses briefly into Italy before the Grand St Bernard and its hospice; for 2027 the organiser has changed the route near the Grand St Bernard to avoid queues. Passes and balcony paths follow to the Panossière area, its glacier and suspension bridge, very close to the 4,314 m Grand Combin. The finish is the same as the longer race: the wall of about 1,200 m above Verbier, then the descent.

Waves are set by UTMB Index; starting in a later wave is allowed, an earlier one costs a two-hour penalty. The road to La Fouly closes on Saturday morning, so runners take buses from Le Châble station or the Ides car park in Orsières, timed by wave and bib number. Aid stations and cutoffs are on a separate page not yet published for 2027.

Because the start is a valley away from the finish, the people waiting in Verbier see nothing until the last descent. A runner’s Livebib link fills that gap: position on the course line, distance covered and a finish estimate that updates as the day goes on, in a browser with no account or app. Where the signal drops between passes, the position is carried forward along the course and marked as estimated. The runner chooses who gets the link.