Montagn'Hard

What Montagn’Hard is

Montagn’Hard is the cult ultra of the Mont Blanc massif: 110 km and around 7,200 m of climbing starting in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and passing through Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce. With only 600 bibs it is the opposite of UTMB: no crowds, no marketing, no excuses. A climbing-to-distance ratio higher than Chamonix’s and a level of demand that filters from the first climb.

A classic high-mountain route

The race climbs to high villages, passes refuges and strings together passes with sustained gradients. There are no flat sections to recover: when you are not climbing, you are descending. And at the route’s average altitude the weather turns fast: a July afternoon can end in a thunderstorm at 2,000 m.

Who it is for

This is not a race for a first ultra. It is for runners who have already finished a mountain ultra and want to test themselves against more climbing without the pressure of a major event. Many use it as a benchmark five or six weeks before UTMB or TDS, because the terrain is identical.

The full pack

Kit here is serious: waterproof membrane, thermal layers, head torch with spare battery and survival blanket. Saint-Gervais is 20 minutes from Chamonix, so you can base yourself in either and combine racing with Alpine tourism. Check the regional race calendar to chain races and plan the trip with the planner.