Trail Verbier St Bernard by UTMB
Trail Verbier St Bernard by UTMB – X-Traversee
La Fouly → Verbier
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The X-Traversee is the point-to-point centrepiece of Trail Verbier St Bernard by UTMB, a 77 km high-mountain crossing that runs from La Fouly to Verbier across the wild upper valleys of the Swiss Valais. With 4813 m of climbing and a high point of 2713 m, it strings together a series of alpine passes and mountain huts into one of the most serious challenges in the event's programme. This is a true traverse, not a loop: it moves from La Fouly at 1599 m over the Grand St Bernard region and along the high cabanes above the Val de Bagnes before finishing in Verbier. The relentless up-and-down between deep valley floors and 2400-plus-metre huts, combined with a long day and night on the mountain, makes the X-Traversee a test of climbing legs, descending control and steady resolve.
The course: valley floors to high huts, again and again
From La Fouly at 1599 m the route climbs to Grand St Bernard at 12.7 km (2471 m), then descends to Bourg St Pierre at 26.8 km (1620 m). It climbs again to Cabane de Mille at 38.6 km (2476 m), drops to Cabane Brunet at 46.3 km (2099 m), and pushes on to Cabane Panossière at 53.2 km (2640 m), the point near which the course reaches its 2713 m high point. A big descent then leads to Lourtier deep in the valley at 64.4 km (1076 m), before a final climb to La Chaux at 70.4 km (2264 m) and the closing drop to Verbier at 76.9 km (1486 m). The defining feature of the profile is its amplitude: the course repeatedly swings from valley floors near 1100 to 1600 m up to huts above 2400 m and back down. There are no long flat sections to recover on, which is how 77 km accumulates 4813 m of gain. Each of the major checkpoints marks either the top of a pass or the bottom of a valley, so runners should read the course as a sequence of five substantial climbs rather than a steady grind.
Where it is won or lost: the Panossière high point and the Lourtier drop
The heart of the race lies in the middle third, from Cabane de Mille through Cabane Brunet to Cabane Panossière. This chain of high huts carries the course to its 2713 m high point around Panossière and is the most sustained time at altitude in the whole event. Reaching Panossière with legs and energy intact is the single biggest predictor of a good finish; runners who over-extend on the earlier Grand St Bernard climb often pay for it here. The second decisive moment is the long descent from Panossière (2640 m) to Lourtier at 64.4 km (1076 m), a drop of more than 1500 m that hammers the quads late in the race. Survive that intact and there is still a sting in the tail: the climb from Lourtier back up to La Chaux at 2264 m, gaining nearly 1200 m at 64-plus km, before the final descent into Verbier. Managing your quads on the big downhills and keeping something in reserve for the La Chaux climb is what turns a hard day into a finish.
Pacing and fuelling to the cut-offs
Three cut-offs shape the race: Bourg St Pierre at 26.8 km closes at 17:25 on Saturday, Cabane Brunet at 46.3 km at 23:40, and Lourtier at 64.4 km at 06:10 on Sunday, with La Chaux at 70.4 km at 10:00. La Fouly, Bourg St Pierre, Cabane Brunet, Lourtier, La Chaux and Verbier are all crew points, so plan support and resupply around them. The Lourtier cut-off is the crucial one, giving a hard overnight deadline before the final valley-to-Verbier push, so build your pacing to arrive there with margin. Aid spacing is wide by mountain-race standards. The 14 km from La Fouly to Grand St Bernard, the 14 km from Grand St Bernard to Bourg St Pierre and the 11-plus km stretches between the high huts all need to be run self-sufficient, so carry ample food and fluid for two to three hours between resupply. Because the biggest climbs come in the middle and late race, keep eating steadily through the hut sections even when the terrain is slow; running low on fuel before the Lourtier descent or the La Chaux climb is a common way to miss the closing cut-offs.
Conditions to expect
This is high, remote Valais mountain country, and the X-Traversee spends hours above 2400 m at exposed cols and huts where weather can turn cold, wet or windy with little warning. The stretch from Cabane de Mille through Panossière is the most exposed and the most committing, far from road access, so the mandatory warm and waterproof kit is not optional here. Be ready for a wide temperature range between the sun-warmed valley floors and the high, shaded passes. With cut-offs extending overnight to the following morning, every runner should expect a full night on the mountain. A dependable headlamp with spare batteries is essential for the high huts and the long descents, particularly the technical drop from Panossière to Lourtier in the dark. The footing throughout is genuine alpine trail, steep and rocky on both climbs and descents, so slow your effort after nightfall, keep your light trained ahead, and treat the remote high sections with the caution the terrain deserves.
Race Trail Verbier St Bernard by UTMB – X-Traversee with Crux
Get the strategy, fuelling and crew plan dialled for this exact course — built from the real route, climbs and cut-offs. Your first race is free.
Plan this race — freeCourse profile
Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 1599 m · —
12.7 km · 2471 m · —
26.8 km · 1620 m · Sat 17:25
38.6 km · 2476 m · —
46.3 km · 2099 m · Sat 23:40
53.2 km · 2640 m · —
64.4 km · 1076 m · Sun 06:10
70.4 km · 2264 m · Sun 10:00
76.9 km · 1486 m · —
More races
More UTMB World Series
More in Switzerland
Similar distance (100 km–100 miles)
Racing Trail Verbier St Bernard by UTMB – X-Traversee?
Get a complete race strategy — pacing, fuelling, crew plan and the crux moments — built on this exact course.
Plan your race in Crux →Strava is your training. Crux is your races.