Wildstrubel by UTMB®
Wildstrubel by UTMB® – Wild 55 Adelboden
Adelboden → Crans-Montana
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The Wild 55 Adelboden is the mid-distance option in the Wildstrubel by UTMB weekend, a 55 km point-to-point that starts in the Bernese Oberland village of Adelboden and finishes across the ridge in Crans-Montana on the Valais side. With 2994 m of vertical gain packed into that distance, it is a genuine mountain crossing rather than a rolling trail race, topping out at 2789 m beside the Cabane Wildstrubel before dropping into a different canton to finish. What defines this race is its shape: two valley floors, two big climbs, and a single high, exposed traverse over the Rawil area that separates the finishers from the runners who blow up early. Everything before the Wildstrubel is preparation for that crossing; everything after it is about holding form on tired legs down a long descent to the finish line at 1500 m.
The course: an Adelboden-to-Valais crossing
From the start in Adelboden at 1350 m the route climbs immediately to Sillerebüel at 1974 m by 10.3 km, a 600-plus-metre opener that warms the legs before the first big descent. It then drops hard into Lenk at 1066 m (18.9 km), the lowest point of the day and the first crew point, before turning uphill again toward Iffigenalp at 1587 m (27.2 km). From there the trail commits to the mountain proper, climbing to the Cabane Wildstrubel at 2789 m by 33 km, the roof of the course. The back half is a long, high traverse and descent: over Col Du Rawil at 2428 m (35.6 km), down to the Barrage De Tseuzier reservoir at 1778 m (43.7 km), and finally the run-in to Crans-Montana at 1500 m by 54.6 km. Because the finish sits on the Valais side above the Rhône valley, this is a true crossing of the Wildstrubel massif — you end the day in a different region from where you started, with the terrain shifting from Oberland alpine pasture to the drier, sun-facing slopes above Crans-Montana.
Where the race is won and lost
The decisive section is the climb from Iffigenalp at 1587 m to the Cabane Wildstrubel at 2789 m — roughly 1200 m of gain in under 6 km, the steepest sustained pitch on the course and the one that arrives after you have already climbed to Sillerebüel and clawed back out of Lenk. Reach Iffigenalp with something left and the Wildstrubel is a hard but manageable grind; arrive already emptied and it becomes a survival march against the clock. The second crux is the high traverse itself. Cresting the Cabane Wildstrubel does not deliver you home: you still have Col Du Rawil at 2428 m and a long, technical drop to the Barrage De Tseuzier at 1778 m, all above or near 1800 m and fully exposed. This is where quads pay for an over-aggressive first descent into Lenk. Runners who ran the Lenk downhill under control and saved their legs are the ones still moving well on the 11 km, roughly 280 m net descent from the barrage into Crans-Montana.
Pacing and fuelling to the cut-offs
The clock is set by three checkpoints: Lenk at 18.9 km closes Saturday 13:00, Iffigenalp at 27.2 km closes 15:00, and the Barrage De Tseuzier at 43.7 km closes 20:15. The tightest squeeze is the two hours allotted between Lenk and Iffigenalp — only 8.3 km on paper, but it straddles a valley floor and the start of the real climbing, so treat Lenk not as a rest but as a fast, purposeful crew stop. Bank time on the runnable early descent into Lenk rather than trying to make it up on the Wildstrubel climb, where your pace will be dictated by the gradient. Aid and crew access is concentrated at Lenk (18.9 km) and the finish, with Iffigenalp and the Barrage De Tseuzier as the other staffed checks. The gap that demands the most self-sufficiency is Iffigenalp to the Barrage — the entire high crossing over the Wildstrubel and Col Du Rawil with no crew contact and hours of altitude. Carry enough calories and fluid to cover that whole traverse, and top up fully at Iffigenalp before committing to the summit push.
Conditions to expect up high
For most of its distance the Wild 55 runs at valley or mid-mountain elevation, but the middle third is spent between roughly 1800 m and the 2789 m high point, and that band changes the race. The Cabane Wildstrubel, Col Du Rawil and the traverse toward the Barrage De Tseuzier are open, high-alpine terrain where weather moves fast: sun and still air on the climb out of Iffigenalp can give way to wind and cold on the col within the hour, and early or late in the day snow patches on the north-facing sections are plausible at this altitude. Plan your kit for the summit rather than the start line. Leaving Adelboden at 1350 m it may feel warm, but you will be near 2800 m and fully exposed by the middle of the race, so a wind layer, gloves and a warm top belong in the pack even on a fair forecast. The long descent to Crans-Montana on the Valais side tends to be sunnier and drier than the Oberland approach, so manage hydration for a warm, exposed finish after the cold of the tops.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 1350 m · —
10.3 km · 1974 m · —
18.9 km · 1066 m · Sat 13:00
27.2 km · 1587 m · Sat 15:00
33 km · 2789 m · —
35.6 km · 2428 m · —
43.7 km · 1778 m · Sat 20:15
54.6 km · 1500 m · —
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