Wildstrubel by UTMB®
Wildstrubel by UTMB® – Wild 70 Kandersteg
Kandersteg → Crans-Montana
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The Wild 70 Kandersteg is the long-distance crossing of the Wildstrubel by UTMB weekend, a 72 km point-to-point that begins in Kandersteg, threads through Adelboden and Lenk in the Bernese Oberland, and finishes over the mountains in Crans-Montana in the Valais. At 4322 m of positive gain and a high point of 2790 m beside the Cabane Wildstrubel, it takes the same summit crossing as the shorter Wild 55 but bolts a demanding front section onto it, turning the day into a full traverse of the massif. What sets the Wild 70 apart is that extra opening loop from Kandersteg over to Adelboden — an early climb and descent that adds distance, vertical and, crucially, fatigue before you even reach the ground the 55 km runners start on. Get that first third wrong and the long, high Wildstrubel crossing that follows becomes a very different problem.
The course: two valleys before the mountain
From Kandersteg at 1171 m the route climbs to Ueschine at 1735 m by 7.5 km — a water-only point, so it is a checkpoint to pass through rather than resupply at — before crossing over and descending to Adelboden at 1330 m (18.2 km), the first true aid and crew stop. From Adelboden the course follows the same skeleton as the Wild 55: up to Sillerebüel at 1975 m (27.4 km), down to the low point at Lenk at 1065 m (36 km), then the climb to Iffigenalp at 1586 m (44.5 km). The defining crossing comes next: the haul to the Cabane Wildstrubel at 2790 m by 50.1 km, the roof of the race, followed by the long high descent to the Barrage De Tseuzier reservoir at 1778 m (60.8 km) and the final run to Crans-Montana at 1499 m by 71.8 km. In effect the Wild 70 is a genuine Oberland-to-Valais traverse: you start in one deep valley, cross a second at Adelboden, drop through Lenk, then climb over the Wildstrubel to finish in a different canton entirely.
Where the race is won and lost
The signature climb is the same one the whole Wildstrubel programme is built around: Iffigenalp at 1586 m up to the Cabane Wildstrubel at 2790 m, roughly 1200 m of gain in about 5.6 km. On the Wild 70 you arrive at its foot at 44.5 km with the Kandersteg opener, Sillerebüel and the Lenk descent already in your legs, so the summit push is far more taxing than the raw numbers suggest. This is the passage that decides your day. The under-appreciated crux, though, is the front section from Kandersteg to Adelboden. It is tempting to attack the Ueschine climb while fresh, but every minute spent burning matches there is borrowed against the Wildstrubel four hours later. The other place legs come undone is the high descent from the summit to the Barrage De Tseuzier — over 1000 m of drop after 50 km of racing. Runners who protected their quads on the earlier Lenk descent are the ones still able to run the final 11 km from the barrage down into Crans-Montana.
Pacing and fuelling to the cut-offs
Four checkpoints govern the clock, all on the Friday: Adelboden at 18.2 km closes 11:45, Lenk at 36 km closes 16:00, Iffigenalp at 44.5 km closes 18:00, and the Barrage De Tseuzier at 60.8 km closes 23:00. The Adelboden cut-off is the one to respect early — it is only 18.2 km in but sits behind the Kandersteg-to-Ueschine climb, so a cautious start still has to be brisk. From Lenk you have two hours to cover the 8.5 km to Iffigenalp, a tight window given it launches the day's biggest climb, so use Lenk as a fast crew stop, not a long one. Resupply strategy hinges on two facts: Ueschine at 7.5 km is water only, and the stretch from Iffigenalp over the Wildstrubel to the Barrage De Tseuzier is the longest self-sufficient block of the day. Leave Adelboden and Lenk fully stocked, and above all fill completely at Iffigenalp before the summit — you will be on the high traverse for hours with no crew access until the barrage. Crew points are Kandersteg, Adelboden, Lenk, the Barrage De Tseuzier and the finish.
Conditions to expect up high
The Wild 70 spends its decisive middle hours between roughly 1800 m and the 2790 m high point at the Cabane Wildstrubel, and this is where the weather has the final say. The summit and the traverse toward the Barrage De Tseuzier are open, exposed alpine terrain: wind, fast-moving cloud and a sharp temperature drop are all realistic even when the valleys are mild, and at this altitude lingering snow on shaded sections is possible in early or late conditions. Dress for the mountain, not the valley you start in. Kandersteg at 1171 m may feel benign at the gun, but you will be near 2800 m and fully in the open by the heart of the race, so a wind shell, warm layer and gloves belong in the pack regardless of the forecast. Note too that much of this crossing is run into the evening given the Friday cut-offs, so plan for cold and darkness on the high sections and a warmer, drier descent as you drop onto the Valais slopes above Crans-Montana.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 1171 m · —
7.5 km · 1735 m · —
18.2 km · 1330 m · Fri 11:45
27.4 km · 1975 m · —
36 km · 1065 m · Fri 16:00
44.5 km · 1586 m · Fri 18:00
50.1 km · 2790 m · —
60.8 km · 1778 m · Fri 23:00
71.8 km · 1499 m · —
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