Monte Rosa Sky Marathon

Amidst the hubbub of last week I forgot to highlight this unique and incredible looking sky running race.

Europe’s highest race celebrates a big come-back in the Italian Alps, the birthplace of skyrunning where it all began back in 1992. The successful 2021 edition saw 558 world class athletes from 36 countries retrace the original course to the summit of Monte Rosa at 4,554m altitude.

This unique event in true skyrunning style traverses moraine, snow fields and glaciers for 35 kilometres with a gruelling 7,000m ascent and descent. The athletes race in teams of two, roped together for safety.

Addendum: I debated if I should convert all distances/temperatures/speeds to be easier to understand here on Electric Cable Car. But I decided it’s easiest for me, and best for you dear reader if you get familiar with the metric system and the imperial system, for that matter. So, in that spirit, the numbers above translate to a shit-ton of vert in a relatively short distance. You are welcome.