Monte Rosa Trail

Course

The course climbs 6300 m+. With 77 m/km of climbing, the course is exceptionally steep, with long hiking-grade sections. By gradient, 43% of the distance is uphill, 39% downhill and 18% flat. The longest climb runs 7.9 km at an average 13.4% grade (1062 m of vertical). The longest descent runs 5.9 km at 11.0% (648 m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 43.1% over 0.4 km. The steepest descent drops at 39.8% over 0.5 km. Surface: 75% trail, 14% road, and 6% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 136.9 FlatKM.

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 17.5 km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 53 of 100), with 42% of the load in the first half: 2 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Control on the marked descents until km 40, target pace until km 64, free after that. Short descents not listed: target pace.
• #1 · 27.7–35.5 km · 878 m D−, -11.3% · 55% of the race ahead → control
• 37.6–39.0 km · 384 m D−, -26.7% · 51% of the race ahead → control
• #2 · 50.0–55.4 km · 847 m D−, -15.6% · 30% of the race ahead → target pace
• 56.8–59.0 km · 370 m D−, -17.2% · 26% of the race ahead → target pace
• 75.0–77.2 km · 467 m D−, -21.2% · 3% of the race ahead → free
• Plus 1 more notable descents not listed: target pace.

Weather

Historically on race day, start temperatures range from 20°C to 28°C, around 8°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 35%. Heavy rain of 10.0 mm or more falls on about 5% of days around this date.

Results

724 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Martin Anthamatten (Switzerland) in 9:32:39. Women's winner: Martina Valmassoi (Italy) in 11:29:49.