Races
Tor des Geants
Courmayeur. Three hundred thirty kilometers around the Aosta Valley. Twenty-four thousand meters up. Col Loson is the high pass.
The mountain
A tour of the valley on Alta Via 2, then Alta Via 1. Gran Paradiso. Mont Avic. Twenty-five passes over two thousand meters. Col Loson at three thousand two hundred ninety-nine. Life bases in the towns: Valgrisenche, Cogne, Donnas, Gressoney, Valtournenche, Ollomont. You choose when to stop. The race does not.
The work
A week in the Alps with a pack. Sleep in life bases if you take it. Snow can still sit on a pass in September. You train big days, night descents, and a stomach that works at three in the morning in a gymnasium.
Race morning
Two start waves from Courmayeur, late morning. One hundred fifty hours. Finish by Saturday evening. You leave town and see it again from the last pass, Malatra, before the finish.
Watch outs
Weather that flips from sun to snow. Sitting twelve hours in a life base. The high passes in a wind you did not pack for. Poles on a wet slab.