{"id":2317,"date":"2016-04-19T09:37:49","date_gmt":"2016-04-19T08:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ultimateluxurychalets.com\/blog\/?p=2317"},"modified":"2016-04-19T09:50:31","modified_gmt":"2016-04-19T08:50:31","slug":"patrouille-des-glaciers-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultimateluxurychalets.com\/blog\/patrouille-des-glaciers-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrouille des Glaciers – From Zermatt to Verbier"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Patrouille des Glaciers takes place between Tuesday 19th April – Saturday 23rd April 2016 starting in Zermatt<\/a> and ending in Verbier<\/a>. This year Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton cheer on little sister, Pippa Middleton, as she joins the Cooper-Shrosbree-Middleton-Young team!<\/p>\n

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For those not so familiar with The Patrouille des Glaciers, it has cemented itself as one of Europe\u2019s legendary ski mountaineering races, and takes place every two years. The first Patrouille des Glaciers\u00a0took place\u00a0in 1943 and has military origins, meaning it is an extremely popular event with the Swiss Army in particular.<\/p>\n

Other teams that regularly enter include the Police force, Mountaineering clubs and Border guards alongside many impressive athletes, however not everyone can compete. Participants who register for the competition must meet certain requirements which are listed on the official Patrouille des Glaciers website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The high altitude\u00a0and difficult alpine terrain,\u00a0with glaciers and couloir climbs, are the main features of this unique competition and for this reason it has cemented itself as one of the most intense and exciting events in the alpine calendar! Approximately 1,625 teams with over 5,000 members will compete in the race setting off at 45 minute intervals starting from Zermatt<\/a> and completing the race in Verbier<\/a> after 4 gruelling days on the mountain.<\/p>\n

As you can imagine, it is not for the faint hearted! Those\u00a0who complete the event will cover 110 kilometres and 4,000 metres of altitude during their ascent and descent. Beginning at Bahnhofplatz in Zermatt (1,616m), the team then pass Zen Stecken at the end of the village and continue onto Stafel, Sch\u00f6nbielh\u00fctte, St\u00f6ckji, T\u00eate Blanche (3,650m), Col de Bertol (3,268m) and Arolla. At this point participants who are taking part in the optional smaller race, join the race for the remaining 50km onto Verbier where teams are welcomed with celebrations.<\/p>\n