For the second part of our week’s training holiday, we headed to the Thermal Spa resort of Leukerbad. Handily it was located just 30mins from the start of the Barrhorn 3k SkyRace. Vertical kilometre races are popular in the Alps, and many of the longer trail races often have a VK in their series. I have been wanting to do a VK race for a while and had often done the Chamonix VK route as a training run many times over the years; the opportunity to do a V3 Km race was too good to miss. After the Trail du Vélan Race we had been getting high most days, topping out at 3,084m on Mont Rogneux, so I was feeling well acclimatised.
Nicola didn’t fancy another 3am alarm call, and told me not to wake her up and to get going solo, so I headed down the valley to Turtmann at 620m to join 200 runners for a 6am start. The SwissMeteo was forecasting thunder and lightning with snow above 3,000m by 15:00. Nicola checked with the BBC, which reinforced her decision to stay in bed.
This would be the 3rd running of the Barrhorn.ch, which gains 3,000m in 24km. Arriving at the start I sensed there were plenty of VK specialists on the start line, and wondered if perhaps I should have entered the “Marcheurs” start at 4am.
The Barrhorn at 3,610m is “Europe’s highest hiking mountain”, with the route clear of any snow in the summer months and a relatively straightforward trail to the summit. The normal hiking start point is at the end of the public road at Brandji, 1827m, which we would pass by more than halfway into the race.
At 5.50am the race organiser gave detailed final instructions mainly in German, which I failed to understand anything of, however the route was well marked with “SwissPeaks” race flags, so navigation would not be an issue. After leaving the village square, the route climbed steadily through forest, the cool damp air ideal conditions. The first aid station at Hubsch Weidj (1,490m) came quickly, and I paused only to fill my water bottle. After 12km we emerged into a long hanging valley and the next aid station at the Alpine Dairy of Bloumatt (1,872m), also an aid station on the SwissPeaks 360 race.
At the Turtmannsee lake the trail became rougher and a steep climb to the final aid station at the 2,523m Turtmannhutte. A 2 minute stop to grab some food and flat coke, and onto the more serious section of the route. After a narrow scree gully, we climbed a 100ft wall of limestone rock, equipped with cables, and then onto a narrow ridge with more cable guard rails. The views to the 4,505m Weisshorn were mesmerising as the ridge broadened at around 3,000m.
The final climb was on loose shale, and as we neared 3,300m I began to struggle with my breathing, although as my pace slowed I still managed to stay with the runners in front. The temperature was by now around freezing, and a cool northerly wind chilled my core. 50m below the summit in a sheltered depression was the final timing point, but everyone continued onto the summit. I was feeling quite lightheaded from the exertion, and after a quick photo donned some clothing layers, to sit down and take in the panorama. Out of interest, I measured my Blood Oxygen % on my watch, giving a reading of just 70%, which explains my feeling of Hypoxemia. Descending I passed the remaining runners still climbing and was surprised to see how slowly they were moving as they too suffered with trying to move quickly at the altitude.
Back down at the Turtmannhutte there was a soup of hot sausage to warm my insides. The only problem with uphill-only races is that you have to get back down, however, there were free buses at the head of the valley to the race hub at Meizen, however, I opted to get in a few extra training kms. The post-race meal was raclette and Swiss beer, but given the weather forecast, I didn’t linger for the prize-giving and continued my run to Oberems, where our race number gave us a free ride with the cable car guy back down to Turtmann.
Another fantastically organised small race with great support from the local community and businesses. Switzerland has over 65,000km of trails and they certainly make the most of “everyman’s right” to access the forest and mountain areas, which are mainly owned by the Cantons. Their constitution requires that footpaths and hiking trails are kept in good, safe condition with maintenance work carried out at canton and municipal levels receiving CHF53 million of annual funding.
The following day we had a recovery hike to the summit of the 2,998m Torrenthorn, before hiring scooters for the descent from the Rinderhutte back to Leukerbad. Using the free entry voucher from the race, we went to the Therme baths where the mineral-rich water is warmed naturally to 51C, before being cooled to a pleasant 36C and directed into various angled pipes and water jets; Ideal to massage every aching muscle, and give a happy ending to the week.
Graham Nash
Race info: https://barrhorn.ch/
Results: https://barrhorn.ch/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ResultListsGenderResults_2023.pdf