A keen trail runner discovers a new high in the French Alps: running at night on dark snowy mountains.
With music blaring, I was surrounded by hundreds of people excitedly jumping up and down, waving their hands in the air.
You might be picturing a packed nightclub or a sweaty music festival but no: it was 6pm on a mid-January night. Temperatures hovering around minus four celsius, stars blinking in the inky sky and the snow beneath my feet crisp and white.
I was waiting, along with 500 other runners, at the start line of the inaugural Trails des Gets Hiver, a winter trail run through over snowy hills and through lush Alpine forests.
Les Gets is about an hour’s drive from Geneva Airport, in the Haute Savoie region and part of the Portes du Soleil ski domaine. It’s an authentic French ski town with traditional alpine chalets, small hotels and two parallel streets which are dotted with bars, restaurants and ski shops.
We stayed at the charming Chalet Bluebell in Les Gets. The owners set us up for the race with a warm welcome and hearty food, and even gave us a lift to the start line and cheered us on round the course. It’s this kind of local hospitality that makes you feel part of a community on a running holiday.
Running on Les Gets’ deserted ski slopes at night
The dress code that night was, let’s say, eclectic. Surrounded by men in shorts and women gripping poles, my running buddy and I just had time to pull on our newly bought ice grips before the countdown began. Trois, Deux, Un! 500 head torches lit up the night sky and off we went, a gaggle of bobbing bobble hats and reflective strips.
The 10k route started in the centre of Les Gets and passed under the Chavannes gondola and chairlift lines before making a steady pull up the blue piste I’ve skied down many times over the years. I had a pinch-me moment – was I really running up a ski slope at night in the dark?!
Snowy terrain and pitch black surrounded us
I love a quirky running race. A few summers ago, I joined hundreds of others outrunning the tide on a causeway between the French mainland and Noirmoutier island. I also loved a women-only running festival in autumnal Austria. This time I decided to go full-on winter in the Alps.
Our illuminated throng moved in sync up the hillside, with even the elites seeming unwilling to strike out ahead into the pitch-black nothingness of the mountains. Soon, the path narrowed to single file and the fastest took their opportunity to forge ahead.
The snow was hard-packed but crunchy and we felt wonderfully sure-footed with our new ice grips. After the first kilometre, the path widened to a snow-covered road which led us through the pine trees before the ascent grew steeper.
Ahead of us, we followed the bright dots of the leaders as they climbed up the hillside. The going was tough but steady; every now and then the route would level out only to climb again.
After 5k of ascent, our legs were feeling it and we joked about grabbing a lift from a nearby piste-basher, the only sign of life on the cold dark mountain.
“We’re seeing more and more wolves in Les Gets,” I remembered our chalet host telling us over dinner the night before, but there was nothing to worry about; the groomer was the only beast we saw that night.
Lengthening our strides to reach the finish line
The route was marked by reflective tags on pegs lining the path and marshals provided a welcome soundtrack of “Allez, allez, bravo!” to power us on.
At 7k, the leader of the 20k race sped past us on his second lap before a marshal signalled us off the path onto a steep and knee-deep climb that stripped our last reserves of energy. A return to the corduroy of a perfect piste was a welcome sight, leading us back down the hill to town.
“We always knew we were epic!” my buddy and I screamed at each other as we crossed the finish line, hands aloft, “but now we have proof!”
Celebrating our success with a tartiflette dinner and a glass of beer
Wooden medals and goodie bags in hand, we joined our fellow runners for food and prize-giving in Les Gets’ function hall and event space. Dinner was included in the race entry price of €35, non-participating support crew welcome to join us.
In typical French style, the organisation was effortless and the food high quality. After a hearty plate of ‘tartiflette’, salad and vinaigrette with beer and cake to follow, we moseyed back to our chalet for a nightcap before bed.
Recovering in a hot tub
The next morning was sunny and we had enough energy left in the tank for a winter wonderland recovery walk from the top of the télécabine at Mont Chéry to Mont Caly and back. We were treated to unforgettable Mont Blanc and valley views as we wandered along deserted snowy paths.
After lunch, we soothed our weary muscles in Les Gets’ municipal spa, Les Sources du Chéry, dipping in and out of saunas, steam rooms and cold plunge pools.
In the hot tub, we reflected on why the trail run had been so fantastic. It was just the right level of comfort-zone-busting for two experienced but hobbyist runners from the UK. We have done much longer races in the past but this 10k, with its 400m of elevation, had felt just as challenging (and satisfying) as any half or marathon road race.
Thanks to the mild UK climate and landscape, we’d never run in snow on a mountain in the dark before so the Trail Des Gets Hiver had felt refreshingly intrepid, while being achievable and not requiring any specific training.
Rachel Ifans was a guest of Chalet Bluebell.
