A mountain guide get killed in the Matterhorn Yesterday, a mountain guide from Annecy died in the Matterhorn while he was guiding. Gerald Durand was guiding with a french customer when the accident happened. The accident occurred at 4200m on the Italian side of the mountain, when the both alpinists were climbing roped in. We don't know yet the reason of the accident, but we know that the guide fell just in front of his client. And it was the client that called the mountain rescue. When the rescue arrived (Italian mountain rescue) they found the dead body and the client still roped in, with the client in shock. Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, a little bit of history From Chamonix to Chamonix, around the Mont Blanc. 2300 athletes will run it this next weekend. 166km with +9600m in less that 46 hours. These runners are called the 'trailers'. A normal person enjoys the view, takes time to eat. The trailer is light, light and fast. This new sport 'the trail running' is getting more and more popular. And all the Tourism Offices say the same thing. There are more athletes every year that come to visit the Alps. Their goal is to train to the Trail & Ultra-Trail Competitions, competitions with more than 90km. And the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc is one of the most famous. Others like the Diagonal the Fous (Reunion Island) and the 100 Miles in the USA, are also very famous. And when he's not running these competition he doesn't stay at home watching TV, he trains more and more for another competitions like the 6000mD, the Trail des Templiers or the Trail des Aiguilles Rouges. France is one step ahead in terms of competition organizations. There are so many trails organized in France that you can do one per week. But of course that the King of the Trails is the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. After 7 years this competition has more and more success. People come from all over the world to run it. Walk fast uphill and run downhill... all the rest his your strength and the mind. The best result was made last year by the Spanish Kilian Jornet, 20 h 56 min. But all started a long time ago, in 1978 Christian Roussel et Jacky Duc made it in 25h. Now that the trail running has become a real sport with more and more people practicing it, there are competitions everywhere and all the big sport brands joined the market. The North Face, Salomon, Quechua, etc. Next friday, 2300 athletes will try to finish the UTMB in less than 46 hours. But 3000 more will run the other 3 competitions included on the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. This year the safety is the most important subject for the organization. All the athletes will be followed by GPS. All this because last June 3 athletes died during a trail competition in France. The main goal of the organization is that everybody finishes the UTMB. Reach the end, don't give up. At the finish line you'll receive a kiss from the organizer, this can be a good motivation to finish it.
