The question that lingered was, as Dr. Carter had put it, would my arthritic hip pass the “acid test” on 105 miles of trail with 30,000 feet of accumulated ascents and descents over 11 mountain passes between 3,200 and 8,000 feet of elevation into France, Italy and Switzerland.
If you visit Chamonix, the French mountain town nestled at 1,037m above sea level, in the last week of August, you’ll find yourself surrounded by thousands of trail runners from across the globe.
The 15,555-foot peak the highest in Western Europe stands as a sentinel to anyone who visits the Chamonix valley, even though the actual summit is typically not visible from the valley floor. The upper points of the Mont Blanc massif including the spiky Grandes Jorasses appear differently at every hour of the day based on sunlight and weather patterns that continually tangle and tussle, and occasionally, if briefly, harmonize into a stunning alpenglow that looks more like a watercolor painting than something that you're seeing with your own eyes. While the Mont Blanc summit isn't attainable by trail running reaching the glaciated top of Mont-Blanc requires advanced mountaineering skills and a lot of gear the mountain exudes a distinct mix of scenic beauty, breathtaking ruggedness, and a mystical aura that serves as a physical and sensory backdrop to running around its jagged flanks in both France and Italy.