The Patrouille des Glaciers (or PDG) is a ski mountaineering* race with military origins between the legendary Swiss ski resorts Zermatt and Verbier.
Normally when people ski or walk between Verbier and Zermatt, which is part of the original Haute route, it takes them three to four days. However, at the end of April every second year, more than 3000 competitors will race/transport themselves/survive the 53 km and the 4000 vertical metres in somewhere between six and sixteen hours. Our goal is to be closer to six than sixteen…
The competition first took place during the Second World War and was then a military only event. Eventually the race was opened for civilians and is now extremely popular and the organisers have to turn down more than 1000 applicants.
During the winter we will keep you up to date with our training progress (hopefully), thoughts and news about the race.
More information on the event can be found here
* Ski mountaineering is a sport where you put a kind of skins under your light skis and walk up a mountain, when you have reached the summit, you take off the skins and ski down. Sounds easy doesn’t it?
ES enters a team into the PDG 2016