The victorious male team arriving in Verbier, canton Valais.
Keystone-SDA
The Patrouille des Glaciers, the historic ski touring race organised by the Swiss army, has ended with French victories in the men’s and women’s events.
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Officially, the Patrouille des Glaciers aims to “maintain and train the Alpine skills of deployed units”, the Swiss army writes online. In practice, however, the event is also an opportunity for top ski touring athletes – a sport which featured in the Winter Olympics for the first time in February 2026 – as well as a challenge for numerous adventurous hobby athletes.
However, the top Swiss hopefuls had to admit defeat in the 2026 edition of the race, which spans 57.5 kilometres from Zermatt to Verbier and an altitude difference of 4,386 metres. Rémi Bonnet, the most successful Swiss ski touring athlete in history and current overall World Cup winner, finished ‘only’ second with his two team-mates, a good five minutes behind the victorious French trio of Xavier Gachet, Samuel Equy and William Bon Mardion.
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Record number of women to compete at Patrouille des Glaciers ski race
For the first time in the history of the Patrouille des Glaciers, victory in the men’s race thus went to a trio from France.
The women’s race was also won by a French team, in a record time of 7 hours, 4 minutes and 41 seconds. Swiss Olympic champion Marianne Fatton and her teammates came in second, around 22 minutes behind. Bonnet and Fatton won the race in previous years.
A total of 1,376 teams and 5,500 people signed up for this year’s edition – including 126 women-only teams, more than ever before. The first races had to be postponed on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the risk of avalanches.
The Patrouille des Glaciers dates to the time of army mobilisation at the Swiss border during the Second World War. It was held for the first time in 1943. The race, which takes place every two years, was intended to test the endurance and resilience of soldiers.
Around 900 military personnel were involved in the organisation of this year’s event.
Adapted from German by AI/dos
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