Part of the UTMB Ultra Trail Mont Blanc series of events, it is sometimes referred to, even on the UTMB official site as the UTMB’s ‘little sister’ (why it isn’t the ‘little brother’ we are not too sure)!

I guess little is relative but at 101km and with 6,100m of ascent we would suggest it is far from little. Unlike the UTMB, the CCC starts in Courmayeur and after a few kilometres of what can only be described as spectacular scenery, it joins and then follows the UTMB course through to Champex, Trient and then onto Chamonix.

This means that it is a high altitude course and will, like the UTMB, involve walking three countries and crossing the Grand Col Ferret at 2,537m. Most occasions the weather is sunny and kind but we did say most, and like the UTMB, it can as a high altitude mountain endurance challenge be subjective to adverse wind (rain and thunderstorms) as well as having to deal with snow on the higher pass. I guess in summary we are saying being prepared and don’t take this event lightly if you intend to have a go!

The selection process pretty much follows the UTMB two step approach. The first selection criteria is by points. Entrants, qt the time of writing (2018), must have a minimum of at least 8 UTWT (Ultra Trail World Tour) points in a maximum of two races. Assuming you have you will go into a ballot where the first 1,900 entrants selected get to participate.

This is a high altitude, and severe endurance test and the points system is of course designed to ensure that contestants have the right skills, and experience to undertake the event as reasonably safely as possible.