Tor des Glaciers, inside

Chapter 1: The Battle with Peter

After many days spent in the mountains this summer, I feel as ready as ever and quickly set off through the streets of Courmayeur to attack this monument of ultra-trail. Unlike last year, many runners are following me, including a young Indian, Rao Shashwat, who overtakes me, calling me his idol… He runs in impossible slopes and leads the way to the first two refuges. I then escape into the first major descent towards La Thuile with Peter. The beginning of a long battle. He has evidently decided to accompany me and sticks to me like glue, resembling two road cyclists wheel to wheel… We maintain a blistering pace. The Gabioud brothers fall behind and we reach the Deffeyes refuge with a few minutes’ lead over them, Tiaan Erwee and Shashwat still there after the first marathon. We order a plate of pasta that I devour quickly. Seeing me ready to leave, Peter doesn’t finish his plate and accompanies me… He must be afraid that I’ll get lost in the monstrous challenge that awaits us, the Planaval pass and its tortuous descent into unstable moraine. The descent goes smoothly, and I set the pace on the long climb towards the degli Angeli refuge. The sunrise is sublime, the mountains to the east are covered in a powerful orange hue. At 7:30 a.m. this Saturday, we reach this beautiful refuge perched in the middle of nowhere. A quick culinary break. We maintain a good pace all morning but the heat starts to weigh on me approaching the Bezzi refuge. I tell Peter to go ahead and leave me, but he refuses and waits for me. I linger at the refuge, and he eventually agrees to leave alone and let me be a lone wolf… I quite like Peter, but I prefer being alone at my own pace, and having him constantly behind me is a bit burdensome at times. I hear about Sandrine’s abandonment, I’m really sad for her. The following day will be a constant struggle against the threatening body heat!!! I’m very careful and walk steadily in the cols to reach the Bénévelo Savoia and Emmanuel refuges. In the long climb towards the latter, I see Peter just 5 minutes above me, and that boosts my morale because I thought he would have gained more ground… I have almost 1 hour and 30 minutes of lead compared to my departure last year, despite the heat. That also boosts me and proves my Olympic form at the moment!

Chapter 2: The Solo Breakaway

I take advantage of a quick stop at the Emmanuel refuge while Peter rests for 5 minutes in another room to head out ahead towards the Chabod refuge. The evening chill allows me to pick up the pace and I manage to break away a bit. The welcome at Chabod is phenomenal and already brings tears to my eyes. I quickly gulp down my Baobab drink, so rich in good things, and instead of sleeping like last year, I decide to tackle the steep Grand Neyron pass while it’s still daylight. The glaciers of the Grand Paradis turn pink, and the spectacle is grandiose. I spot Peter and his headlamp about 15 minutes behind me. Two guides are waiting to help me through this highly technical passage. Fixed ropes and a vertical ladder allow us to descend 100 meters of elevation where any mistake would be fatal! Only the Italians would trace courses in such places… The atmosphere is incredible… The Tor des Glaciers in all its splendor, in all its madness…

The long descent towards the foot of the Loson pass is tricky… I fall with all my weight on a slippery slab. I hit my sacrum, and it makes a crazy noise in my body… I get up slowly, one step then another… it hurts but I start again slowly with a pain in my coccyx that will follow me until the finish. Nonetheless, I climb the very high pass of over 3300m at a decent pace and reach the Sella refuge at 00:30. I decide to have my first 1.5-hour sleep. I can’t eat much, but this rest goes well, and when I wake up, Peter is barely lying down. I’ve built up a good lead in the early night, and that gives me a big morale boost to attack the long descent towards Cogne. I stop for 1 hour at this first cherished life base, pampered by Daniela and Sergio. I have almost 2.5 hours ahead of last year and 1 hour 45 minutes on Peter. The signals are green, but I have to manage the heat.

I manage the Grauson and Miserin refuges well, and I decide to eat at Dondena except that the refuge is not a partner this year. Faced with my dismay, the guardian kindly agrees to feed me with cottage cheese and pear juice. They are all so adorable here… I’m apprehensive about the rest because last year I fell ill in the terrible Fracola pass, and this year, on top of that, the heat is terrible. I climb it slowly, lacking water, but a hiker agrees to give me a few sips… The descent that follows and the steep slope towards the Retempio dormitory are still difficult because the coolness hasn’t set in yet. I eat little and leave fairly quickly towards the Bonze refuge. The welcome there is again amazing, the mountains resonate with their encouragement and bells. It’s wonderful… Thank you! I decide to sleep in Donnas and quickly set off on this endless descent… At 9:38 p.m. this Sunday, I reach the second life base. My bag is not there… I sleep for 1.5 hours, cared for by a physiotherapist. When I wake up, I can finally change and eat a little, but I couldn’t charge my phone, and that will bother me for a long time because I’ll have to save it and therefore listen to very little music… I set off again listening to all the messages from my fan club, it feels so good!

Heading towards the Coda refuge, a mythical place for me in the Tor, as its location is beautiful and the reception is wild. It’s in the middle of the night this time that I reach the magnificent ridge equipped with ropes and rungs that leads to the refuge. I think that at 5 a.m. Coda will be asleep, but no… Foghorn, bells, and “let’s go Sébastien” shouted into the mountains, I cry and receive an incredible adrenaline rush. I quickly move on, determined to widen the gap early in the morning in this very technical part of the Tor before the sun sets. For once, I don’t sleep to reach Barma, and by noon, I’m at Niel la Gruba with a 6-hour lead over my time from last year… Peter is holding on 2 hours behind, I hoped for better, he’s strong and doesn’t give up! The chef at La Gruba treats me to cheese crepes and polenta. A physiotherapist puts tarps on my shins because I’m starting to have pain in my anterior leg muscles. I quickly head to the last life base of Greysonney. My friends Daniela and Calogero, the physiotherapists, bandage my feet and shins while I get some sleep.

Chapter 3: Crisis Management and the Miracle

I leave the life base before 6 p.m. and quickly climb towards the Sitten refuge. As night falls, I pass the Bettoleina pass near Mont Rose before the very technical descent towards the Frachey refuge. From the first strides in the scree, a sharp pain pierces my left anterior tibial muscle, I can’t run, and the pain is unbearable. Nothing is going right, I can’t find the cairns and arrows in this rocky chaos, I lose my headlamp while trying to change a battery, and it takes me a few minutes to find it thanks to the light from my phone. I continue the descent, walking on eggshells; whenever I try to run again, the pain reminds me to stop… My mind is spinning, how can I do 120kms like this? Upon arrival at the refuge, I tell myself that I won’t have any other choice but to abandon. Well, I think to myself that anyway I had planned to sleep for 1h30, the keepers give me ice and apply an arnica balm to my leg. I sleep and wake up with apprehension. I put my foot down and feel nothing, I walk to the kitchen, eat a bit, and leave without socks, my shoelaces barely tightened like my students with their beautiful brand-new Nike sneakers from the movies. Come on, Seb, you’ll see how it goes! Luckily, I restart with a gentle ascent of several hours towards the foot of the Matterhorn. I use the relaxation technique of the tibial muscle that Sergio recommended to me, and I realize in the few descents that the pain has disappeared… I reapply the balm several times. What a miracle… Behind me, Peter has exploded, even though I thought he would take advantage to catch up since I just lost 1h30 in this story. But it’s Tiaan Erwee who took advantage and came back to second place at 3:30 am… I arrive at the Hotel Stambecco at 6:10 am this Tuesday before the organization, but fortunately, breakfast is self-service. Quick stop, I want to leave with the morning freshness towards the small and magnificent Perruca Vuillermoz refuge. The balcony trail is sublime, and I weave between ibexes and chamois… There are clouds today, and it feels good. I have an 8-hour lead at the refuge compared to my 2022 time, it’s crazy. I continue towards the Parayer refuge, crossing a very technical passage with ropes in the rain. I allow myself a 20-minute nap at 2 pm. My idea is to tackle the last major difficulty, Mont Gelé, during the day, so I’m in attack mode until I reach the Crête Sèche refuge at 6 pm. 30 minutes later, with a full stomach, I face the monster…