At UTMB, only one person per crew point may help a runner, at four places on the course, and you can't drive to any of them. Crewing all four without a car can be done, with one hard journey in the night, as long as every move is timed against your runner's arrival and the last shuttle. All times and prices in this guide are from 2026, the latest edition.
- This UTMB support crew guide covers the four crew points of 2026: Les Contamines, Courmayeur, Champex-Lac and Vallorcine. The CCC has two, the OCC none.
- One person per point, holding one of the tickets the runner gets with their bib (one per point, so four on UTMB), and a bag of no more than 30 litres.
- The roads are closed, so you travel by shuttle, on a supporter pass for each section (France, Italy, Switzerland), sold in 2026 from 9 June to 12 July and never on the spot. Vallorcine is also 29 minutes by train in daylight from Les Praz-de-Chamonix, the nearest station to Chalet Bonami (400 m), in the hamlet of Les Bois, 3 km from central Chamonix.
- The hard part is Champex-Lac to Vallorcine, overnight from Saturday to Sunday. You change shuttles at Orsières, a Swiss village below Champex-Lac, and the shuttle from Orsières to Trient stopped at 4am. After that, there's only the 5.29am train.
UTMB support crew rules: what the regulations allow
The rules let a friend or relative help their runner, but only at certain aid stations and inside a reserved area. That's what UTMB calls crewing, or personal assistance.
UTMB is both the week of races held in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc at the end of August and its main race, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. In 2026 that was a 173.6 km (108-mile) loop round the massif through Italy and Switzerland. Two other races have crew points: the CCC (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix, 108 km) and the TDS (Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie, 145 km).
The shorter races, the OCC (Orsières-Champex-Chamonix), MCC (Martigny-Combe-Chamonix) and ETC (Experience Trail Courmayeur), have none.
| Race | Crew points in 2026 |
|---|---|
| UTMB | Les Contamines, Courmayeur, Champex-Lac, Vallorcine |
| CCC | Champex-Lac, Vallorcine |
| TDS | Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Beaufort, Les Contamines |
| OCC, MCC, ETC | None |
The 2027 regulations are already online, with the same crewing rules as 2026: one person per point, a 30-litre bag, and care limited to massage and blisters. This guide follows UTMB. The CCC gets one paragraph, and the TDS isn't covered in detail.
UTMB is not a US 100: no pacers, one crew member per crew point, no car
If you've crewed a 100-miler in the United States, you may be used to pacers, several crew members at each aid station and a car to drive between them. UTMB has no pacers: nobody may run with your runner on the course, except for a few hundred metres in the marked spectator zones before and after each aid station. Only one person gets into each crew point, and the roads to those points are closed to cars during the race.
Without the car, everything runs on timetables: shuttles bought in advance, the valley train and, for one stretch, the Swiss railways.
One person per point, one ticket, a 30-litre bag
The crew ticket isn't sold: the runner gets it with their bib. The rule is one ticket per crew point, one ticket per person, so the runner has one ticket for each crew point (four on UTMB) and hands each one before the start to whoever covers that point. Without a ticket you don't get into the crew zone.
The crew member carries a bag of no more than 30 litres, for the runner's clothes and food. At the finish in Chamonix the rule changes: the runner also gets a finish ticket, which lets up to three people into the finish area.
What you can do in the crew zone, and what earns a penalty
The crew zone is the part of the aid station that the crew member enters with their ticket. You hand over food and kit, and care is limited to massage and blisters, with the runner sitting on a chair, not lying down. Any medical help from the runner's own people is banned, even if they're a doctor, physio or nurse, so the only help allowed is what any relative could give.
Penalties fall on the runner. Crewing outside the zone costs them 1 hour on UTMB, the CCC and the TDS, the three races with crew points.
Running alongside your runner is only allowed in those marked spectator zones, a few hundred metres either side of an aid station. Anywhere else, each time it's reported costs them 15 minutes on UTMB, the CCC and the TDS, and 10 minutes on the other races, even if you never touch them.
A checkpoint isn't a crew point: it's where the runner's time is recorded, with or without an aid station, and nobody may help there. Trient and La Flégère were on the 2026 course without being crew points. La Flégère, at km 166.6 of 173.6 and 7 km (4 miles) from the finish, is the last checkpoint, and its aid station serves drinks only.
Read more: UTMB spectator guide: the points where you can cheer but not crew
UTMB support crew without a car: closed roads, supporter passes and the train
In 2026, roads and car parks in eight places on the course were closed: Les Contamines, Saint-Gervais, Courmayeur, La Fouly, Champex, the Col de la Forclaz, Trient and Vallorcine. Only three groups could get an exemption and drive through: disabled people, families with a child under 3 and the support crews of elite runners. Everyone else is left with two networks: the organisers' shuttles and the valley train, the Mont-Blanc Express, which runs from Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet to Vallorcine and on into Switzerland, via Le Châtelard, to Martigny.
Arriving from Geneva, and crossing two borders
Most crews fly into Geneva, in Switzerland, and Chamonix is in France. Coach transfers run by road from the airport, and Chamonix itself wasn't on the 2026 list of places with closed roads. By rail, the Léman Express (line L3) runs from central Geneva to Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet without a change, and the valley train takes over from there: for Chalet Bonami, get off at Les Praz-de-Chamonix.
Once the race starts, crewing all four points takes you across two borders, into Italy at Courmayeur and into Switzerland at Champex-Lac, Orsières and Trient. Both countries are in the Schengen area, but border checks can still happen, so carry a passport or ID card. Each country is also a separate section of the supporter pass.
The supporter pass: one per race and per section
The supporter pass gets you onto the UTMB Mobility shuttles, the organisers' coaches, and is sold per race and per section: for UTMB, France (Les Contamines, and the Chamonix-Vallorcine shuttle), Italy (Courmayeur) and Switzerland (Champex-Lac via Orsières, and the Orsières-Trient and Trient-Vallorcine shuttles). In 2026 it was sold from 9 June to 12 July only, and never on the spot. You get a QR code by email, scanned as you board, and you can't resell it.
Each section is a pass of its own, so this guide calls them the France, Italy and Switzerland passes. A pass covers one to five adults, and the table gives the price of the whole pass, not per person, so two adults on the France section paid €42 between them. UTMB prices in 2026:
| UTMB pass, 2026 | France section | Italy section | Switzerland section |
|---|---|---|---|
| One adult | €26 | €31 | €36 |
| Two adults | €42 | €55 | €64 |
| Three adults | €57 | €78 | €90 |
| Four adults | €66 | €91 | €106 |
| Five adults | €76 | €106 | €125 |
One crew member covering all four points needs all three sections: €26 + €31 + €36 = €93 in 2026. The organisers took money off the basket when it held several different passes: 5% for two, 10% for three. Bought together, the three sections came to €83.70.
A child under 12 cost €5 on each pass: the price list gives that price for all three sections. Children under 3 aren't allowed on the shuttles.
The price list doesn't say whether the adults on one pass have to travel together. If your crew splits up between points, buy one pass for each person who travels on their own.
Any supporter pass also gets you into the Base Camps, the organisers' reception areas for supporters. In 2026, the ones at Champex-Lac and at the Chamonix sports centre had beds. Vallorcine's had toilets and live tracking, but no beds.
The train to Vallorcine, and what the guest card covers
The Mont-Blanc Express runs as normal during race week. In summer 2026 it took 29 minutes from Les Praz to Vallorcine, with the first train at 7.32am, and 33 minutes from Chamonix station (first train 7.28am).
The way back sets the limit: the first train left Vallorcine at 6.40am and the last at 8.10pm, reaching Chamonix at 8.45pm. Any group of more than nine on the same train, supporters included, has to notify the railway 48 hours ahead, at [email protected].
The guest card, or carte d'hôte, is given to each guest by their accommodation. It makes the train free between Servoz, just down the valley from Les Houches, and Vallorcine. Despite what several guides say, it doesn't cover the valley's buses or the organisers' shuttles.
Beyond Vallorcine, you pay for the Swiss part of the line, from Le Châtelard to Martigny.
Chalet Bonami is in Les Bois, a hamlet 3 km (2 miles) from the centre of Chamonix, on the Argentière side.
Les Praz station is 400 m from the chalet, a five-minute walk, then 29 minutes by train to Vallorcine. The chalet gives everyone a guest card on arrival, so there's no train ticket to buy. The organisers' shuttles leave from the centre of Chamonix, 3 km away, served by bus line 2 (paid) every 30 minutes in summer.
Read more: Where to stay for UTMB: the best base for reaching the crew points
UTMB crew access points and the finish: when your runner comes through, and how to get there
At each point, two times matter to the crew: the cut-off, after which the runner is stopped, and your own runner's arrival time. Your runner's time comes from the race's live tracking, on the website or in the LiveTrail app. Search by name or bib number to see their times so far and a prediction for the rest.
The table is from 2026, when a storm put the start back from 5.45pm to 7.45pm, so it shows the order of the points, not the exact minutes for 2027.
The dates of the 2027 edition hadn't been published when this guide was written. Race profiles (points, distances, cut-offs) come out in spring, and the crew points can change: Trient was one in 2025, but not in 2026.
| Point (km) | 2026 times, from the winner to the last runner classified at the finish | Cut-off shown in 2026 | Access without a car (supporter pass) | Base Camp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Contamines (32.4) | Friday 10.33pm to Saturday 1.16am | Saturday 2am | Shuttle via Saint-Gervais (France) | None |
| Courmayeur, Italy (81.3) | Saturday 3.38am to 1.15pm | Saturday 2.15pm | Shuttle (Italy) | None |
| Champex-Lac, Switzerland (127.5) | Saturday 8.37am to Sunday 2am | Sunday 3.30am | Two shuttles via Orsières (Switzerland) | Beds, until midnight on Saturday night |
| Vallorcine (155.3) | Saturday 11.54am to Sunday 11.24am | Sunday 12.15pm | Train by day, shuttle at night (France) | No beds |
| Finish, central Chamonix (173.6) | Saturday 2.04pm to Sunday 5.43pm | Sunday 5.30pm | On foot | Sports centre, with beds |
At the points along the way, the last classified runner's time isn't the last time recorded: others came through later, then dropped out or overtook them further on. At the finish, that last classified runner crossed the line at 5.43pm, after the 5.30pm cut-off shown, a gap the official profile doesn't explain, so go by the live tracking rather than the cut-off.
Les Contamines, on Friday evening
Les Contamines, at km 32.4, is the first meeting point. In 2026 the France-pass shuttle left from 7.30pm to 10.30pm from the Grépon Bus stop, south of central Chamonix, and took about 50 minutes via Saint-Gervais. Return shuttles, from 9.30pm to 2am, left from Notre-Dame-de-la-Gorge, at the head of the Contamines valley, and arrived at the Maison Nordique, the shuttle stop north of central Chamonix, near the sports centre.
With a 2am cut-off, a runner who comes through at the last minute leaves you very little time to catch the last shuttle back.
To get home from the shuttle stop, the N1 night bus left central Chamonix for Les Praz and Argentière at 12.57am, then one last time at 2.02am. The 2.02am bus had to be booked at least an hour ahead, on the Chamonix Mobilité website or app. A late return shuttle could also get in after the 2.02am bus had gone, and then it's a 40-minute walk from the centre to Les Bois.
Courmayeur, on Saturday morning
Courmayeur, at km 81.3, is the only point in Italy, on the far side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The Chamonix-Courmayeur shuttle, on the Italy supporter pass, ran both ways on Saturday from 12.30am to 8.30pm and took 45 minutes, so you come back on the same line. The cut-off was 2.15pm.
Champex-Lac, from Saturday morning into the night
Champex-Lac, in Switzerland, at km 127.5, is the point furthest from the valley, and the one a slow runner reaches at night: runners came through from Saturday 8.37am to Sunday 2am, before a 3.30am cut-off. You get there on two Switzerland-pass shuttles, changing at Orsières, a village in the Swiss Val d'Entremont with a station on the line from Martigny. The first, Chamonix to Orsières via Vallorcine and Trient, only ran in that direction (1 hour 30 minutes, from Saturday 5.30am to Sunday 3am), and the second linked Orsières to Champex-Lac (30 minutes, until 4am on Sunday).
To leave at night for Vallorcine, you go back down to Orsières, then take a separate shuttle that ran both ways between Orsières and Trient, and a third from Trient to Vallorcine, all on the Switzerland pass. The crew plan times that journey.
Vallorcine, by train in daylight, by shuttle at night
Vallorcine, at km 155.3, is the last crew point, and the only one the valley train reaches from Chamonix. In daylight it's 29 minutes from Les Praz, up to the last train back at 8.10pm. After that there's the France-pass Chamonix-Vallorcine shuttle, which ran round the clock from Saturday 5am to Sunday 12.30pm, taking 35 minutes from the Maison Nordique.
The finish in Chamonix
The finish arch is in the centre of Chamonix, and its cut-off was 5.30pm on Sunday on the official live-tracking profile. From Vallorcine, the train takes you to Chamonix station, and you walk from there. From Les Bois, it's the valley bus (paid) or a 40-minute walk.
If your runner is doing the CCC
The CCC is a separate race, with its two points at Champex-Lac and Vallorcine, on the Friday in 2026. Its passes are sold separately, per race, so UTMB passes don't work on it. For Vallorcine on Friday night, after the last train, check how to get there on the official shuttle timetable.
The UTMB support crew plan: all four points without a car, Friday night to the finish
This plan follows one person covering all four points: a runner with a single crew member, or a crew of two who travel together. With more people, it's better to share the points between two crews, as the group section explains.
It also follows a runner close to the 2026 cut-offs, the tightest case, and for a faster runner each block moves several hours earlier. Before the race, agree your runner's estimated times with them. During it, work from their last recorded time rather than the prediction, and add the shuttle journey.
| Day and time (2026) | The runner | The crew member | Transport | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, 7.45pm | Starts in Chamonix | At the start, then off to Les Contamines | Shuttle from Chamonix via Saint-Gervais (7.30pm to 10.30pm), France pass | No |
| Friday evening, until 2am on Saturday | Les Contamines | In the crew zone | Already there | No |
| Saturday, night and morning | On the way to Courmayeur | Goes home and sleeps | Return shuttle until 2am, then N1 night bus or on foot | First slot, the longest |
| Saturday, until 2.15pm | Courmayeur | In the crew zone | Chamonix-Courmayeur shuttle, 45 min, Italy pass | No |
| Saturday, afternoon and evening | On the way to Champex-Lac | Goes home, rests in the afternoon, sets off again | Shuttles from Chamonix to Orsières, then to Champex-Lac, 2 hours, Switzerland pass | Second slot, a few hours in the afternoon |
| Sunday, until 3.30am | Champex-Lac | In the crew zone | Already there | No |
| Sunday, before dawn | On the way to Trient, then Vallorcine | The hard journey, to Vallorcine | Switzerland-pass shuttles via Orsières and Trient, before 4am at Orsières, or else the 5.29am train from Orsières, at Vallorcine at 7.49am | Third slot, short or none |
| Sunday, until 12.15pm | Vallorcine | In the crew zone | Already there (a second crew member: train from Les Praz from 7.32am, or shuttle until 12.30pm) | No |
| Sunday, until 5.30pm | The finish | At the arch, central Chamonix | Train or shuttle from Vallorcine to Chamonix, then on foot | After the finish |
The hard journey: Champex-Lac to Vallorcine overnight
In 2026, three night shuttles, all on the Switzerland pass, ran from Champex-Lac to Vallorcine: Champex-Lac to Orsières (30 minutes), Orsières to Trient, then Trient to Vallorcine (15 minutes). The first two stopped at 4am on Sunday, while the third ran until 12.30pm on Sunday. The Chamonix-Orsières shuttle, also on the Switzerland pass, only ran in that direction and stopped at 3am.
The organisers' timetable only gave each line's operating hours, with no individual departures and no journey time from Orsières to Trient.
A crew member leaving Champex-Lac at about 3am reaches Orsières at about 3.30am, half an hour before the service to Trient ends. If the runner comes through right on the 3.30am cut-off, that no longer works: the shuttles from Orsières stop at 4am, and after that there's only the train.
You pay for that train, since the guest card doesn't cover Switzerland. According to the SBB timetable (the Swiss railways), the first Sunday train left Orsières at 5.29am and reached Vallorcine at 7.49am, with changes at Sembrancher and Martigny. The Vallorcine cut-off, at 12.15pm, leaves enough time, but not enough to sleep.
Until it leaves, you wait at Orsières station. The organisers listed no Base Camp at Orsières in 2026, and Champex-Lac's closed at midnight, so bring something warm.
If you'd rather go straight back to Chamonix from Champex-Lac, you still go via Orsières, Trient and Vallorcine, then take the shuttle or the train to Chamonix: no shuttle ran from Orsières to Chamonix.
A second crew member gets round the problem. Having stayed in the valley, they cover Vallorcine with that point's ticket, on the first train from Les Praz at 7.32am or the Chamonix-Vallorcine shuttle. The one at Champex-Lac then gets back in their own time.
When the crew member sleeps
The plan leaves three slots for rest: the longest after Les Contamines, a few hours on Saturday afternoon, then almost nothing between Champex-Lac and Vallorcine. You sleep at your accommodation, or in a Base Camp with beds. In 2026, the one at the Chamonix sports centre was open from Friday 7.30pm to Sunday 2.45pm, and Champex-Lac's from Saturday 9.30am to midnight.
Bonami's tip: go to bed as soon as you're back from Les Contamines, even though a runner close to the cut-offs won't reach Courmayeur until about 2.15pm. It's the only night of the weekend when you can get almost a full night's sleep, and the night from Saturday to Sunday leaves little or none.
Crewing UTMB as a group: who does what
Only one person gets into each point, but nothing says it has to be the same person at all four, since each ticket is for one point.
The principle is the one behind any trip for a large group: agree in advance who looks after what in the group. Instead of one crew member doing everything, as in the crew plan, two crews share the points, and this split worked on the 2026 timetable:
- The night crew: Les Contamines and Champex-Lac, with the France and Switzerland passes. From Champex-Lac they come back via Orsières before 4am, or on the morning train.
- The day crew: Courmayeur, with the Italy pass, then Vallorcine. By train you can be at Vallorcine from about 8am (the 7.32am from Les Praz) and get back on the 8.10pm, which is enough for a runner close to the cut-offs, who comes through on Sunday morning. If the runner reaches Vallorcine on Saturday evening, overnight or before 8am on Sunday, the day crew needs the France pass too, for the night shuttle.
- Logistics, at the house: one or two people pack the bags, plan meals around the runner's times, buy the passes as soon as they go on sale (9 June to 12 July in 2026), and notify the railway if the group is more than nine.
- Everyone else cheers: with no pass at all, they can go to Vallorcine by train in daylight, up to La Flégère on the gondola from Les Praz (paid), and to the arch. From La Flégère, the arch is 7 km on foot, with more than 800 m of descent. Three of them, chosen in advance, go into the finish area with the finish ticket.
You need a pass for the points the train doesn't reach (Les Contamines, Courmayeur, Champex-Lac), and for Vallorcine outside train hours, when the only way there is the France-pass shuttle. A pass covers up to five adults, per section and per race. For a runner close to the cut-offs, this split needs three single-adult passes: France and Switzerland for the night, Italy for the day.
Chalet Bonami is rented as a whole, for up to fourteen people, for UTMB week, with a five-night minimum and prices on request. That week is usually booked more than six months before the race.
Race week is nothing new at the house, which has already welcomed runners and brands. Tell us your dates.
UTMB support crew FAQ
The questions that come up before the race.
How many people can crew a UTMB runner?
One per crew point, not necessarily the same person at all four, with the ticket the runner gets along with their bib. At the finish, the finish ticket lets in up to three people.
Can I crew my runner at Trient or La Flégère?
No. Trient was a crew point in 2025, but not in 2026. La Flégère is the last checkpoint, 7 km from the finish, with drinks only: you can cheer your runner there, but not help them.
How much does it cost to crew at UTMB?
The crew ticket is free, and so is the valley train between Servoz and Vallorcine with the guest card. You pay for the supporter pass, the Swiss train if you miss the last shuttle from Orsières, the La Flégère gondola and the valley buses. In 2026 the UTMB supporter pass cost €26 for one adult on the France section, €31 for Italy and €36 for Switzerland, so €93 for all three, or €83.70 with the 10% discount for three passes bought together, sold from 9 June to 12 July and never on the spot.
Can I follow my runner by car during UTMB?
No, unless you qualify for an exemption. In 2026, roads and car parks in eight places on the course were closed, in France, Italy and Switzerland. Only disabled people, families with a child under 3 and the support crews of elite runners were exempt.
Can a friend who is a doctor or physio treat the runner at a crew point?
No. The regulations ban any medical help from the runner's own people, even from a health professional. The crew member can only massage the runner and treat blisters, with the runner sitting down.