Monte Rosa SkyMarathon 2019 ©iancorless.com

The Monte Rosa SkyMarathon and the AMA VK2 are confirmed on June 19-20, 2021, in Alagna Valesia, Italy, with 50 team slots up for grabs after last year’s entries were reconfirmed. The AMA VK2 is also open for entry.

There’s a tight time limit for the Monte Rosa SkyMarathon entries which will open on Monday, January 25 and close on February 28, 2021.

The AMA VK2 entries also open on Monday, but athletes have until June 11 unless the 300 slots sell out before, so first come, first served.

A view on Matterhorn. Monte Rosa SkyMarathon 2019 ©iancorless.com

The early date announcement last May with today’s news of the opening dates will give those already with a confirmed entry and those who dreamt of participating, time to plan their training for Europe’s highest race, the birthplace of skyrunning.

The race which starts and finishes in Alagna Valsesia on the South side of Monte Rosa is 35 km long with a gruelling 7,000m total vertical climb. The format is in pairs, roped together for safety and wearing crampons for the upper stretches on the glacier which cross over Gressoney La Trinité and Swiss territory before summiting the Margherita Hut, at 4,554m altitude, and plummeting back down.

Mario Poletti AMA VK2 2019 ©iancorless.com

AMA VK2, the double Vertical Kilometer® introduced in 2019, is the perfect opportunity for a taste of Monte Rosa. The race starts in Alagna and summits at the Indren Station at 3,260m. “Just” 9 km long it’s all uphill. From start to finish, 2,086m of lung-busting vertical climb. A total of 300 slots are available, some of course, filled with the 2020 entries brought forward.

In 2020, 800 athletes from 33 countries entered the races and the organisers look forward to matching if not beating these numbers. The weekend of June 19-20, 2021 is the date reserved for these iconic skyrunning races programmed for Saturday the 19th with Sunday, the 20th, a reserve day.

With just a month to fill the remaining 50 slots for 100 super athletes or the chance to run over half the uphill course of the AMA VK2, this is the link that will take you there.