Aiglon’s Inaugural Ascent: Competing in the Patrouille des Glaciers

The first-ever Aiglon team recently made history by competing in the Patrouille des Glaciers (PDG), the world’s most legendary ski mountaineering race. Organised by the Swiss Army, this elite endurance test traces the historic high-alpine route used by mountain troops during WWII.

The Aiglon patrol brought together a cross-section of our community: staff member Ivor Ligertwood (Teacher of English), and alumni Mateusz Burgunder (Alpina, 2011) and Konstantinos Arcadis (St Louis, 2021).

The Journey: Zermatt to Verbier

Setting off into the frozen dark at 23:30 on Friday, the team embarked on the gruelling "Course Z." Over the next 14 hours, they traversed 56 km across the rugged spine of the Alps, tackling a staggering +4,094m of ascent and -4,228m of descent.

The race is defined by its "human milestones," and our team faced them with true Aiglonian spirit:

• La Barma (40 km): Known as the "point of no return," this critical hydration and control point sits at the foot of the race's most daunting section. It was here that Mateusz Burgunder, after a tremendous effort, had to make the difficult decision to retire from the race.

• The Rosablanche (3,160m):  Ivor and Konstantinos pushed forward to conquer the iconic Rosablanche, where racers must strap skis to their backs and scale a "stairway" of packed snow carved into the peak.

While the PDG officially requires teams of three to finish together for ranking, Ivor and Konstantinos embodied the Esprit de Cordée (Spirit of the Rope) by completing the remainder of the course as a duo, arriving in Verbier at 13:30 on Saturday with a total time of 13h 52’ 33”.

A Global Test of Endurance

The Aiglon patrol was part of a massive field of 5,500 participants (1,376 teams), including 965 civilian teams competing without guides. The sheer scale of the event was highlighted by the diversity of the athletes, ranging from 18-year-old debutants to an 83-year-old veteran.

While the elite winners set blistering times—5h 43’ 10” for the men and 7h 04’ 42” for the women—every finisher at the PDG earns a unique level of respect in the mountaineering world.

Congratulations

A special shout-out also goes to Tom Krüger (Teacher of Mathematics), who also competed in this year’s event, finishing the race in 15h, 45' further showcasing the grit of our staff.

Congratulations to our athletes for this inspiring effort. You have set a remarkable precedent for future Aiglonians on the mountains. 

AI Disclosure: First draft written by human, edits supported by AI. Quotes original.