![]() ![]() ![]() Bhutan’s aim was to use the event to draw the world’s attention to the consequences of climate change for the Himalayan state. The organisers billed the race as “one of the world’s toughest and high-altitude ultra-marathons.” However, this was not only about the sporting challenge, but also about a political message. ![]() I had one for temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius. Sleeping bag, food for the road, water, rain gear, a warmer jacket, hat, gloves, first aid kits. ![]() The competitors slept in tents and they all had to carry backpacks during the entire race. In the dark, we had to navigate using GPS,” Zimmermann said. “They were impossible to see in the evening. The route was marked with flags, but that didn’t always make navigation easier. The competitors covered 203 km over five daily stages, with the highest point coming at 5,470 meters. The race follows the route of the Snowman Trek, a legendary, demanding three-week trekking tour in the eastern Himalayas. Just 29 ultra-runners competed in the Snowman Race: nine locals and 20 from around the world who had been personally invited by the organisers. “The race in Bhutan was much harder.” At 52, she was the oldest participant in the event. “There were a lot of people on Everest and it was mostly downhill,” Zimmermann said. That says something coming from an athlete who had already mastered the Marathon des Sables in the Moroccan Sahara, a stage race through the desert over 230 km - or the Everest Marathon, for which the starting line is located at the base camp at the foot of the highest mountain on Earth, around 5,300 meters (17,390 feet) above sea level. It was very remote, a real expedition, really wild and difficult,” ultra-runner Holly Zimmermann, an American who lives in Germany, told DW about her experience at the first-ever Snowman Race in Bhutan. ![]()
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