RacesAlps
OCC
Demand
3 out of 5
How much it asks
Worth
4 out of 5
Whether the ticket is worth it
Orsières to Chamonix, France
Scorecard · is it worth it?
Worth the trip if the mountains match what you want.
The card
OCC is the short mountain day on UTMB week, and the score is allowed to say that without sneering. Demand is 3: about 60 kilometers and 3,500 meters of climb from Orsières through Champex toward Chamonix, late August, TMB-family trail, a field that is deep because the town is deep. It is not 4 or 5 because it is not a 100K and because the technicality is a famous hiking trail. It is not a 2 because 3,500 meters of alpine climbing is still a mountain race, and because Chamonix in August is not a local 50K.
Worth is 4, destination. People fly for 60 kilometers here, which would be absurd in Maryland and is rational under Mont Blanc. The scenery is a 5. Logistics and stones are the tax. Destination, not icon: the icon is the 174. CCC is the 100K worth 5. OCC is the 50K-plus for people who wanted the massif in daylight and a finish before the bars empty. Organization confidence is high.
The next date is not yet posted by the RD. If you wanted TDS, that is a different, harder, longer card, start earlier in the week. If you wanted a skyrunning 50K, The Rut is the American scrambling answer and this is the Alps path answer. They are not interchangeable. We are not going to skip OCC because it is short. We are not going to call it an icon because it shares a website with one. A destination 3/4 is the honest short mountain day in this valley.
Who it is for
Runners who want a Mont Blanc mountain day rather than a Mont Blanc night, and who will accept stones to stand in Orsières.
Who should skip
Anyone who wanted CCC or UTMB and is bargaining down to 60 km, or anyone who will be unhappy in a crowded TMB-family 50K.
Elevation
Tap or hover for miles, clock, and aidft
Bottom ticks are aid. Longest gap 6.8 mi.
Finisher pace
Not yet sourced.
Where the cutoff bites
Least margin: Argentière, 96 min for the back of the field.
Finishers only. DNFs are missing, so the real back of the field is slower.
Hardest stretch
Hardest stretch: Trient to Col de Balme, 3,467 ft in 5.9 mi.
Segment gains from the course elev profile.
| From | To | Mi | Gain | Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Champex-Lac | 4.57.2 km | 2,022 ft616 m | 193 ft59 m |
| Champex-Lac | Plan de l'Au | 3.15 km | 219 ft67 m | 600 ft183 m |
| Plan de l'Au | La Giète | 4.16.6 km | 2,220 ft677 m | 576 ft176 m |
| La Giète | Trient | 3.25.1 km | 108 ft33 m | 1,921 ft586 m |
| Trient | Col de Balme | 5.99.5 km | 3,467 ft1,057 m | 533 ft162 m |
| Col de Balme | Télécabine Vallorcine | 4.77.6 km | 1,287 ft392 m | 1,967 ft600 m |
| Télécabine Vallorcine | Argentière | 5.99.5 km | 542 ft165 m | 2,882 ft878 m |
| Argentière | Chamonix | 6.810.9 km | 486 ft148 m | 1,288 ft393 m |
- Start
- 3,004 ft916 m
- Finish
- 3,397 ft1,035 m
- Net
- +393 ft+120 m
- Longest climb
- 2,689 ft820 m
Start and finish are within 400 ft. Treat net as a loop.
Weekend
Official handbook facts
OCC 2026 race page / UTMB mandatory equipment · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Field
Last editions · 50K scored distance
Field evidence: who showed up, who finished, how long. DNF is that evidence, not a difficulty score. Public results, scored distance only.
DNF over the years
DNF 20% in 2026, 10% the year before.
2026
- Starters
- 1,945
- Finishers
- 1,563
- DNF
- 20%
- Win
- 5:10:08
- Median
- 11:23:52
2025
- Starters
- 1,568
- Finishers
- 1,418
- DNF
- 10%
- Win
- 5:00:35
- Median
- 9:57:12
2024
- Starters
- 1,764
- Finishers
- 1,534
- DNF
- 13%
- Win
- 5:11:48
- Median
- 11:10:09
Starters, finishers, and win from public results tables for the scored race. Median from LiveTrail finish times.
Overall field only. Not a pro or sponsored subset.
Where people drop
DNF by last recorded station · 2026. 1,945 starters.
- Champex-Lac21
- La Giète19
- Trient114
- ColBalme142
- TCVallorcine27
- Argentière55
Most drops: ColBalme, 142 of 1,945 in 2026
LiveTrail 2026 stats abandonments (abds)retrieved 2026-09-07
Climate
Typical August at the start area · historical race-week weather
- Typical high
- 75°F (24°C)
- Typical low
- 55°F (13°C)
- Typical precip
- 5.1 in (129 mm) / August
- Days with rain
- 45% of days
- High point
- 7,152 ft (2,180 m)
BewareRain on race weekend in 3 of the last 3 years.
2015–2024 August means at the start / massif. · Open-Meteo ERA5 / climate · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Dimensions
Ten 1–5 scores with a one-line why. Organization has a separate confidence tag.
Supporting dimensions · organization confidence high
About 60 km. A mountain 50K-plus, not a 100K and not a VK.
About 3,500 m of climb. Enough to be alpine, not a 174 km tax.
TMB-family trail. Alpine, crowded, often runnable.
Late August. Shorter day, same massif weather in compressed form.
Cols on the Swiss-French side of the TMB. Alpine, not a 14er.
Stones and Chamonix week, but a shorter day. Easier than CCC, still a destination weekend.
A deep 50K-plus field in the same town as the final. Not an icon.
UTMB machine. Competent, commercial.
Circuit tax for a short mountain day. Worth 4 is the place.
Same massif, shorter line. The scenery is why people fly for 60 km.
| Dimension | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
Distance & format How much does the advertised distance and format actually ask? | 3 out of 5 | About 60 km. A mountain 50K-plus, not a 100K and not a VK. |
Vertical How serious is the climbing, not just the mile marker? | 3 out of 5 | About 3,500 m of climb. Enough to be alpine, not a 174 km tax. |
Technicality Hands, poles, route-finding, or just a long dirt road? | 3 out of 5 | TMB-family trail. Alpine, crowded, often runnable. |
Climate Heat, monsoon, ice, or a friendly summer afternoon? | 3 out of 5 | Late August. Shorter day, same massif weather in compressed form. |
Altitude Does the air change the race, or is it a talking point? | 3 out of 5 | Cols on the Swiss-French side of the TMB. Alpine, not a 14er. |
Logistics How hard is the weekend around the race: travel, crew, lodging, rules? | 3 out of 5 | Stones and Chamonix week, but a shorter day. Easier than CCC, still a destination weekend. |
Prestige & field Does the start list and history change what the weekend feels like? | 3 out of 5 | A deep 50K-plus field in the same town as the final. Not an icon. |
Organization From public evidence, does the event look competently run? | 4 out of 5 | UTMB machine. Competent, commercial. |
Value Entry fee, travel tax, and lottery friction versus what you get on course. | 3 out of 5 | Circuit tax for a short mountain day. Worth 4 is the place. |
Adventure & scenery Would you fly for the place even if nobody kept score? | 5 out of 5 | Same massif, shorter line. The scenery is why people fly for 60 km. |