Descending on the French alps, The North Face hosted their Tour du Mont-Blanc 2025 event across four days in the historic epicentre of winter sports, Chamonix, in honour of their Summit Series Flora Alpina collection.

DAY 1

Beginning on Wednesday evening after winding through France’s notoriously precarious mountain roads, a community run with Big Mountain Brewery saw us link up with the makers of some of the best IPA in the Alps to test out the Summit Series VECTIV Pro 3 Flora Alpina sneaker on the trails. Flowing with mountain flora, the seasonally snowy hillsides of Chamonix were rendered in the verdant foliage synonymous with late summer in the mountains – the perfect backdrop for a test run of The North Face’s trail sneakers. Finishing up at Big Mountain’s Basecamp Bar for refreshments, an exclusive screening of the brand’s latest film, TALA: Running Across the Pyrenees, tracking elite ultra runner Fernanda Maciel’s 800-kilometre solo run across the legendary GR11 trail, rounded off the first day in the French Alps.

DAY 2

Thursday morning kickstarted with a relaxed breakfast with The North Face’s team of athletes and the trail running community ahead of their participation in one of the world’s most renowned and iconic ultra marathon races, before visiting The North Face’s storefront in the centre of Chamonix to put the Summit Series VECTIV Pro 3 with running analysis. Helping us to unlock our true potential, the pro-level data analysis of our stride length, foot strike and cadence was offered in real time, enabling The North Face’s trained experts to offer advice on the best shoes for us to help us achieve our running goals.

DAY 3

Starting things off bright and early on Friday morning, 8am saw us find ourselves already hitting the trails as a part of the Flora Alpina Run. Venturing further afield, high above Chamonix, this was an altitude run with a difference. With tasting stations positioned along the route allowing runners to experience flavours curated by a local chef inspired by the collection. Design-led stations also offered a further opportunity to learn about the Flora Alpina collection in their natural surroundings.

Descending the hillside and after having a rest, we regrouped for the starting party for the beginning of the ultra-marathon at The North Face’s cheering zone, ensuring the brand’s runners had the support they needed as they began their monolithic 108 mile run with 10,000 metres of elevation gain.

DAY 4

As Saturday morning came around and competitors were still pushing themselves to their peak on the mountains around Mont-Blanc, The North Face hosted a yoga workshop session led by a local instructor. Focusing on enhancing running mobility and mindfulness when attempting to achieve your next running goal, the session started the day with a thoughtful and calming atmosphere. Completing the morning with a customisation lab back at The North Face’s space, we were able to personal touches to our favourite The North Face pieces with works from local artist RO Studio. Closing out the four-day mountain extravaganza, we ended up at the end of race party in the centre of Chamonix as participants descended the mountain finally after a gruelling time navigating the ultra-marathon. A true celebration of human achievement and dedication, The North Face continue to offer an insight into what humanity can accomplish, given the space to do so.