Trail du Mézenc

The Trail du Mezenc is a 42-kilometer trail race with 2,000 meters of elevation gain starting from Les Estables, in Haute-Loire, at the foot of Mont Mezenc. This event takes runners across the summits of the Mezenc-Meygal massif, at the border between Auvergne and Velay, through a landscape of high volcanic plateaus, phonolite sucs, and high-altitude meadows of austere and majestic beauty.

Mont Mezenc, the massif's highest point at 1,753 meters, is a volcanic summit dominating the high Velay plateau. Its massive form, crowned by two rocky tables, is visible from dozens of kilometers around. In clear weather, the panorama from the summit is one of the vastest in France: from Mont-Blanc to the Pyrenees, from the Mediterranean to the Auvergne volcanoes, the view encompasses a quarter of French territory.

The Trail du Mezenc course is a succession of climbs toward the sucs, those phonolite volcanic pinnacles dotting the plateau, and descents into the deep valleys where the sources of the Loire are born. The sucs, with their conical or rounded shapes, are volcanic dykes exposed by erosion, fossilized lava chimneys whose rock, phonolite, rings like a bell when struck.

The 2,000 meters of elevation gain are distributed across varied climbs, sometimes short and steep toward the suc summits, sometimes long and progressive toward the Mezenc ridges. The terrain is typically volcanic: basalt stone trails, grassy slopes dotted with gentians and narcissus, passages through Scots pine and beech woods, and high-altitude peatland crossings.

Les Estables, the starting village at 1,350 meters altitude, is the highest commune in Haute-Loire. This mountain village, with its basalt houses and slate-roofed barns, is an ideal base camp for exploring the massif. The Les Estables Nordic ski resort testifies to the significant snowfall on this high plateau in winter, when landscapes transform into immaculate expanses.

The Mezenc massif is the birthplace of the Fin Gras du Mezenc, an AOP beef raised on high-altitude pastures and fed on rich grass enhanced by mountain flowers, notably cistre or Alpine fennel. This livestock tradition, centuries old, produces a marbled and aromatic meat that is one of the region's gastronomic prides.

Aid stations at the Trail du Mezenc offer Velay terroir products: Puy green lentils, Velay verbena, mountain charcuterie, and local cheeses. The atmosphere is that of a sincere and generous mountain race, carried by volunteers attached to their volcanic land. The Trail du Mezenc is an event that reveals the little-known beauty of the high Velay plateaus, a territory of solitude and grandeur that profoundly marks runners.