My Alpine trail running adventure holiday in Switzerland

In Verbier a new network of high-altitude running routes is opening up the mountains like never before

‘Freedom. That’s what you’re chasing in the mountains.” I was hurrying along a slope below Mont Fort in Verbier to keep pace with Emily Vaudan, a trail running guide for new activity company Bee Heidi, and I kept stopping, trying to run but distracted by the views.

Every so often, she paused to shout encouragement – and a bit of life philosophy – as I gingerly picked my way over scree and shoogly stones that could easily snap an ankle. Mont Blanc and the Grand Combin massif encircled the skyline ahead; at 2,500m, unbroken views of Europe’s most spectacular peaks and glaciers were our hard-won prize.