Edwards Business Owner Chases 2026 Ski Mountaineering Race After Cancellations

Aspen —The wind in the San Juan Mountains doesn’t just blow; it scours. It strips the color from the aspens and turns the silence of a February morning into a physical weight, a pressure against the eardrums that makes you pull your collar up and look for shelter. Up here, where the air is thin enough to make your lungs work twice as hard just to stand still, the landscape feels less like a place and more like a test. It is a harsh, beautiful, unforgiving environment that demands respect before it offers reward.

For Chris Aubel, a longtime business owner in Edwards, that respect has taken on a new dimension. He is chasing the Patrouille des Glaciers, or PDG, widely considered the biggest ski mountaineering race in the world. Held in Switzerland every two years, the event traces its roots to World War II patrol routes established to protect the Swiss and French borders from German and Italian threats. What began as a matter of survival has evolved into a grueling test of endurance, where teams ski and bootpack up and down the valleys, ridgelines, and passes of the Alps.

Aubel’s journey to the finish line has been anything but direct. He first caught the itch in 2019, speaking with a fellow Rotarian about the race. They trained for April 2020, only to have the global pandemic cancel their debut before they could lace up their boots. By 2022, the itch returned with a vengeance. He assembled a team, dubbed the "Vail Mountaineers," and traveled to Switzerland with a guide. It was a world-class event, he remembers, super exciting with helicopters flying through the air providing safety support over the routes. But even the best-laid plans can crash down. In 2024, extreme cold and high winds forced the Swiss Army organizers to cancel the race again, citing unsafe conditions.

Now, Aubel is regrouping for 2026. The PDG is a massive logistical undertaking, involving 1,800 patrols of three racers each. That’s 5,400 skiers, roughly half racing the 36-mile "Z Route" from Zermatt to Verbier, and the other half tackling the 17-mile Arolla-to-Verbier route. It is a military operation in scale, with the Swiss Army preparing courses and providing air support for evacuations. For a local team from Eagle County, the challenge is as much about logistics and consistency as it is about speed.

"You've got to have a solid team," Aubel said, noting that it takes three people who are invested timewise and willing to train. His search for the right partners led him to an unlikely place: church one Sunday, where he ran into Doug Wyatt. Aubel shared his experiences from 2022, and the conversation sparked a new formation.

The race is not for the faint of heart. Routes climb more than 7,000 vertical feet in the dark of night. Participants must meet various physical and technical requirements to even enter the field. For folks around here, who are accustomed to the rugged terrain of our own backcountry, the PDG offers a mirror. It is an extreme event that still retains an edgy intensity, reminding us that the mountains do not care about our intentions. They only respond to preparation, patience, and the willingness to keep moving when the cold bites deep.

The next opportunity is 2026. Until then, the team will train, likely on slopes that share a DNA with those in the Alps — steep, exposed, and demanding. The goal is simple: to cross that finish line in Verbier, having survived the dark and the distance. It is a dream that keeps getting canceled by forces larger than any individual, yet it persists, fueled by the kind of stubbornness that only people who live where the wind never stops can truly understand.