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Stano Faban

Four Beautiful Days on Haute Route Imperiale Ski Traverse in Switzerland

May 13, 2019 By Stano Faban 1 Comment

With a shorter route, the Haute Route Imperiale is no less impressive than its famous cousin Haute Route that travels from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland and has a few variations.

Offering plenty of options for side trips and much easier logistics, Martina, Daniela and I chose the Haute Route Imperiale after realizing we can do it during a 4-day blue weather window the forecasters were promising. We set out on April 26th.

Staying in the mountains for days at a time is always a special experience. It forces us to escape from busyness of civilization and to give into a simple routine of skiing, eating, laughing and sleeping.

Full route goes from Jungen over Durand Col and down to Zermatt. This map is oriented with North on the right side, and West on the top side.

The Imperiale route is entirely in Switzerland and can be done in 4-5 days comfortably if you are used to climbing 1000-1400m on consecutive days. Staying 2-3 extra days will offer you the luxury of many more beautiful side trips.

Good time for the Haute Route Imperiale is from early April to mid-May depending on snow conditions that season. After average winter snowfall the ideal time for this traverse is likely to be mid-to-late April.

» More information on transportation, huts, gear and other arrangements are detailed at the end of this article.

Route Variations

There are a couple of variations of the Imperiale ski traverse yet about two thirds of the route will be the same.

We set out for the variation #1 but we had to change plans and finish with variation #3 due to some health issues.

  1. Complete traverse: St. Nicolaus (Jungen) – Zermatt
  2. Complete traverse: St. Luc – Zermatt
  3. St. Nicolaus (Jungen) – Zinal
  4. St. Luc – Zinal

Day 1:
Jungen at 1900m » Turtmann Hutte at 2519m

Elevation gain: around 1500m (2 ascents, 2 descents)
Duration: 5-7h from Jungen
Possible side-trips: couple of excellent north facing ski runs

Our first day was hectic as we were driving to St. Niklaus from Italy in the early morning to catch a gondola to Jungen at 7am. The 10am gondola is too late considering crossing some south slopes later that day.

Solving the four day parking was a bit of a puzzle until the local iconic “gondolier” assured us we can leave our car on the small parking lot right at the gondola station, for free.

The small gondola that lifted us to Jungen from St. Niklaus.

After a scenic ride up to a magically hidden settlement of Jungen (1900m) it was time to walk for the next 45min to reach consistent snow. If we came a week earlier then most likely we would have been already on skis from Jungen.

Once skinning, we traveled up a flat valley in westerly direction and then slightly turning left (south) towards north slopes and the start of the longest ascent of the day.

When there are no tracks in this valley then you will definitely want to pay attention which col is your destination as there are some “misleading” options.

We decided to down-climb the top 100m of the south-west slope to avoid skiing over rocks and potentially triggering a small slab in a quickly warming snow. This whole first descent is only about 400m with a sharp contouring traverse left about mid-way down.

Ascent to the next col is straightforward and only around 140m. Pay attention to big south slopes coming from the left if you are in this small valley on a hot day.

The descent to the Turtmann hut starts with wide south slope and offers some good turns. Later, skiing turns into a game navigating many terrain micro features to find the best way to the hut.

Turtmann hut with Brunegghorn Glacier on the left and Turnmann Glacier on the right. Photo courtesy of Club Alpin Suisse.

Day 2:
Turtmann Hutte at 2519m » Cabane de Tracuit at 3256m

Elevation gain: around 1000m (2 ascents, 2 descents)
Duration: 4.5-6h
Possible side-trips: Brunegghorn 3833m, Tete de Milon 3693m

The second day started with a traversing descent, loosing about 80m, to reach a very obvious central gully that came down from rocks and a glacier above on our left side.

It took us about an hour to skin up the gully and reach a big plateau on the Brunegghorn Glacier. From here, you can continue up the glacier and climb the Brunegghorn for high summit and superb views.

Brunegghorn is the peak left of the centre.

We chose to skip Brunegghorn and ski down to connect with the Turtmann Glacier as we had other plans later that day.

The ascent up the Turtmann Glacier starts with steeper slopes before slowly mellowing into a gently rising plateau. We reached the Tracuit hut in a big wide col just before noon.

Bishorn on the left, Weisshorn in the centre and Tete de Milon on the right. The Tracuit hut is behind the bump on the very right.

After lunch and a nap we left for a 400m climb up an easy Tete de Milon peak which proved to hold excellent powder on its north facing glaciated side. While the snow was fabulous the visibility quickly deteriorated as we shared some good laughs on the summit.

The Tracuit hut is very modern and its most impressive features are the dinning room’s full-wall windows (bottom) and the bedroom windows (upper level) offering superb views of surrounding steep peaks.

Day 3:
Cabane de Tracuit at 3256m » Cabane Arpitettaz at 2786m

Elevation gain: only 300m without side-trips (1 ascent, 2 descents)
Duration: 2-3.5h without side trips
Possible side-trips: Bishorn 4159m, Tete de Milon 3693m

With a high peak insight, we set out for Bishorn early in the morning, an 800m climb and a 3-4.5h round trip. The views from this summit are truly spectacular with a sea of 4000m peaks and big dramatic glaciers all around!

The usual ski route up and down Bishorn comes from the left and follows the big glacier up to the summit. Possible steep skiing lines can be seen to the right of the summit.

We roped up for most of the climb and also put on crampons for the final summit push.

The descent is fine and long. Watch for opening crevasses on the way up so you can avoid them on the way down.

On the summit of Bishorn, with the incredible north ridge of Weisshorn behind us.

After Bishorn, we enjoyed lunch in the sun at the Tracuit hut before diving down a nice steeper descent that brought us into a warm and avalanche exposed valley. A 300m climb into a col on a ridge felt long and difficult as we often stopped to drink and cool down, but with help of some Italian music we conquered this massive climb 🙂

At the top, we down-climbed a short section to get off the ridge as the snow melted away couple of days earlier. Then a short, easy and traversing descent brought us to the lovely Arpitettaz hut.

Arpitettaz hut, with wonderful views all around, at the bottom in the center.

Thanks to its smaller size and a family atmosphere, this hut quickly became our favourite on this trip. The views were just a cherry on the cake!

Day 4:
Cabane Arpitettaz at 2786m » Cabane du Grand Mountet at 2886m » Zinal at 1680m

Elevation gain: 1200m without side-trips (1 ascent, 2 descents)
Duration: 5-7h
Possible side-trips: Blanc de Moming 3661m, Zinalrothorn 4221m (requires climbing)

Motivated for a big push to reach Zermatt that day, but open to an early exit if Daniela’s breathing problems persisted, we left the hut early in the morning.

Ascent route up Moming Glacier from the Arpitettaz hut.

A long yet really nice climb up the Moming Glacier brought us to a col with the most impressive views on the traverse.

Ober Gabelhorn dominating the horizon.

At the col, we agreed that pushing all the way to Zermatt that day would be a torture for Daniela and so we agreed that skiing out to Zinal is the best option while still completing majority of this beautiful ski traverse.

Having some extra time on our hands, we went up to a sub-summit of Blanc du Moming (turning right in the col) before heading back and roping up for an amazing traverse of the Moming arete – a steep ridge that divides the Moming and the Mountet glaciers.

Walking on the beautiful Arete du Blanc is a true highlight of this traverse!

Back on skis, after the arete, it was time to enjoy some spring skiing and a brief break at the Grand Mountent hut which is pitted in a truly spectacular place, deep below a series of steep 4000m peaks.

Impressive steep walls of Dent Blanche on the right with the traverse route through the Durand Col in the middle. We didn’t climb up this col as we turned sharp right down the valley to Zinal.

The descent to Zinal village was long and offered nice turns on a mellow Zinal glacier before we skied down an old road that ultimately brought us to wide flats before the village of Zinal.

Old houses in Zinal glow with history.

Since we ended up in a different valley than our car in St. Niklaus, we took a scenic bus ride down from Zinal to town of Sierre in the main valley. From there, we took a train up to Visp before switching onto a mountain train ride up to St. Niklaus.

Additional Information

Logistics/Transportation + Parking

Compared to the famous Haute Route, the Imperial version is much simpler for transportation as you can start and finish in the same valley, and getting back to your car (or main train routes) with just a simple bus or train ride down the valley.

We parked in St. Niklaus which is about 30km down the valley from Zermatt. The same can be done on the Zinal side where you park at St. Luc and then ski out to Zinal.

Our logistics got slightly complicated as we skied out in Zinal instead of Zermatt, yet we still got back to our car in less than 3h of connecting buses and trains.

Hut arrangements + Food

Booking huts is easy but I recommend calling if possible then instead of just filling out the online form.

You will most likely get a discount if you belong to an alpine club in your country. Since you are in Switzerland the prices are slightly higher than rest of Europe but paying around 65-75 Euros for sleeping, dinner and breakfast is reasonable.

Huts:

  • Turtmann Hutte
  • Cabane de Tracuit
  • Cabane Arpitettaz

For food, all huts will provide you with fine dinner and breakfast but plan on bringing all your lunches and snacks for the whole traverse.

As there is no running water at the huts during winter-spring months you will have to buy it every day.

For staying at huts, it is required that you bring your own simple sleeping sheet (or sack) while the pillows and blankets are provided.

There is no need to bring slippers as they are provided at every hut.

If you need WIFI then you might get lucky at some huts.

For weather, just ask the hut custodians and they will happy to help you.

Recommended gear:

In addition to standard ski touring gear, I recommend to bring a rope and crevasse rescue gear. Then an ice axe and boot crampons.

Ski crampons can be useful as well but we chose to leave them behind. If you don’t plan doing any side trips then you can likely get by without boot crampons as well.

Other:

Having a topo map of the area is always good and you can buy 1:40,000 that covers the whole traverse and more.

For clothing, you will be travelling mostly around 2800-3500m so it can get cold when windy even when the sun is out.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions Tagged With: Haute Route, Haute Route Imperiale, Switzerland

Where Innovation Meets History: Visiting CAMP Headquarters and Factory in Premana, Italy

May 6, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

As if from a mythical story book, there is a very specific charm to visiting traditional European outdoor gear manufacturers. They are often hidden high up in mountain valleys as if they were kept a secret.

C.A.M.P started in 1889 as a one-man metal shop. We maintain this heritage in the raw world of manufacturing where have passed the value of getting our hands dirty down through four generations of family owners. This is our heritage and it will always be our future.

Last year, we visited La Sportiva in a beautiful valley of Val di Fiemme in Italy and now it was time to pay tribute to another historically significant player in the climbing and ski mountaineering world.

With so many brands offering outdoor gear these days there are only a few with such strong roots and vision such as the family-owned CAMP. This 125 years old manufacturer has a lightweight gear manifesto that drives its decisions with every existing product and when designing anything new.

While lightweight is fundamental in CAMP’s product research and development they integrate it with other drivers such as product functionality, passion for work well done, the alpine heritage of the brand, and they see each product as an enabler for climbers and ski mountaineers that use it realize their goals.

If there is one thing we can do with any piece of equipment to improve its performance, it is to make it lighter. THIS IS A UNIVERSAL TRUTH and it is a driving force at CAMP where we start with purpose-built designs and then trim the fat for a result that has become the world’s lightest line of equipment for climbers, mountaineers, alpinists and ski mountaineers. In the mountains, we are obliged to be prepared for whatever may come our way. This means we cannot skimp on our selections when we choose the right tools for the adventure… – from CAMP’s Lightweight Manifesto

As with La Sportiva in Val di Fiemme, CAMP chooses to stay in a small charming mountain village of Premana not because it makes for a better story but because a handful of local families are part of its manufacturing process since the very beginning.

In fact, CAMP is short for “Concezione Articoli Montagna Premana”, and in English it means “Conceptions of Products for Mountains in Premana”.

Product Lines and Research & Development

For a small company, compared to La Sportiva or Scarpa, CAMP has an amazingly big selection of products, most of them in the hard goods segment (climbing gear) instead of relying only on clothing like most brands.

CAMP basically manufactures every imaginable gear of climbing, alpine climbing and ski mountaineering equipment, except ropes, while they clothing line is limited to a couple of highly functional pieces that are mostly available only in Italy for now.

True to its values, the company constantly pushes for improvements and innovation in a dynamic way.

At 246g in 50cm length, the Corsa Nanotech ice axe uses Nanoflex – special steel developed with nanotechnology – and is one of many examples how CAMP blends superb functionality with lightweight and minimalism.

With only about 10-15 designers and consultants, and a much smaller R&D budget than most outdoor brands, it is fascinating that CAMP is one of industry leaders.

CAMP Outdoor vs CAMP Safety

CAMP does not only develop and manufactures gear for outdoors but it also has tremendous amounts of know-how in the industrial safety gear design.

Druid Descender – a lightweight, compact auto-braking descender for rope access and rescue.

Determined by the differences in priorities, focus in outdoor products is a blend of light weight and function to enable absolute best athletic performance. With industrial products, the focus is primarily on safety, function, durability and compliance to various ever more stringent safety standards, often different by region or even country.

CAMP Headquarters and Factory Tour

After navigating narrow roads above a steep gorge we arrived to CAMP offices and factory in Premana to meet Isacco Codega – one of the fourth generation of the Codega family, that founded this highly specialized company back in 1889, and still leading it today.

Stylish handles on the front door to CAMP’s headquarters.

Designers and administration staff was busy at work while we went through a long hallway that displayed some of CAMPs gear and mountain photos.

Isacco brought us to their internal testing facility that allows them to collect lots of valuable data about their existing gear as well as to test new ideas. While light weight is very important for the company they also test durability by simulating the use of their gear thousands of times, for example opening and closing a carabiner gate many thousand times to learn how this might affect the its function over long periods of use.

One of the tests we witnessed was with the ski mountaineering Speed Comp helmet that has been significantly upgraded over the last two years to meet the double certification standard – for skiing and climbing – that is now required by ISMF, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation.

New CAMP Speed Comp helmet (in blue) has been considerably improved over the old model (white) to comply with EN 12492 and EN 1077/B certification standards in accordance with ISMF rules.

CAMP’s R&D engineer prepared for us a “Test of resistance to penetration EN 1077 class B of Speed Comp helmet” during which a 3 kg sharply pointed spike is dropped at the velocity of 2.71 m/s from the height of 375mm, and it should not contact with the head form.

After talking to one of the main designers and engineers, Isacco lead us to the bottom floor of the building to CAMP’s main manufacturing shop for crampons, ice axes and other various equipment.

Here you can watch one of many steps that are needed to manufacture a pair of mountaineering crampons:

These pipes will be reborn as ice axes soon.
CAMP’s manufacturing shop just after the workers left for the day.
Front parts of crampons waiting for polishing.

Relationship with Athletes and Other Companies

Robert Antonioli

CAMP deeply cares about its athletes and ambassadors, and many of them are very loyal in return.

Likewise, deeper relationships exist in Italy even among companies as CAMP occasionally cooperates with other brands such as La Sportiva.

CAMP will also play an integral part in the 2019 Arc’Teryx Alpine Academy in Chamonix in July by providing gear as well as running two climbing specific clinics. CAMP has also partnered with Arc’Teryx for their Jackson Hole Backcountry Academy.

Into The Future

There is no doubt that CAMP will keep pushing the limits of innovation for all of us to enjoy the benefits to let us move through the mountains safely and efficiently so we can focus on the beautiful experiences rather than equipment.

In the coming weeks, we will be testing some of CAMP’s finest ski mountaineering gear to weight its pros and cons so you can make more informed choices before your next adventure.

Filed Under: Gear, Tech & Food Tagged With: Camp, CAMP USA

North American Women Racing The 2019 Trofeo Mezzalama: Kylee Toth Ohler Shares Their Experience

May 5, 2019 By Stano Faban 1 Comment

In their first start in the iconic Trofeo Mezzalama, a trio of  North American ladies – Kylee Toth Ohler (CAN), Jessie Young and Sierra Anderson (both USA) – placed 6th and gained a lot of new experience from the very windy 2019 edition.

Here’s a short interview with Kylee to recap their experience.

Sierra, Kylee, Jessie

Q: For all 3 of you, Mezzalama was a brand new experience. Did you like it?

I really enjoyed this race! It was definitely the most technical, challenging and fun ski mountaineering event I have completed.

It is truly a mountaineering race and a big undertaking. It challenges all of your skills – ascending, descending, glacier travel, ridge climbing – it certainly is not a race I would want to enter without training and preparation.

Q: How would you compare it to World Championships and Pierra Menta?

The Grande Course races are each unique and the Mezzalama has a very different feel than the Pierra Menta, being at higher altitudes and more technical.

I would definitely do both races again and the Grande Course style of true ski mountaineering rely appeals to me more than World Cup or World Championships style of racing.

Q: What was the biggest challenge for the whole team?

I would say the biggest challenge was the adverse weather. It was really cold and windy for half of the race and we had huge climbs and descents.

When we were at the bottom of the climb we were hot and sweating. Once we ascended above 3500 meters it was -20 or colder and extremely windy on the ridges. This made it challenging to stay warm. We wasted a lot of time trying to manage that.

Q: Now having the experience, what do you think is the most important aspect in preparing for such a big race?

I would take this race seriously in preparing for it.

You would need to put in a lot of training meters, many 2000m+ ski touring days, and be a very competent downhill skier – comfortable skiing double black runs at your local ski hill.

Not only is the skiing challenging for many descents but you have to descend roped up with your team mates!

This race is ideal for someone with a background of many years of ski mountaineer racing or true mountaineering. I would definitely not recommended for beginners even if they are very fit.

Filed Under: Skimo Racing Tagged With: Jessie Young, Kylee Ohler, Sierra Anderson

Mezzalama 2019: Italians Win in Mens while French Win the Womens Race, 6th for North American Ladies

April 29, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Windy conditions at Mezzalama 2019. Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

Trofeo Mezzalama, being held every second year, is often affected by severe weather conditions as its course takes athletes to high alpine ridges that hover around the altitude of 4000 m. The 2019 edition was no different and due to strong winds the organizers had to be creative, however, they still delivered a challenging and exciting route.

Men’s Race

An amazing battle took place between the top three men’s teams, and only the last climb and descent decided the winner. In the last couple of years, in the World Cup and Grand Course races, the strength of the current Italian team is undeniable and the trio of Michele Boscacci, Robert Antonioli and Matteo Eydallin came on top once again in 4h 45min 30sec.

For Matteo Eydallin, the specialist of long team races, this was the fifth Mezzalama victory as he lost only one edition since 2009!

Second place went to a strong Swiss team – Marti Werner, William Boffelli and Martin Anthamatten – who challenged the Italians almost the whole day. At the end, they lost only 2min 51sec in this almost 5h race.

Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

Kilian Jornet teamed up with an Austrian Jakob Herrmann, his 2018 Pierra Menta partner where they led until the last stage, and Jakob’s countrymen Armin Hoefl. While perhaps not as strong as the top two teams on paper, this trio was hot on the heels of the Swiss and missed on the second place by only 1min at the finish line.

» Men’s race full results

Women’s Race

In the women’s race, a dominant French team – Axelle Mollaret, Alba de Silvestro, Lorna Bonnel – took the win with a big gap.

The race behind them was much more interesting as only 30 seconds were the difference between second and third! Two Italian teams battled all the way to the finish line with Giulia Murada, Ilaria Veronese and Mara Martini prevailing over Elena Nicolini, Bianca Balzarini and Corina Ghirardi.

Alba de Silvestro from the second placed Italian team. Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

The elite category North American women’s team delivered a great performance to place 6th despite racing together for the very first time. Canadian Kylee Ohler teamed up with two US Team members Jessie Young and Sierra Anderson to take on the challenge. Both Kylee and Jessie have lots of experience from big skimo races while Sierra is quickly learning yet has tremendous athletic base from other sports.

» Women’s race full results

Filed Under: Events & Races Tagged With: Alba De Silvestro, Axelle Mollaret, Jakob Herrmann, Kilian Jornet, Lorna Bonnel, Marti Werner, Matteo Eydallin, Michele Boscacci, Robert Antonioli, Trofeo Mezzalama

Darkside Ski Mountaineering Race in Whistler – April, 2019

April 12, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Sold out event sees 112 competitors at the start line on Blackcomb Mountain. Canadian champions Nick Elson and Kylee Ohler claim top spots.

Whistler, B.C. – April 6, 2019 — It was a turbulent start to race day with avalanche bombs echoing throughout the Whistler Valley, but inclement weather and fresh snow on the ground was not about to stop the return of ski mountaineering racing to Whistler Blackcomb. The Darkside Ski Mountaineering Race took place over 13.3 kilometres on Blackcomb Mountain with over 1,400 metres of elevation gain. There were 112 racers at the start line from across Canada, the Pacific Northwest and as far away as Spain and Costa Rica.

Women’s podium: 2nd Katarina Kuba, 1st Kylee Toth, 3rd Courtney post.

“The big draw of holding a race like this at Whistler Blackcomb (WB) is that the terrain is spectacular, some of the best in the world,” said Race Director Eric Carter. “The other advantage is that with the incredible assistance of WB Ski Patrol we could still hold the event in adverse weather conditions in the subalpine. Next year, we’ll definitely have our fingers crossed for clear weather and the chance to really showcase what these athletes can do in the formidable alpine terrain of Blackcomb.”

Nick Elson in the bootpack on the final climb.

Canadian national champions Nick Elson and Kylee Ohler took the victory in the Open category with a time of 1 hour, 30 minutes, 20 seconds (1:30:20) and 1:51:09 respectively. Elson had fellow Squamish local Jessie Mcauley (1:30:36) on his heels, the 18 year-old finishing just 16 seconds behind to take seconds place. Tyson Smith came in third with a time of 1:39:26. Ohler, who travelled from Calgary for the event, was followed by Katerina Kuba (2:05:05) and Courtney Post (2:08:23). In all, nine Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team members, fresh from the World Championships in Villars, Switzerland, participated in the event.

“The (Whistler Blackcomb) Events staff were incredibly helpful, as were our small army of volunteers,” said Carter. “Everything went really smoothly. We definitely fielded lots of questions on the mountain about what this race was, how far the competitors were climbing and how fast they were doing it.”

The Darkside Ski Mountaineering Race had its biggest turnout in the Heavy Metal category with 45 racers tackling the course with regular ski touring gear. Christian Veenstra (1:53:06) from Vancouver and Olivia Vihant (2:31:10) from Squamish took the win with all racers completing the course in approximately three hours. One lone splitboard competitor held the rallying flag for snowboarders.

“A large portion of the field were not equipped with race skis and lycra skin suits, but were actually in normal ski touring setups,” said Carter. “These are the folks who want to get out and ski the Spearhead Traverse in a push, summit peaks or just ski more powder in a day! Using some of the technology and techniques from ‘skimo’ racing makes this possible. Having this crew out there skiing hard, cheering on their friends and enjoying the effort is awesome and it forms the backbone of our community.”

Only 18-years old Jessie Mcauley stayed within 30 seconds of Nick Elson the whole race!

Later in the afternoon, racers filled the floor space of the Escape Route Alpine Demo Centre for the awards with cash prizes for the Open category winners and sponsor prize packs for everyone who made it onto the podium.

Dozens of competitors were treated to more draw prizes from a long list of sponsors:
Escape Route, Arc’teryx, Dynafit and Petzl with additional support from Pomoca, Ultimate Direction, Skintrack.com, Ridgeline Athletics, Skiuphill.ca, Demon Eyewear, OnSight Equipment, Blue Ice, Wiivv and Ullr Maps.

» Full Results

 

Filed Under: Reports & Results Tagged With: Jessie Mcauley, Kylee Ohler, Nick Elson

Vertical Race – 2019 Skimo Worlds – Mar 13: Werner Marti finally on top as Andrea Mayr defends her 2017 title

March 13, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Another stormy day in Villars, Switzerland forced organizers to shorten the vertical race course to a very fast 470m of vert while utilizing some XC trails.
This type of unusual “skimo” terrain provided teams to think outside the box regarding the use of equipment (very short skins) and technique that reminds more of xc skiing than skimo – skating, gliding, poling, etc.
» If you are looking for results only then visit this page, otherwise, keep reading for more details.

Men (Senior & Espoir)

As already mentioned, the shortened race course made for a high speed race over a flatter than usual terrain. It also perhaps favoured taller racers (longer ski poles) but at the end it were the vertical specialists that prevailed.
After trying hard for a couple of years, Marti Werner (SWI) finally managed to snatched the gold medal in his strongest discipline. On top of that he beat second Robert Antonioli (ITA) by 40 seconds, although, the Italian blew a ski/skin right at the start! By the way, this was Antonioli’s 3rd medal in 3 races this week!
Bronze went to another tall Swiss vertical specialist, Remi Bonnet, who only lost to Antonioli by 4 seconds. Michelle Boscacci (ITA) took fourth place further 20 seconds behind.
Once again, Italians managed to put 3 of their athletes into the top 10, with a young Davide Magnini in 9th.

Rory Kelly (USA) leading Peter Knight (CAN) during the race.
Rory Kelly (USA) leading Peter Knight (CAN) during the race.

US and Canadian men:
Certainly, the highlight of the day is Cameron’s Smith (USA) performance, finishing in 18th! Cam is reasonably new to skimo and has been having a great season so far. Today’s achievement is cherry on the cake.
For North America, it was John Gaston (USA) once again to produce the top placing. John took 13th today with less than 2min behind Marti but probably won’t be as happy as in 2017 when he placed 11th.
Mike Foote (USA) was replaced by Rory Kelly and battled to 39th place, a very respectable performance.
Peter Knight was once again the highest placed Canadian in 42nd which is pretty good considering his winter-long reoccurring injury. Tyson Smith was second Canadian in 48th.

Women (Senior & Espoir)

In women’s race, just like 2 years ago, it was an “easy” affair for Andrea Mayr (AUT) to grab gold again. Mayr is a current European mountain running champion. Clearly, vertical disciplines are her specialty.
Second place went to Axelle Gachet Mollaret (FRA) who won gold yesterday in the Individual race. Bronze was claimed by Victoria Kreuzer (SWI) while two Swedish athletes took 4th and 5th.
Of note, there was a “citizen” race right before the main event and a former Swiss team member, Maude Mathys, won in a time that would have seen her claim a medal in the World Champs race!
US and Canadian women:
Top North American lady was once again Jessie Young (USA) in 17th. Yesterday she placed 13th in the Individual race – both very strong performances.
Jamie Breede (USA) had a great race as well to capture 19th place, thus, putting two US women in top 20th. Michela Adrien from Montana raced to 22nd which is also a great performance.
For Canadians, Kylee Ohler placed a respectable 24th in her least favourite discipline. Spots 30th to 32nd were occupied by the other 3 Canadian women with Courtney Post leading them home.

Juniors & Cadets  – Women and Men

Gold medals went to these four young athletes:

  • Junior men – Aurélien Gay (FRA)
  • Junior women – Ekaterina Osichkina (RUS)
  • Cadet men – Robin Bussard (SWI)
  • Cadet women – Caroline Ulrich (SWI)
Canadian cadet Ema Chlepkova on the right.
Canadian cadet Ema Chlepkova on the right.

US and Canadian athletes – highlights:
Jessie Mcauley (CAN) had another good perfomance, finishing 14th in the men’s junior category with Noah Schuh the second Canadian. Jacob Dewey was best US athlete in 20th in the same category.
There were no North American women in the junior category.
The best NA result in the cadet men’s went to George Beck (USA) while Canadians didn’t participate.
In the cadet women’s category, Team US did well again as Grace Staberg and Elsa Bates took 6th and 8th respectively. Canadian athlete Ema Chlepkova, who’s specialty is biathlon, had a good race to finish in 17th.
» For full results visit this page. 

Filed Under: General News & Articles

Individual Race – 2019 Skimo Worlds – Mar 12: Antonioli and Mollaret win senior titles

March 12, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

individual-2019-worlds
After a forced day off due to stormy weather yesterday, the World Ski Mountaineering Championships continued today with Individual race for all categories.
» If you are looking for results only then visit this page, otherwise, keep reading for more details.

Men (Senior & Espoir)

Today’s course was very technical and lots of big names dropped out, and it was big for Italy when Robert Antonioli (ITA) added a gold medal to his bronze from the sprint race two days ago! His team-mate Michelle Boscacci was only 35 seconds behind to take silver. This results makes them the top favourites for the Teams race later in the week. Third place went to Xavier Gachet (FRA) only another 40 seconds behind.
The whole top 10 was distributed only among 3 countries – Italy, France and Switzerland – with the Italians had 4 of their athletes there!

Michelle Boscacci leading the pack.
Michelle Boscacci leading the pack.

US and Canadian men:
There were lots of anticipation whether John Gaston (USA) can improve on his 15th place from the Individual race from two years ago. Gaston is known not to be satisfied with himself even when he delivers his absolute best which adds to the pressure. However, he seems to constantly deliver when it matters the most and today was no different as he took a historical 12th place in this event for North America with only less than 5min behind the winner!
Cameron Smith (USA) had a very good race as well to take 33rd, with only 12min off the podium, in his first ever showing in the senior category. Cam definitely has potential in the coming years! Max Taam (USA) was 41st and likely not as satisfied.
The Canadian’s were led home by Peter Knight in 51st place, followed by Tyson Smith and Matt Ruta in 53rd and 54th respectively.
Of note, Mike Foote (USA) suffered an injury in training and likely won’t race at these Worlds at all.

Women (Senior & Espoir)

It might not be Laetitia Roux but the French have a new queen when Axelle Gachet Mollaret took gold with 3.5min ahead of Alba de Silvestro (ITA). Another French lady, Lorna Bonnel, had a great race and took bronze.
Of note is that two Swedish women placed 5th and 6th which is a big result for such a new skimo country!

Kylee Ohler racing to her 25th place.
Kylee Ohler racing to her 25th place.

US and Canadian women:
After delivering her first baby only a couple of months ago, Jessie Young (USA) reached her personal historical maximum with 13th place. Congratulations!
While Sierra Anderson (USA) might be reasonably new to skimo, and participating in her first Worlds, she delivered a great performance to finish in 18th. Nikki Laroche and Kate Zander (both USA) took 26th and 27th respectively.
The best Canadian result came from Kylee Ohler in 25th. Kylee was likely dreaming for a slightly better result (top 20) but we are sure she left everything on the course. Lori Ann Donald missed the top 30 by only one spot.

Juniors & Cadets  – Women and Men

US and Canadian athletes – highlights:
Jessie Mcauley (CAN) had a great race to place 10th in the men’s junior category. Jacob Dewey was best US athlete in 18th in the same category.
There were no North American women in the junior category.
There were 49 athletes in the men’s cadet category! The best NA results went to Caden Klein (USA) with his team-mates following closely behind, while Canadians didn’t participate.
In the cadet women’s category, among 24 athletes, Team US did very well as Grace Staberg and Elsa Bates took 6th and 8th respectively. Canadian athlete Ema Chlepkova had a satisfactory performance to finish in 18th.
» For full results visit this page. 

Filed Under: Events & Races Tagged With: 2019 Skimo World Championships

Sprint Race – 2019 Skimo Worlds – Mar 10: Arno Lietha and Galicia Cotrina win senior titles

March 10, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

The 2019 Skimo Worlds were off to a windy start when strong gusts caused couple of issues to organizers. At the end, everything worked out and the first medals have been distributed to the fastest athletes.
» If you are looking for results only then visit this page, otherwise, keep reading for more details.

ISMF photo
ISMF photo

Sprint Race – Men (Senior & Espoir)

After a big disappointment at the 2017 sprint race,  Robert Antonioli (ITA) the 2015 Sprint World Champ, made it back to the podium to capture a bronze medal. He was out sprinted by a pair charging Swiss athletes Arno Lietha who took gold and Iwan Arnold silver.

Max Taam (USA) during the qualifying round.
Max Taam (USA) during the qualifying round. ISMF photo

US and Canadian men:
Today was not as successful for the North American men as 2 years ago when Eric Carter made it in the top 20. The best performance came from Cam Smith (USA) who made it into the quarter-finals and ultimately placed 27th.
Jason Dorais was the second best from Team USA while Tyson Smith was the best Canadian in 44th.

Sprint Race – Women (Senior & Espoir)

The women’s gold medal was decided quite early on as Claudia Galicia Cotrina (ESP) took the lead from the start. Silver medal went to Marianna Jagercikova (SVK) and bronze to Deborah Chiarello (SUI).
US and Canadian women:
Strong performances came from Sierra Anderson (USA) and Kylee Ohler (CAN) as they made it into quarter-finals and placed 20th and 24th respectively. Nikki Larochelle (USA) was the continent’s third best woman and placing 31st overall.

Sprint Race – Men and Women (Junior & Cadet)

Among Juniors the Italian Giovanni Rossi and the Russian Ekaterina Osichkina have perfectly opened the world week in the Canton of Vaud, while among Cadets Caroline Ulrich (SUI) and Robin Bussard (SUI) got the top stage of the podium.
» For full results visit this page.

Ema Chlepkova (CAN) in her first ever Skimo Worlds race. She is one of the top junior biathletes in Canada.
Ema Chlepkova (CAN) in her first ever Skimo Worlds race. She is one of the top junior biathletes in Canada. Eric Carter photo.

US and Canadian athletes – highlights:
Two years ago, Quinn Simmons earned a historical silver medal for USA in the sprint race in cadet category.
While North American’s didn’t come out with a medal Grace’s Staberg 9th place in the women’s cadet category is a big success.
Best placed cadet men was Rush Peterson in 24th place. A biathlete specialist trying her luck in skimo, Ema Chlepkova (CAN), placed 19th.
In the junior category, top honours for North Americans went to Finnegan Remias for USA and Noah Schuh for Canada while there were no NA women on the start line in this category.

Filed Under: Events & Races Tagged With: 2019 Skimo World Championships

Overview: 2019 Skimo World Championships + Team USA and Team Canada Athletes

March 9, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Two years went by very fast since the last World Ski Mountaineering Championships!
On Sunday, March 10 athletes will line up for the first event of the 2019 Skimo Worlds in Villars, Switzerland.
We have prepared the following overview – including names on the US and Canadian Teams – to make it easier for you to follow events every day… and a little bit of controversy too.
2019-skimo-world-champs-overview

Events

World Ski Mountaineering Championships take place every second year and usually take over a region or a valley somewhere in Europe for 6-7 days.
Here is the events schedule for 2019 Skimo Worlds:

  • March 10 – Sprint Race – All categories
  • March 11 – Individual Race – Junior & Cadet
  • March 12 – Individual Race – Senior & Espoir
  • March 13 – Vertical Race – All categories
  • March 14 – Day Off
  • March 15 – Teams Race – Senior
  • March 16 – Relay Race – All categories

Controversy: Pierra Menta dates clashing with World Championships

Over the years, there have been many issues regarding collaboration between the ISMF (International Ski Mountaineering Federation) and the Grand Course races (big traditional team races) such as Pierra Menta.
This year, the two biggest skimo events, the World Championshisp and Pierra Menta, take place in the same week – Pierra Menta goes from March 13 to 16.
While both sides tried to work this out to some degree it shows that skimo as a sport is still very small that no one has the luxury to move the dates infinitely.

Team USA

The following athletes were named to the US National Team after qualifying races in February, however, there could be last minute changes due to athletes’ abilities to fund themselves to participate.
This is the largest US Skimo Team ever with 20 athletes being less than 21 years old!
Athlete Demographics by State:

  • Colorado – 28
  • Utah – 7
  • Montana – 3
  • New Mexico – 2
  • Washington – 1

Senior Men:

  • Jon Brown – Crested Butte, CO
  • Jason Dorais – Salt Lake City, UT
  • Mike Foote – Missoula, MT
  • John Gaston – Aspen, CO
  • Tom Goth – Salt Lake City, UT
  • Rory Kelly – Boulder, CO
  • Jack Linehan – Aspen, CO
  • Cam Smith – Gunnison, CO
  • Max Taam – Aspen, CO

Senior Women:

  • Michela Adrian – Bozeman, MT
  • Sierra Anderson – Breckenridge, CO
  • Jamie Brede – Breckenridge, CO
  • Sarah Cookler – Silver Fork, UT
  • Annamae Flynn* – Marble, CO
  • Sara Kadlec* – Boulder, CO
  • Nikki Larochelle – Breckenridge, CO
  • Chelsee Pummel – Bozeman, MT
  • Jesse Young – Aspen, CO
  • Kate Zander – Breckenridge, CO

Espoir Men:

  • Peter Butler – Port Angeles, WA
  • Jeshurun Small – Gunnison, CO

Junior Men:

  • Max Bonenberger – Breckenridge, CO
  • Jacob Dewey – Gunnison, CO
  • Peter Hajdo – Gunnison, CO
  • Henry Hanes – Albuquerque, NM
  • Finnegan Remias – Breckenridge, CO
  • Sam Wescott – Silverthorne, CO

Junior Women:

  • Morgan Fortin – Albuquerque, NM
  • Victoria Olson – Salt Lake City, UT

Cadet men:

  • Connor Albin – Breckenridge, CO
  • George Beck – Woody Creek, CO
  • Sam Burke – Dillon, CO
  • Paul Hans – Breckenridge, CO
  • Mark Jardim – Breckenridge, CO
  • Caden Klein – Aspen, CO
  • Rush Peterson – Silver Fork, UT
  • Jeremiah Vaille – Dillon, CO

Cadet Women:

  • Elsa Bates – Breckenridge, CO
  • Ada Fendler – Silver Fork, UT
  • Samantha Paisley – Silver Fork, UT
  • Grace Staberg – Silverthorne, CO

Team Canada

We have not received an official press release from the Canadian Skimo federation neither the World Champs team is announced on their website but these should be the athletes representing Canada this year.
Men’s Team – All categories:

  • Matt Ruta
  • Tyson Smith
  • Peter Knight
  • Scott Semple
  • Noah Schuh

Women’s Team – All categories:

  • Kylee Ohler Toth
  • Lori-Ann Donald
  • Ema Chlepkova
  • Courtney Post
  • Katarina Kuba
  • Caroline Reid

Filed Under: Events & Races Tagged With: 2019 Skimo World Championships

New Scarpa Alien 1.0 vs Scarpa Alien RS vs Scarpa Alien 3.0

December 20, 2018 By Stano Faban 2 Comments

Here are a couple of close-up photos of the newly redesigned Scarpa Alien 1.0, now using a carbon infused Grilamid shell just like the Alien RS.
The new 1.0 really seems to be a blend of features of the old 1.0, the new RS, and the racing specialist boot 3.0.
We will add more details soon so check back to this page.
>> Visit our ski boots comparison page for more details on these boots.

Scarpa Alien 3.0 compared to new Scarpa Alien 1.0 (on the right).
Scarpa Alien 3.0 compared to new Scarpa Alien 1.0 (on the right).
Scarpa Alien RS compared to new Scarpa Alien 1.0
Scarpa Alien RS compared to new Scarpa Alien 1.0
Full image of Scarpa Alien 1.0 showing many new features. Because of these, the boot might be slightly heavier than previous model but should be a lot more comfortable, and of course less snow getting inside ;)
Full image of Scarpa Alien 1.0 showing many new features. Because of these, the boot might be slightly heavier than previous model but should be a lot more comfortable, and of course less snow getting inside 😉
Side and back look of Alien 1.0
Side and back look of Alien 1.0
Comparing Alien 3.0 and 1.0 from the back. They seem to be the same height but the 3.0 heel cup is considerably smaller.
Comparing Alien 3.0 and 1.0 from the back. They seem to be the same height but the 3.0 heel cup is considerably smaller.
New closing mechanism - there is no locking pin for the lever to clip into - used for Scarpa RS and Alien 1.0, but not yet on Alien 3.0
New closing mechanism – there is no locking pin for the lever to clip into – used for Scarpa RS and Alien 1.0, but not yet on Alien 3.0

Filed Under: Gear, Tech & Food, News Shorts Tagged With: Scarpa Alien 1.0, Scarpa Alien 3.0, Scarpa Alien RS

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