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Kilian Jornet

Kilian Jornet Interview: About His New Foundation, His Own Environmental Impact, and How He Wants To Help Athletes and The Outdoor Industry To Protect Nature

December 8, 2020 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

This is not a reality of today because we can produce high performance gear with much cleaner technologies. This demands the use of other sources and treatments… but it is totally possible today.

We all love to play in the mountains and many of us see them as extensions of our souls. They are bigger and more powerful than us, yet we don’t always realize how fragile they are.

After interviewing Pascal Egli about fast melting mountain glaciers, we reached out to Kilian Jornet to ask him about some projects that he has initiated recently with the goal of protecting mountains and our natural environment.

On one hand, these initiatives can be seen as hypocritical on Kilian’s part as he has traveled around the world extensively for competitions and for adventures. On the other hand, it is important to have someone with great influence in the mountain community to be leading such efforts.

» Kilian’s projects: Kilian Jornet Foundation and Outdoor Friendly Pledge

» Instagram for Kilian’s Foundation: @kilianjornetfoundation

Q: Kilian, we all know you as a competitor and a mountain athlete first, but we also know that you have a deeper relationship with mountains and nature. What draws you outside every day?

For me it is quite simple, outside is where I belong. When I am in the mountains I feel at home, I feel happy and that I am where I should be. This feeling never happens when I am in a city, inside walls or on flat land.

Q: As someone that has traveled around the world to compete and for adventures extensively, when did you realize that you were perhaps greatly adding to the problem of climate change?

Since I was a child I had an environmental knowledge. My parents showed me and my sister the connection we have with all of nature’s elements. They made me realize that we as people are part of an ecosystem and that it is important to preserve it, so the ecosystem continues to work.

I think I had tried to keep my lifestyle in general as sustainable as possible – being vegetarian, living in low energy ways, trying not to have many material things – but I had lied to myself by saying that the traveling was part of my job. It is something I had taken for granted as a pro athlete.

I had the opportunity to travel a lot and I did not think too much about it. I did it because it was possible and “normal”. But you realize quickly that the biggest part of my footprint comes from the travels.

Over the last 3 years, I have been consciously reducing my travels. First, by changing travels to be an exception and not the norm. I cut travels that were not that meaningful – to training camps, to do a talk, to do a race that was not my big goal, etc.

I love traveling and there are places I want to go, but I think for me now, it is important to only travel when it is a special occasion, maybe once a year. For anything else, it is probably possible to do close to my home.

Q: In September, you announced the creation of Kilian Jornet Foundation. Tell us more about its goals and what it means for you?

Over the last years, I have been increasingly concerned about the environmental footprint I have been making personally and we as a society.

Perhaps, when my daughter was born it was an acceleration of this concern. With her, it became easier to imagine how mountains and nature might look like when the next generation will be our age. It also became clearer what we should do so they can enjoy nature as we are able to.

I used my channels (social media and press) to talk about it, but I thought I should do more. I was collaborating with some associations and environmental projects, and I came to a realization that the best way I could use my voice and to develop projects was by creating a foundation.

The foundation’s mission is to preserve mountain environments. Right now, that means “fighting” climate change, preserving biodiversity, reducing pollution, but also thinking of new models for mountain areas – more sustainability, the role of tourism, etc.

Q: What are the main actions the foundation is taking?

We work in 3 different pillars:

We support research, because I believe that scientific studies will tell us what the best tools are to achieve the goals and to monitor the progress.

Secondly, we are raising awareness and education, and to bring the conversation about environmentalism to a larger audience and give them tools to be more sustainable.

The third pillar is direct actions. These are actions directly in a specific environment or area to solve a local or a temporary issue. This can be planting trees, cleaning a mountain area, or building a more sustainable infrastructure, etc.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kilian Jornet Foundation (@kilianjornetfoundation)

Q: One of the projects you launched through the foundation is Outdoor Friendly Pledge. What is the project about? Why is it important?

The Outdoor Friendly Pledge are 10 environmental commitments for each of the outdoor sports players:

  • Athletes
  • Event organizers
  • Brands and manufacturers
  • Federations

Those commitments are related to the Paris agreement and the UN SDGs, but the pledge is much more than to sign and forget.

The Pledge is a platform with practical resources, tools, and ideas on how to achieve different goals. Also, it is a place to monitor and check that the ones taking the pledge are doing the transition necessary to achieve the goals.

I think it is important to see all the players in the same place, because sustainability is not only a brands’ or athletes’ problem. Each of us have a different role and most of them are linked, so we need to collaborate to make outdoor sports more friendly for the environment.

For me, it is also important that the Pledge is not a place for shaming – to show what you are doing better than others – but rather a place to provide ideas and tools for others, so we can all help and inspire each other.

Q: Can you give us examples of less obvious actions that athletes, or mountain lovers in general, can take to help protect the mountains?

Of course, the important actions are related to traveling, but then also it is about our gear and how we act when we go to natural areas.

As an example, the goal 8 in the Pledge, we all have in mind the 5R – refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle – but when it comes to the practical it is not that obvious. We have this waterproof jacket and we don’t know how or where we can repair it, or how we can repurpose it. So, in the toolkit, there is a directory with information to find those ideas and repair places.

Another topic is our impact on biodiversity, the goal 7. We likely know the things we can or cannot do in our home mountains, but because every ecosystem is different our impact will change as we visit a different area.

For example, to take a bath in many lakes where amphibians are living – frogs, lizards, etc. – it puts them in danger, because of our bacteria and the creams we use (sun cream, deodorant).

Also, some regions have erosion or other problems, but it is difficult to find the information regarding each area. You need to spend a full day navigating on the internet to find this infos, so we wanted to make a directory to share all this easily.

Q: What role do you think outdoor gear manufacturers can play? Also, should they try to sell less gear instead of more?

They play a big role, because they produce the gear we use. So, if they reduce their footprint then each user will reduce theirs.

They have an important role in the waste management – from the leftovers of the cutting patterns (from fabric, rubber…) to the packaging and the circulation of the products.

Today, most of the products are a craft-to-grave model but the products should have a circularity in its lifecycle. This comes from the production model (using recycling materials and being recyclable let’s say), but also in the circular economy model by promoting durability, 2nd hand, renting, unseasonal collections, etc.

Also, the use of chemicals and microplastics is substantial in the outdoor industry, because our gear are often high performance products that use materials that deliver the great performance, but they are not very sustainable – such as PVC, PFC, or using hazardous chemical treatments.

But this is not a reality of today, because we can produce high performance gear with much cleaner technologies. This demands the use of other sources and treatments which require some changes in the production, but it is totally possible today.

Another example is, when it comes to pollution and carbon footprint, the 90% of a company’s carbon footprint does not come from its own operations, but from its supply chain – suppliers’ own emissions, logistics emissions, material sourcing, etc. – so it is important to focus there as well.

Another important issue is what marketing and communication of the brands is promoting because they certainly have a key role in raising awareness and helping to shape consumer behaviour.

When it comes to the question of “selling more or less”, there is the link between the user and the brand, and the brands listen to what consumers asks for. So, if consumers buy more durable materials or ask constantly about reducing the environmental footprint of their equipment then brands will accelerate that transition – this is also our role as sponsored athletes, to push them every day!

Also, brands have the role of providing repair facilities or not making seasonal collections but rather making unique collections with updates only when there are significant improvements.

Q: As a final question, what other projects are you dreaming about – personal, athletic, or with the foundation?

As an athlete, I want to keep seeking performance but probably by doing more different activities.

What makes me dream right now is climbing and alpinism than doing trail or skimo races. For sure, I will do a few races every year but more as a complement of the alpine activities instead of racing being the main goal.

For the foundation, I have a lot of ideas and projects I would like to do. We are a very small foundation, but I love to put my energy and time into it – to develop projects and to cooperate with other people and institutions that have the same interests. I think that through such collaborations that these projects can be done.

Filed Under: People (Interviews) Tagged With: Kilian Jornet

Kilian Jornet Interview: On Taking Risks, Skimo in Olympics, New Motivation and Future

September 19, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Copyright Kilian Jornet.

Known for his performances in the mountains and race tracks, Kilian Jornet can be probably best described as an adventurous “chameleon” – blending various skills that were gained over long time and putting them in use for marvelous feats that are often a result of a simple human curiosity.

We were curious as well, mainly to dig deeper into his thoughts after one can hardly imagine what is next for this extraordinary athlete…

Q: Congratulations Kilian! How does it feel to be a father?

Thanks, it is not an easy feeling to describe. I am so much grateful and fulfilled, and at the same time there is scariness of the responsibility for this little one.

Q: This spring, you skied a long steep line on Troll Wall in Norway – the highest vertical rock face in Europe. The whole descent looked very extreme in your video. Do you feel like this descent pushed you to your limits as a skier?

Not my technical limits. The descent has 3 different sections. The first one is very technical, one abseil, some very steep skiing, another abseil and a very steep section to the couloir. That last section is about 400m, and the steepness is like Sjøboltind diagonal, a bit more than Cordier at Verte, but more exposed.

After that the couloir is OK, maybe a 55 degrees average, and after a short climb the last section of 800m is less steep maybe 45 degrees with some short very steep and icy sections.

Troll Wall, Norway. Courtesy of Kilian Jornet.

So in general, in terms of technical, I would say it is like an Autrichiens without abseiling followed by a Cordier, and a last section more like exposed easier skiing with some ice ski down-climbing.

The difficulty is about finding good conditions all the way and the exposure and concentration for such a long time.

» For a full story about Kilian’s Troll Wall ski descent visit his blog.

» For a video of this descent see the end of the interview.

Q: Now that you are a father, do you see yourself continuing to ski more steep lines, or do you think you will reconsider adventures that require such a high concentration?

I’m not a fearless person, I have never been, but the opposite. When I do something it is because I feel I have under control all the things I can have under control. When I go it is because the equation of skills, difficulties and conditions is positive, so I don’t think it will change.

Of course, going to the mountains every day means more time to be exposed to danger and risk, but being in the mountains is also what defines me and makes me a happy person.

Photo by Kilian Jornet.

Q: You didn’t race much over the last year or so. Will we see you on top of the skimo and running again in the future? Do you have any specific racing goals in the next 1-2 years or you will take it freely?

This winter I have not race a lot, only in Norway. I wanted to be home for the baby coming.

Also, after 15 seasons doing the world cup and seeing where this sport is going in terms of races I was not motivated at all, and so I preferred to do more training and climbing around home.

When we race a lot we are never home and we are more resting than training.

This summer, I want to do some races, not like the last 10 years doing 10-15 per season, but doing some great races and doing some mountain projects.

Q: In February, you set a new world record for the most vertical skied and climbed on skis in 24 hours – you up the bar to amazing 23,486 metres! In fact, you conquered Lars Erik Skjervheim record from 2018 by a massive 2500 metres!
When did you start thinking about trying it one day? Did you do any specific preparation or you just trained by doing long days in the mountains?

Firstly, we can’t say a record. A record is something done in specific conditions and with equal rules for everybody. In athletics, a record is done in a stadium with a wind limitation for instance, in the mountains everybody does things in their own way, style, assistance and conditions.

In the 24 hour effort, even if we can compare some things, the places are different – steepness, length of slopes… so talking about record is incorrect.

Kilian during his 24 hour attempt. Photo by Matti Bernitz/Lymbus.

With that said, I think that since 2011, when Florent Perrier did 18,255 m, I was interested to try it myself.

The 24-hour is interesting from different points – how to pace, how to manage energy (eating, drinking…), etc. As this year I wasn’t racing the World Cup I decided it could be a good moment to try it.

Preparation was as always and with no racing it was more consistent. Usually, my general training block (weeks of more than 20,000 m) normally stops at middle of December but now I could do it for longer, so I had many days of more than 5,000 m.

» For a full story about Kilian’s 24 hour effort visit his blog.

Q: You have done many wild and fast adventures. What is your next one? Or is it something else that is inspiring you right now?

I like being a number of things and combining skills.

In the expedition to Everest, I learned a lot about altitude and acclimatization and I would like to do more things in altitude. Adventures like I did around my home last June (a ridge loop of 160 km) are very interesting – combining climbing where you can solo for long distances.

Q: How do you see skimo racing evolving if it becomes an Olympic sport?
For sure, the sport would benefit massively with more money coming in, but do you feel like the sport might suffer by becoming less “adventurous” as the courses might need to become more “filming friendly” for easier TV broadcasting?

When I started skimo in 2000, and people were already talking about it becoming in the Olympics, I thought it would be great! Who wouldn’t want to imagine and be excited to be an Olympic champion?

But for different reasons now, I think the opposite.

Firstly, for where this Olympic dream is taking the sport. It is no longer an endurance and a mountain sport. Races are shorter, on piste… it is making for an uninteresting sport for the non-elite athletes.

When somebody thinks about ski mountaineering they imagines climbing a summit, or several, with wild tracks, steep descents… and when the amateurs (usual ski mountaineers and ski tourers) go for a tour they go to do that.

The image of Pierra Menta, Mezzalama or some short races as a recent one in Madona di Campiglio are just that – what anybody would call “that was a great day out in the mountains”.

I don’t see any benefit or like to imagine doing a 50 m loop that takes 2 minutes on ski runs with many transitions and then going home. It is alienating the sport between amateurs and professionals.

Also, Olympics were a model of the last century – the nationalism, the big budgets, the corruption… we see that there are not many cities that want to hold Olympic Games anymore because it is very expensive, and it is not clear whether the Olympic values are just a fake slogan.

For many countries it is not attractive anymore. We see that it is more like a washing machine for non-transparent countries that want to hide their problems by putting the focus on Olympics.

I think Olympics need to rebuild their foundation.

Q: How much were you involved in designing of both Salomon X-Alp and Minim skis? They seem very different one from the other.

Yes, they are very different. One is for racing, to go down fast and straight while the other is designed to provide easy skiing in all conditions in the mountains.

It is great that how close is the relation between athletes and designers for gear development within Salomon. It starts from the absolute beginning – from the idea to the test of many prototypes, until the final testing and changes.

Kilian atop the Troll Wall on Salomon X-Alp skis (113-79-99).

Q: Have you been thinking what you might like to do after your athletic career?
Perhaps, do you see yourself working for some outdoor company or even start your own? For example, gear design and development, or something completely different?

I have no idea, I like to keep doors open.

I like gear, also photography and also physiology and training. It is some of the things I can see myself doing, but for the moment I want to focus on racing and adventures.

Q: How did your values and priorities shaped over time in regards to mountain sports and life?
You always went after your long-term athletic goals but perhaps the way you approached or executed them was different from when you planned them years before?

Since being a teenager I have been looking for performance. It is a long way and to build up you need to be in a bubble of training hard and taking anything else away for a decade or two to have a correct base.

Since then of course the goals have been changing. One reason was that the results arrived faster than I expected. If I wouldn’t achieved the results I had, I would probably still be 100% focus on racing.

Kilian atop Matterhorn during his remarkable ascent-descent record. Photo courtesy Summits of My Life.

Perhaps, the influence of my coaches – Jordi Canals and Maite Hernandez – was big as they were preparing me to compete with the fastest but both are alpinists (Maite has several expeditions to Everest and Shisha Pangma in all women teams) and Jordi was in many first Catalan Himalayan expeditions (Everest north and west ridge in the 80’s) so I was also inspired by that.

Then one of my idols, Stephane Brosse (one of the legends of ski mountaineering racing), did a lot of steep skiing and fast mountaineering when he retired from competition in 2006. He introduce me to steep skiing and after that the roles of Vivian Bruchez, Seb Montaz, or people like Marino Giacometti, Bruno Brunod showed me the way on how to use my racing skills in the mountains.

But I would say that until 2012 my vision was more like taking the racing to the mountains. Then Jordi Tosas and Jordi Corominas took me to the Himalayas in February with skis. We went very light and we climbed and went very far with not much, and since then mostly the style has been much more important to me than the performance, even if I want to perform the best I can.

Now racing is still interesting in the way that it is a good way to keep motivated for hard training. It is also the best way to test my shape but the excitement I had from my first Zeggama or Pierra Menta victories I will never feel again. Probably, my excitement today comes more from having ideas in the mountains and thinking if they are possible.

Q: How is life in Norway? Will that be your base with Emily and your baby?

It is a great place. There are a lot of mountains, not very high but technical. The winters are long and there are not many people. It’s perfect for us.

Q: Can you summarize for us your recently published book “Res és impossible”? What is the message you hope to pass onto the readers?

Well it is a book about the feelings of an expedition – why do I climb and on my approach to risk and preparation.

I also wrote about what is training for me, the geek I am, and what I have been learning from all the races and experiences in the mountains. The great moments but also the dark ones.

Probably, it is a book where I am opening myself the most about my feelings and regards. I hope the English version will be out very soon!

Q: As the last question, I want to ask you what books do you think everyone should read?

I love Alessandro Barico’s “Silk” and “Oceano Mare”.

The books of Milan Kundera, Camus and Saramago are great about human personality.

Sampedro and Mishima are great to understand different views. Kafka and Agota Kristof are great to look inside us.

From mountain books, I love reading a lot, to understand the personalities – the how and why people do what they do…

Video: Troll Wall Ski Descent by Kilian Jornet

Filed Under: People (Interviews) Tagged With: Kilian Jornet

Kilian Jornet and Andrzej Bargiel in Everest Base Camp

September 11, 2019 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Kilian atop Matterhorn during his remarkable ascent-descent record. Photo courtesy Summits of My Life.

Attempting Everest, or any 8,000 meter peak, in the fall poses more difficulties, since the monsoon creates snowier conditions than in the spring, which is the most popular season to climb many of the world’s highest peaks. For alpinists desiring fewer climbers on the major routes, the post monsoon season is the preferred time of year due to much less traffic.

Because of these factors, several of the preeminent ski mountaineers of our time have already begun hiking in to Everest base camp.

Kilian Jornet, the well known Catalan ski mountaineer, is returning to Everest after visiting the area in 2016 and 2017. His first visit to the area was derailed due to the devastating earthquake in the Khumbu region of Nepal. In 2017, Kilian had success in reaching the summit, however his efforts to achieve a Fastest Known Time (FKT) from the last inhabited village of Rongbuk Monastery in Tibet was not achieved.

This year, Jornet is returning with a similar ethos of fast and light travel, basing his expedition in Gorakshep, the last town on the route to Everest base camp in Nepal. This avoids the expedition the need of a basecamp that is traditionally a two hour hike from Gorakshep. At this time, Kilian has not publicized his climbing plans on the mountain.

© Andrzej Bargiel Facebook

Another fascinating attempt on the mountain is that of a Polish team assisting Andrzej Bargiel in a ski descent from the summit without the use of supplemental oxygen, and ideally, according to Bargiel, without removing skis on the descent.

Last year, Bargiel made history by completing a continuous ski descent of K2 from the summit, with only one short rappel. This descent was widely considered one of the best in the history of 8,000 meter peak ski descents, and earned Bargiel an Adventurers of the Year award by National Geographic.

This year, Bargiel has returned to the Himalaya in late August to attempt a similar feat on Everest. He is also attempting the summit from the Nepalese side, and has met with Jornet along the approach.

Bargiel’s ambitious goal would, if successful, be the first continuous ski descent of the mountain without oxygen. Hans Kammerlander was able to climb to the summit and ski the first 300m in 1996 before conditions forced him to downclimb around 1,000m of the upper face. Eight other ski descents of the mountain have used oxygen in the ascent.

Source: Desnivel.com

Filed Under: News Shorts Tagged With: Andrzej Bargiel, Kilian Jornet, Mount Everest

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

Andreas Steindl Sets a New Speed Record on Matterhorn

September 13, 2018 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

On August 27, Andreas Steindl set a new speed record for going up and down the iconic Matterhorn (4478m) from Zermatt via the Hornli Ridge route.
Andreas is a 29-year-old Swiss mountain guide and a member of the Swiss National Ski Mountaineering Team who is known for his speed mountaineering abilities.

Photo by Samuel Anthamatten.
Photo by Samuel Anthamatten.
» Back in July, another Swiss mountain guide, Dani Arnold, set a new speed climbing record on Grand Jorasses.

Matterhorn FKT via Hornli Ridge – August 27, 2018

While Kilian Jornet holds the speed record for a round-trip on Matterhorn from the Italian side (starting and finishing in the town of Cervinia), Steindl now holds the record on the Swiss side starting and finishing in his hometown of Zermatt.
Andreas’ took 2 hours 38 minutes to ascend the 2860m to reach the summit from the church in Zermatt, and after running down this iconic mountain he stopped his watch at 3 hours 59 minutes 52 seconds.
Kilian’s route via the Lion Ridge from the Italian side is a bit more difficult than Hornli Ridge but has more fixed rope sections. The elevation gain for ascend via the Lion Ridge is also less, at around 2500m. However, Kilian took only 2 hours 52 minutes for his round-trip. He set this record in August 2013.
Video from Andreas’ record day:

Video from Kilian’s record day in 2013:

Five 4000m peaks in a day by Andreas Steindl – 2015

Back in August 2015, Andreas set an outstanding record for linking up – by running and speed climbing – 5 peaks going from Zermatt to Saas Fee. He covered a total of 31km and ascended just over 4000m.
He needed only 7 hours, 45 minutes and 44 seconds to complete this difficult route.
Here is a really good 25min video from that day:

 

Filed Under: News Shorts, People (Interviews) Tagged With: Andreas Steindl, Kilian Jornet

Report: Tromso Skyrace – Tromso, Norway – August 4, 2018

August 10, 2018 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

This race report was submitted by our friend and summer SkinTrack contributor Shaun Stephens-Whale.
The Tromso Skyrace is a technical trail/mountain running race held outside of Tromso, Norway. At 58 kilometers in distance and with over 4400 meters of climbing, the race has become a part of the new Sky Extra discipline – a merger of the Sky Extra and Sky Ultra disciplines in the Migu Run Skyrunner World Series. Designed and organized by ultra running legends Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg , it should be of no surprise that this race is advertised towards highly experienced competitors with mountain knowledge.

Photo by David Gonthier.
Photo by David Gonthier.
The course itself traverses through a wide array of terrain: from the lower valley swamps and rivers to the upper scree climbs, narrow ridgelines and alpine lakes. Two distinct mountains, Tromsdalstind mountain, climbed twice, and Hamperrokken mountain are the focus of the event. Jornet and Forsberg flag the course days in advance and often chose the most efficient line – whether that is traversing a narrow ridgeline or a 50 degree slope. This constant up-down assault on the legs favors the stronger athletes; perhaps, it should be of no surprise then, that the course record is held by Great Britain’s Obstacle Course Racer Jonathon Albon.
The 2018 edition of the Tromso Skyrace returned for its 3rd edition on August 4th . In addition to the featured 58 km distance, the race offered a vertical climb and a 32 km event, providing a more modest challenge to those unready to face the full distance.
» Tromso Skyrace website

How the Race Unfolded

Within the first hour, a group of three men emerged from the pack on the cloud soaked slopes of Tromsdalstind – Jonathon Albon alongside fellow countryman Andy Symonds and Russian Dimitry Mityaev. As they crested Tromsdalstind, the three were still within striking distance of one another but on the steep descent a conservative Albon began to gap his rivals. Scarce course markings encouraged participants to craft their own lines down into the valley below, likely benefiting Albon and his past knowledge of the course.
As Albon continued to extend his lead, the podium battle behind him was shifting, with Symonds relinquishing his podium position to Pere Aurell of Spain. After an accident the previous year, a section of the rocky Hamperrokken ridgeline had been removed from the course – a decision that shows how delicate the balance between masterful course design and inevitable injury is. Pere Aurell began to pull away from the Russian on the slopes of Hamperrokken, while Symonds continued strong, in fourth position. As participants crested the mountain, the usual snow covered gully that brought racers back to the valley floor had been replaced by a jagged boulder field, which would prove one of the most challenging sections of course.
Despite a mounting gap, Albon continued to push up the final climb and was rewarded with an incredible 15 minute lead by the top. On the last downhill this lead was only extended and Albon finished in a time of 7:04:06, only three minutes slower than his course record set the previous year. Aurell continued to run in second, out of sight of his nearest competitors. While after slipping down to 6th position on the perilous downhill, Symonds maintained confidence in his climbing legs and began moving up the field, cresting the final climb of Tromsdalstind within reach of Mityaev. On the final descent, the two battled for the final podium spot, with Symonds gritting his teeth and capturing 3rd , in 7:32:54. Pere Aurell was not to be challenged in 2nd , finishing in 7:28:56.

Women’s Race

The women’s race proved a closer battle for the top podium spot, with US Hillary Gerardi battling Spain’s newly minted World Trail Running Champion Gorgia Tindley onto the slopes of Hamperrokken. Though Tindley had been outclassing Gerardi on the early descents, Gerardi was able to pull away from Tindley on the slopes of Hamperrokken and never looked back, cruising to the finish in a course record time of 8:14:09. This time, incredibly, was good enough for a top ten overall position in a deep male field. Fellow American Brittany Peterson, was having a successsful day, keeping both Hillary and Gorgia within minutes of her all the way to the final climb of the day; she was rewarded with a 3 rd place result of 8:40:38 – over an hour clear of the next competitor. Gorgia Tindley held on for a strong 2 nd place finish, in 8:27:13.

Full Results

For full results see here.

Filed Under: News Shorts Tagged With: Kilian Jornet, Tromso Skyrace

Skimo News – Mar 20, 2018: New 24h World Record, Pierra Menta News, Upcoming Pan American Skimo Champs, and more…

March 20, 2018 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Last couple of days have been the busiest and the most exciting for the skimo world in all of this season. Let’s not waist screen space and dive right into it…

Upcoming Pan American Ski Mountaineering Championships – Mar 23-25

We want to bring your attention again to the upcoming Championships that will take place over three days in the beautiful Lake Louise Ski Resort in Alberta, Canada.
The event will features three different races – vertical on Friday, sprint on Saturday, individual on Sunday – and is expected to attract the fastest athletes from US, Canada and maybe even Mexico and South America.
The prizes are plenty, there is quite a bit of new snow at the venue, and athletes of all levels are welcome to line up along National team members either on the same courses or shortened versions.
For all event’s details and for registration please go here.

Mike Foote Sets a New 24h Record!

On the morning of March 17, after months of training and preparation, Mike Foote started to climb his first of the 60 laps in an attempt to set a new 24 hour world record in the most vertical climbed and skied. The next morning, he would become the new world record holder with a total of 61,200 vertical feet or 18,654 metres climbed!
As our friend, we cannot be more proud and happy for him! Yeaaah! 🙂

Mike set his record on a fairly short 310m climb at his "home" resort in Whitefish, Montana which happens to be one of our favourite places as well.
Mike set his record on a fairly short 310m climb at his “home” resort in Whitefish, Montana which happens to be one of our favourite places as well.
For many, Mike might be unknown but in the endurance trail running world he has achieved some incredible results over the years such as a podium at the famed Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc and 3x second place at Hardrock 100. Mike is also The North Face Athlete, member of the US National Ski Mountaineering Team, raced Pierra Menta in 2017 and placed 26th in a vertical race at the 2017 World Skimo Championships.
We will have more details coming about Mike’s training and his record attempt in an interview in the next couple of days.

2018 Pierra Menta: Joy and Sorrows of Champions

Mid-March is traditionally reserved for the iconic 4-day stage race in the beautiful mountains surrounding Beaufort and Areches villages in France.
United States fielded arguably their strongest team ever – John Gaston (previously 15th at this race) and Tom Goth – who ultimately placed in the top 10 overall to set a new men’s North American historical benchmark at PM.
> Overall results are here our day-by-day recap below will provide the full story.

Men’s race recap:

While last year’s supreme winners, Italy’s Damiano Lenzi and Matteo Eydalin, were the biggest favourites on paper there were other three teams that could seriously thinking about winning.

While the unfortunate accident took out Kilian Jornet nothing should be taken away from Michele Boscacci winning his first Pierra Menta with his father Graziano, a winner of the 2002 Pierra Menta, watching from the sidelines. A truly grand family achievement! (Pierra Menta photo)
While the unfortunate accident took out Kilian Jornet nothing should be taken away from Michele Boscacci winning his first Pierra Menta with his father Graziano, a winner of the 2002 Pierra Menta, watching from the sidelines. A truly grand family achievement! (Pierra Menta photo)
The first day went super well for a local French team, William Bon Mardion and Xavier Gachet, who were the underdogs coming into the race, as they took the win by a couple of seconds ahead of Italians Robert Antonioli and Michele Boscacci. Only a minute behind, third place went to the famous Spaniard Kilian Jornert and his new teams race partner Jakob Herrmann from Austria. Time gaps were very small between the top three teams. Lenzi and Eydalin struggled to fourth place with almost five minutes down on the victors.
> John Gaston and Tom Goth eased into the race to place 16th.
On day 2, traditionally hosting the longest stage, things started to get really interesting when Jornet and Herrmann forced the pace most of the day to take the win. Lenzi and Eydalin abandoned the race as they didn’t feel up to the task. Boscacci and Antonioli battled the whole way but ultimately finished second again, yet loosing only 4 seconds to the winning team. The French team conceded over 4 minutes and it was safe to assume they fell out of contention for the overall win.
> John Gaston and Tom Goth delivered a great performance to claim 10th in the stage and moved up to 12th overall.
Boscacci and Antonioli started the day 3 in “pole position”, leading Jornet and Herrmann by about a minute in the overall. However, thanks to Jornet’s experience and motivation of his teammate they pushed the pace in grand fashion to win the stage by over 3 minutes ahead of the Italians, and claiming the overall lead by about 2 minutes. Gachet and Bon Mardion finished safely in 3rd.
> Gaston and Goth continued with their measured effort to place 11th in the stage and staying 12th overall.
The final day brought the biggest disappointment in skimo’s recent history and a bag of mixed emotions. As Jornet and Herrmann were on a mission once again, the Spaniard suffered a fall in a descent mid-stage and broke his lower leg. He is fine otherwise. Heavy wet snow was coming down since the morning to make conditions really challenging. Behind them an amazing battle for the stage win unleashed as Bon Mardion and Gachet found their legs from day one. At the end, they beat the Italian team by only 12 seconds with Boscacci and Antonioli collapsing in the finish to claim the surprising overall title.
> The US Team rallied into 8th place in the stage and jumping to 10th overall.

Women’s race recap:

The women’s race was a little less exciting but it did bring a surprise. The strongest team on paper, French Laetitia Roux with Sweden’s Emelie Forsberg, uncharacteristically struggled to even match the duo of Axelle Mollaret (FRA) and Katia Tomatis (ITA), and kept loosing minutes in the first three stages. Only on the last day did they prevail to claim at least one stage. On the other hand, Mollaret and Tomatis delivered a spectacular performance to win three stages and the overall title by 11 minutes over Roux and Forsberg.

Katia Tomatis and Axelle Mollaret full of joy. (Pierra Menta photo)
Katia Tomatis and Axelle Mollaret full of joy. (Pierra Menta photo)
Third place was never really contested as Spanish team of Mireia Miro and Marta Garcia put in a solid effort every day to always place 3rd.
Of note, is the fourth place of a purely Swedish team consisting of Ida Nilsson and Fanny Borgstrom.

USA and Canada Race News

Marmot’s Revenge – Jasper, AB – Mar 17, 2018:

The Canadian Cup came together for the third weekend in a row at Marmot Basin in Jasper, AB for the very first time of this event. Fresh snow day prior to the race made for soft conditions along with warm temperatures. The Canadian Rockies snow-pack is deep at the moment and with a mid-mountain start, racers were treated to excellent skiing. Unfortunately, dense fog rolled onto the course making for challenging race conditions. Racers in the elite course covered five ascents and descents totaling approximately 1800 meters of climbing.
Peter Knight, the devious course designer, broke trail up the first climb. After the first descent, Nick Elson, feeling strong after two recent wins at Panorama and Squamish, pushed off the front with only Eric Carter following his track. The two swapped the lead through the remaining race until Elson opened a gap on the final boot-pack and transition, skiing into the finish with a 10 second lead.

As a "revenge", for designing such a tough course, Peter Knight was left to break trail on the first climb. All in good spirits ;) Marmot Basin photo.
As a “revenge”, for designing such a tough course, Peter Knight was left to break trail on the first climb. All in good spirits 😉 Marmot Basin photo.
Kylee Ohler remains the undisputed women’s leader and won, also taking 5th overall, with more than 30min gap over second place Marg Fedyna. The third step on the podium went to Courtney Post.
> Full results

Shedhorn Race – Big Sky Montana – Mar 17, 2018:

With arguably the scariest course on the North American skimo circuit this race is no joke! The big terrain of this unique resort provides a spectacular setting for a proper ski mountaineering event.

Big Sky ski patrollers always put on a great course! Photo by COSMIC (Joe Risi).
Big Sky ski patrollers always put on a great course! Photo by COSMIC (Joe Risi).
While we don’t have the backstory from this race we will mention the winners on the elite course and you can find out the rest in the results below. First place in the men’s category went to Max Taam, who is US Skimo Team member and one of the best skimo athletes on the continent when it comes to technical courses. In the women’s category the top prize went to Sierra Anderson from Breckenridge, CO.
> Full results

East Coast races:

We don’t have any reports from that side of the country this week.

Upcoming Events

Grand Traverse
Those not attending Continental Championships in Canada will likely be competing at the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse from Aspen to Crested Butte. It’s a bit too early to make any predictions about weather conditions but we do suspect that repeat champions, John Gaston and Max Taam will be tough to beat, even with John likely tired from his amazing performance at Pierra Menta. Or is Max coming to race in Lake Louise? Who do you think will put up the best fight? What do you expect to see from the women’s teams? Let us know what you think!

Filed Under: News Shorts, Reports & Results Tagged With: Axelle Mollaret, Emelie Forsberg, Eric Carter, Jakob Herrmann, Kilian Jornet, Laetitia Roux, Michele Boscacci, Mike Foote, Nick Elson, Pierra Menta, Robert Antonioli

Skimo News – Feb 14, 2018: No Skimo at 2022 Olympics, Mike Foote Wins in Whitefish, Kilian Jornet Winning Again

February 14, 2018 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Skiers in Colorado rejoice to the first snowfall of the season! Meanwhile, in the Canadian Interior, skiers are flocking to the ski areas due to high avi hazard in the backcountry. Us in the Pacific North West are emerging from another storm and frantically applying sunscreen and searching for the sunglasses we didn’t need since summer time.

2022 Olympics Without Ski Mountaineering

Last week, a little bit under the radar, an announcement has been made by the International Olympic Committee that no new sport will be added to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Three federations that have been recognized by the IOC have been hoping to include some of their disciplines in Olympic Games, these include skimo’s ISMF and ice climbing’s UIAA.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) sports director Kit McConnell claimed innovation at the Winter Games has already been ensured by the addition of new events within existing sports on the program:
“When you look at the innovations we had in Vancouver and Sochi [2010 and 2014 Olympic Winter Games], the winter program was already moving ahead, with not just new sports but new events in existing sports…”

USA and Canada Race News

COSMIC Tellurando – Telluride CO – Feb 10:

A trip to Colorado’s San Juan Mountains are always a treat. The box canyon of Telluride and more specifically the Main Street of Telluride served as the starting line for the 2nd year of the TELLURANDO, thanks to the amazing team at Jagged Edge Mountaineering. The race is a benefit for the Telluride Mountain Club PI Avalanche Foundation.

Lead pack at Tellurando. Photo by Brashear Photo.
Lead pack at Tellurando. Photo by Brashear Photo.
Athletes, including several members of the US Ski Mountaineering Team, began by running down Colorado Avenue at 5.30 AM while the ski town was still asleep. Top teams finished 23 miles and 11,000 feet of vert before a major snow storm, others had to brave the snow squall. At the end, 48 racers were treated to fresh pies and Howitzer shell trophies. National Team member Rory Kelly won the solo event while Max Taam and Scott Simmons teamed up to win the open teams division. On the women’s side, Holly Simmons won the solo category as Maddy Fones and Patricia Franco claimed a win in the teams division.
Also of note was a junior athlete (under 17) Kyle Soukup who finished 4th overall!
> Full Results

Whitefish Whiteout – Whitefish MT – Feb 10:

Ben Parsons on his way to win the 2015 edition on his home mountain.
Ben Parsons on his way to win the 2015 edition on his home mountain.
With a fantastic community behind this event, great course layout, and a full support from Whitefish Mountain Resort, this race is a must do for every skimo athlete. While there have been many that have shaped this event over the years there are two iconic personalities we want to recognize – Josh Knight, the resort’s events manager, and Ben Parsons who had been the magical force behind the local skimo community and have touched many lives beyond that.
On race day, close to 150 racers lined up to tackle a well redesigned race course featuring steep descents, very challenging skinning, two boot-packs, and a final big downhill instead of a finish at the top of the mountain like in the years past. The new changes made the race little longer and improved its flow.
Similar to last year, Mike Foote, US National Skimo Team member and an accomplished trail runner, took off like a bullet to never be seen again. Joel Shehan, one of Whitefish’ finest athletes, surprised everyone and managed to closely follow Mike for a good part of the first half of the race. While these two were running away with the top spots the battle behind them took much longer to settle. At the end, both steadily improving, Andrew Mayer and Jeff Shehan took 3rd and 4th respectively. SkinTrack’s Stano Faban chased up to 6th place after a slow first climb.
In the women’s race, another US National Team member, Michela Adrian, delivered a well paced effort to snatch the win from Chelsee Pummel. Third went to Lizzie English.
One more thing we would like to point your attention to is a successful weekly skimo night series the local community have created. With over 60 participants showing up on average, the five event series takes place in the five weeks leading up to the Whiteout race.
> Full Results

International Race News

It’s been an interesting year for World Cup racing. With a handful of cancelled races and some odd venues, there’s only been one individual event so far! Luckily the snow conditions in the Ecrins mountains in France were ideal for an individual and a vertical event.

Puy St. Vincent World Cup – Ecrins Massif, France – Feb 8-9:

Kilian Jornet (ESP) made his return to racing this weekend after a shoulder surgery this fall, though the Italians continued their domination with Robert Antonioli and Michelle Boscacci taking first and second in the individual event. Axelle Mollaret (FRA) upset the skimo queen Laetitia Roux (FRA) and both were chased by an Italian espoir athlete Alba DeSilvestro.

Marti Werner doing his best to stay with Kilian Jornet.
Werner Marti doing his best to stay with Kilian Jornet. Photo by ISMF.
Kilian managed to climb back to the top of the podium in the vertical event by out-running Swiss vertical specialist Werner Marti and currently the most consistent skimo athlete Michelle Boscacci. The vertical event was a particularly interesting show with athletes finishing at an outright run! Axelle Mollaret swept the World Cup weekend with a second gold in the vertical over Vicky Kreuzer (SUI) and Claudia Galicia (ESP).
John Gaston was the only North American athlete in attendance and finished 16th in the individual and 20th in the vertical.
> Full Results – all disciplines 
> Vertical race video
> Individual race video

Upcoming Events

Looking ahead, on February 24 will be the third race in the North East five-event skimo series – most likely to be a return to the January 20 venue of Berkshire East, given the highly unlikely chances of pulling off a 100% backcountry race at Mount Greylock due to another warm wet period coming up.
We’d also like to point your attention to a brand new event in Squamish, BC. Held entirely in backcountry terrain above the Sea to Sky Gondola, it should be a pretty awesome event. Check it out – www.squamishskimo.com

Filed Under: Events & Races, News Shorts Tagged With: Kilian Jornet, Mike Foote

Short and Long-term Skimo Training: Training to Train vs. Training to Compete?

November 28, 2017 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

It’s appealing to follow the top athletes in our sport as many post all of their training on social media like Strava. It can be also incredibly tempting to try to mimic what Kilian Jornet or  other skimo stars are doing but it would be at a very high risk of failure, injury, or burnout.
While a few select athletes might be able to match the training of the pros, the vast majority of us have jobs, families, and other activities that occupy the portion of our life that pros dedicate to training and more importantly to recovery.
Aside from having the time and resources available to train and recover, it’s important to remember the training base that a professional athlete has to support their current training load. Training is cumulative, especially if volume is maintained consistently.

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Damiano Lenzi (left), age 30, is the current World Champion in both individual and team races, consistently challenging the legendary Kilian Jornet, age 30. Both have accumulated lots training volume over the years. William Bon Mardion (right), age 34, has been known to focus more on quality over quantity and has also reached an impressive collection of victories – but remember he still accumulated a lot of volume in the process.
A 30-year-old professional endurance athlete has probably been training between 700 and 1200 a year for 15 years! The average recreational competitive athlete may have less than half that number of hours in their “training bank”. The accumulated hours provide a support system for the training currently being completed – imagine a pyramid with all the training hours building the base, and the current training load as the very top.
The training bank needs to be maintained both on a long-term scale (many years of training) and on a smaller scale within the training year (maintaining consistency and using sound periodization throughout the year).

Long-term Progression

I’ve found a concept developed by the Canadian Cross Country Ski Federation for their long-term athlete development program to be very useful. During their development, athletes go through stages, one of which is “training-to-train”. This is the process of building a large training bank and is followed several years later by the stage “training-to-compete” where the athlete is focused primarily on training to be as fast as possible.
Ultra-running athletes often find that the volume and intensity of training required to merely complete their first ultra-marathon is considerably more than that needed to complete successive races and also find the recovery period post-race to gradually decrease. This is a good example of transitioning from training-to-train to training-to-compete on a multi-season scale.

Janelle Smiley, racing to first place, spends lots of time moving in the mountains thus by default accumulating big training volume. Photo by Eric Hoff.
Janelle Smiley, racing to first place here, spends lots of time moving in the mountains thus by default accumulating big training volume. Photo by Eric Hoff.
I find it is also important to keep this concept of progression in mind within a single season. For athletes focused on skimo as their primary sport, the summer is primarily base building. At the end of the summer and beginning of the fall, it’s time to build up the intensity training (training-to-train) that will allow you to complete the workouts done when winter begins, that will actually build your race fitness (training-to-compete). Once the race season begins, you enter a new phase where fitness is maintained and racing itself becomes the main priority!

Early Season and How to “train to train”?

Hopefully you’ve been building your training volume through the summer so that by the time fall comes around, you are at a good amount that you don’t need to build too much the rest of the year. It can however be a good time to put in a few final big volume building periods to get up to the level you’re expecting. It’s also a good time to start to focus on skimo specific type training – prioritize uphill training and consider adding roller skiing!
Finally, this is the time to add the interval sessions that will enable you to do even harder intervals in the training to compete period. Focus on longer tempo efforts in the 10-30 minute range with a few short threshold sessions.

Winter Season and How to “train to compete”?

This period is no longer about building volume. Instead focus on adding longer intensity workouts at threshold pace and above. Training should be 100% sport specific and carried out on skis as much as possible. Strength training should be focused on max strength tolerance for downhill skiing.

Training Smarter

Train smarter, not harder. Plan your training progression and give yourself time to train-to-train and then train-to-compete. You will not only be better prepared but also be less likely to experience an injury or setback.
Remember that the pros have also had a lifetime of training-to-train and that matching their training plans is not advisable.

Filed Under: Skimo Racing, Training, Tricks & Tips Tagged With: Damiano Lenzi, Janelle Smiley, Kilian Jornet, skimo training, William Bon

Skimo Racing in Poland, Stryn Rando 3000 and Lofoten Skimo in Norway: Eric and Stano travelling

March 23, 2017 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Since Eric and I are staying longer in Europe than other North American skimo athletes we searched for some “out of the beaten path” races to attend. He ended up in Stryn, Norway and I went to Poland. Originally, I thought I would make it to a new race in Lofoten – group of islands in the north west Norway – but I opted to stay closer to my family to spend more time with them.

Memorial J. Oppenheim – Central Europe Skimo Cup – close to Zakopane, Poland

This event was the final round (out of 3 races) of the Central Europe Ski Mountaineering Cup which is run by three countries – Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic – with one race being held in each country. Currently, there are no world class athlete in either country (the last one retired 6 years ago), however, the level and depth of competition is comparable to US.
» See Wikipedia page about Zakopane, Poland
A unique aspect of this race is that the start is about 7km walk, deep into the valley, to a mountain lodge where all racers stay. The race map and profile showed it would be a 25km slog with only 2100m of climbing (7000 feet) but considerable time spend on bumpy alpine ridges and shoulders. Little anyone knew that extreme winds high up would make our progress much slower than anticipated.
oppenheim-start
The race started on a snow dusted logging road with about 1.5km run, then on skins for 10min, then back on foot, and back on skins. After all these transitions we finally stared at a steep snowy boot-pack with crampons that would take us to a long ridge. As soon as we crested the top the wind was relentless but it was nothing compared to what came later on.

Ready to go.
Ready to go.
To make a long story short, the 5-6km ridge line included lots of up and down skinning and about 3km post-holing walk with crampons – all that time wind speed hovered around 40km/h and often gusting close to 80-100km/h. After that we skied back to the valley and completed the first 15km, with another ridge walk awaiting on the other side of the valley 🙂
Not that I was a podium contender, my race went “side ways” as I deliberately chose to prioritize my health and look around for anyone that might need help on that windy ridge. After all, skimo race suits and thin windbreaker jackets aren’t much protection in such conditions. I finished 21st in 3h 43min and well behind the top ten.
My respect goes to all the top racers for pushing on so strongly despite the furious winds. Luckily no one got hurt and rescue wasn’t needed despite 18 racers out of 77 abandoning.
There was also a shorter version for juniors and recreational athletes which brought the total number of participants to over 100.
Results:
» 2017 Memorial Josef Oppenheim

Stryn Rando 3000 – Norwegian Skimo Championships – Stryn, Norway

This race report is from Eric.
As the lone American competing on the World Cup, the Norwegians have been my adoptive team at the races and also pushing me to come for a visit. I decided to head over there last weekend for the Norwegian Skimo Championships – the Stryn Rando 3000 race. I was lucky to be able to stay with one of the Norwegian skimo stars, Lars Erik Skjverheim (6th at recent Pierra Menta).
» See Wikipedia page about Stryn, Norway
Western Norway reminds me a lot of a mix of British Columbia, New England, and old Europe. The fjords and mountains are amazing and fall away dramatically. The forest thins quickly and the treeline is visible not far from the valley bottom. The houses are generally wood and colourful, a bit of a contrast to the stone houses and tiny windows of the Haute Savoie region in French Alps.
The weather wasn’t optimal during my visit but we were both tired from the Pierra Menta and were happy with a few short walks in rain jackets. Luckily, the forecast looked a little better for the weekend so we headed off to the town of Stryn. We arrived early to join the race organizers doing some course marking. The crew of volunteers they had assembled was more than capable but I love seeing some of the top athletes of the country helping out picking the route and placing flags – something I’d like to see more of in North America!
stryn-norway
The original course traverses six summits surrounding the Stryn ski area with about 3000m of elevation gain and looks incredibly spectacular. A big snowfall two days before the race meant the course was switched to plan B: a bit more time skiing below treeline and two of the alpine peaks with about 2300m+ of gain. The course was incredibly well marked – something that was obviously necessary in the not unlikely case of whiteout – big bamboo flags only a few meters apart and there must have been several thousands spread over the route!

Photo by Ole Eltvik.
Photo by Ole Eltvik.
We woke up to clearing skies and a very civilized start time of 11:00am – giving time for avalanche control and weather concerns. A recreational class started a bit before the elite wave, bringing the total number of entrants to almost 150. The race started a bit more mellow than expected with lots of attention given to the big star of the event, Kilian Jornet, with the rest of the field being tentative about pushing it early. Kilian slowly increased the pace while Lars Erik and I chased, not far behind. We started the second ascent (of four) all together and Kilian and Lars Erik opened a gap while I fumbled through some kick-turns in the fresh snow. As we climbed up into the alpine, the views opened up to the nearby summits and the fjords behind us. By the third ascent, I was starting to feel the effort, losing time to the athletes behind me. Dropping into sixth, I struggled staying warm and stopped to put on my wind-breaker. Feeling a bit like a tourist at this point, I was mostly looking forward to the final 1000 meter powder descent to the finish.
Kilian leading Eric and Lars Erik.
Kilian leading Eric and Lars Erik. Photo by Ole Eltvik.
I can’t really say I had a good race. I felt like I started well within my usual pace but just couldn’t keep it up. The residual effects of the virus I caught a week earlier at the Pierra Menta were close in my mind and I know I’m still recovering. It was hard to get down about my result though spending a weekend in a beautiful lakeside cabin with a group of good friends who only occasionally forget I don’t speak Norwegian!
Photo by Ole Eltvik.
Photo by Ole Eltvik.
The following day, we had a big group ski of two more of the summits on the original course and plenty more powder! Kilian led the way breaking trail most of the day without even taking off his down jacket while I sweated along at the back of the track.
After two more days staying with Lars Erik (and finally getting in a rain-free day of skiing) I was back at the airport, regretting not having booked an extra week. I can’t wait to go back!
The below race promo video showcases the terrain and environment:

If you are interested in visiting Norway for skimo, I’d highly recommend it. Any of the Norwegian Team athletes would likely be very helpful resource but I can say that the skimo scene is strong. Areas like Sogndal, Romsdal, and Trondheim host a series of races and have tons of training options. A car is probably the way to go but the trains are pretty useful. Spring seems to be the best time to visit (April and May) but you risk rain just about any time of the year it seems. The only downside is that Norway is expensive – food, gas and just about everything are expensive by European standards and the exchange rate does not favour North Americans.
I would highly recommend the Stryn Rando 3000 event. The organization was on a World Cup level and put this year’s World Championships to shame. The backup course options were well planned and kept the spirit of the race. The track setting and marking was excellent and the volunteers were plentiful and helpful. Definitely put it on your list!
Results:
» 2017 Stryn Rando 3000
lofoten-arctic-triple-logo-2

The Arctic Triple – Lofoten Skimo – Lofoten, Norway

This is an event and destination I would like to definitely visit in the future as Lofoten is one of the most beautiful places in the World. This event is not necessarily trying to attract the pure skimo racer, seeking just competition, but rather is for those that like a big outdoor challenge in a unique destination.
The original route was planned to cover 36km and climb around 4000m, running from north to south. Due to stormy weather in the days leading up to it organizers were forced to shorten the route to about 28 km and 2600m – still a big course. Shorter course covered 14 km and climbed about 1000m, and went on pretty much as planned.
Two French athletes, Mathèo Jacquemoud and Lèo Viret, finished together to take the win in just over 4h. Italian Skimo Team member Martina Valmassoi (we will bring you an interview with her soon) was the best female crossing the line in 4h 25min. The female winner of on the short course was Anja Millerjord while the men’s race was won by Edvard Vea Iversen.

Martina Valmassoi battling arctic elements.
Martina Valmassoi battling arctic elements.
Leo Viret followed by Matheo Jacquemoud.
Leo Viret followed by Matheo Jacquemoud.
Original course map - click to enlarge.
Original course map – click to enlarge.
lofoten-skiingResults:
» 2017 Lofoten Skimo results – The Arctic Triple
And what does the Article Triple mean?
The Arctic Triple consists of three annual races. 2017 is the first year with all three races set up and Lofoten Skimo was first out in week 11. Next comes Lofoten Ultra-Trail in week 22 and the triple year is final with Lofoten Triathlon in week 33. For more information visit http://www.thearctictriple.no/

Filed Under: Reports & Results Tagged With: Eric Carter, Jozef Oppenheim skimo race, Kilian Jornet, Lofoten Skimo, Stano Faban, Stryn Rando 3000, The Arctic Triple

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  • Kilian Jornet Interview: About His New Foundation, His Own Environmental Impact, and How He Wants To Help Athletes and The Outdoor Industry To Protect Nature
  • How Fast Are Glaciers Really Melting? How Will This Affect Your Mountain Adventures? Interview with Pascal Egli
  • Book Review – Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka
  • Forest Skis: Innovative, Custom Build, For Backcountry Skiing and Freeride
  • Lighter and Completely Redesigned: New CAMP Ultralight Ski Mountaineering Ice Axes

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About SkinTrack

Travelling through snowy mountains on skis is like flying… and experiencing life at its core.

Gear reviews, interviews, adventures, contests, skills, skimo training, race reports – we connect you to all things related to self-propelled skiing.

SkinTrack.com, created by Stano Faban, was born out of passion for ski mountaineering and ski touring. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular ski mountaineering blogs in North America.

Recent Articles

  • Kilian Jornet Interview: About His New Foundation, His Own Environmental Impact, and How He Wants To Help Athletes and The Outdoor Industry To Protect Nature
  • How Fast Are Glaciers Really Melting? How Will This Affect Your Mountain Adventures? Interview with Pascal Egli
  • Book Review – Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka
  • Forest Skis: Innovative, Custom Build, For Backcountry Skiing and Freeride
  • Lighter and Completely Redesigned: New CAMP Ultralight Ski Mountaineering Ice Axes

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