Did any Eagles have a start on this overnight? See message below from Ian Wells:
the big race was stopped last night around midnight because of
storms on rosa blanche . The fohn
cut in with 100k plus winds and clouds and low vis. Race stopped for safety
reasons. Arolla continues - though it will be rough I think.
bad luck for those who have trained all winter.
phil Jardine
EllySchierbeek
yes very bad luck. 135kph winds, and some big night-time avalanches due to warm weather this week with insufficient night-time cooling at altitude. Arolla to Verbier was also stopped. The vanguard made it to Verbier, but later teams already on the course were turned back to Arolla. Everyone was transported from Zermatt and Arolla to Verbier for a Zermatt-Arolla prize-giving and to collect their gear. The Verbier ski area was also closed due to the high winds, and so the big closing party on the pistes had to be cancelled.
cdpej
were you doing the arolla race?
interesting video here
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUzRN1iQqJs>
Phil
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StephenWright
Alison Culshaw just sent me this link, describing her experiences.
It must be pretty upsetting when you do a whole season of training and can't achieve the goal you set yourselves ... but a great effort!
http://www.offpiste.org.uk/blog/2012/04/29/Patrouille_Des_Glaciers_to_be_continued_in_2014/
br, Steve
BrentMac
A party of us happened to be in Arolla as the PDG was being prepared. Thereafter we followed it on a very good Swiss Com app which showed the progress of your favourite teams. It even allows your phone to make a cowbell sound to cheer on your team should you be out watching at 4am in a blizzard.
There are actually 4 races:
Z1 and Z2 are the Zermatt-Verbier versions and A1 and A2 are the Arolla-Verbier versions.
Z1 started Wednesday 21:00 and was cancelled after the start.
A1 (Arolla-Verbier) started Thursday 3:30 and was able to complete. Finishers included Private Pirmin Zurbriggen who no doubt challenged his teammates when skiing downhill roped up. They were 27th (5:25) but were in the newspapers and on TV.
Z2 started Friday night but only got as far as Arolla before being cancelled.
A2 didn't start at all.
In effect one and a half of the four races actually ran.
A1 Arolla-Verbier winners did it in 3:32.
Z2 Zermatt-Arolla was done in 2:54.
There were masses of Swiss army about ranging from Dad's Army on skis to the SAS in lycra. We met one team training in the clag who were at the wrong col and had to be told. Other teams were extraordinary to watch as they whizzed by.
It must have been very disappointing for those who trained all season and travelled only to be turned around or not start at all. Full credit to those who did Zermatt-Arolla in the conditions.
The next one is 2014.