THE PIERRA MENTA: A SPECTACULAR RACE

The four days of that Classic European ski mountaineering event, the 24th Pierra Menta, gave me a eye opening and inspirational look at the possibilities of the competitive side of the sport.(SPECTATORS SKINNING UP ON SATURDAY)


Over four days from the 12th of March, based in the tiny and rustic villages of Areches-Beaufort, France, I watched likely the best athletes the world has to offer in our dynamic sport.

As a relative new comer to competitive ski mountaineering I was over whelmed by the sheer size and details of this event, however the stamina and speed of the racers was nothing short of brilliant, and from a recreational point of view left me gasping at the possibilities for New Zealand in the future.

Heavy snow fall and high avalanche danger over the proceeding days left the course much altered, but most days still saw upto 2000m of vertical gain.





Across all these days the Italians seemed to dominate both the female and male teams, with the French chasing hard and commanding much of the front of the field right to the end.

Ultimately the Italian teams took firsts in both male and female, with French and Swiss teams making up the following second or third placings.

1 7 ITA _SH BRUNOD Denis / REICHEGGER Manfred 10:18:23
1 8 ITA _SH EYDALLIN Matteo / TRENTO Denis 10:18:23
3 1 FRA _SH PERRIER Florent / BUFFET Yannick 10:24:10 00:05:47

1 200 ITA _SF MARTINELLI Francesca / PEDRANZINI Roberta 12:39:10
2 201 SUI _SF MAGNENAT Gabrielle / PONT COMBE Severine 13:19:36 00:40:26
3 206 FRA _SF LATHURAZ Véronique / ROUX Laetitia 13:30:27 00:51:17

There where many other nationalitys racing along with the traditional favourites, including national and regional teams from Poland, Spain, Chech Republic, Andorra, the Uk and USA. The last two making it extra fun for me to cheer on.

Being a part of this event as one of a vast number of spectators was fantastic. The atmosphere was tremendous and the racers genuinely seemed to be spurred on by the presence of supporters clinging on to ridge tops on the boot packs and gathering in huge numbers at transitions to cheer on all the teams.

After Grant Guise and Jane Harpers efforts in attending this totally demanding race in previous years, I don't believe I would be alone in thinking it would be wonderful for Kiwis to be seen more often in this outstanding event taking place as it does in a truly beautiful alpine setting.