Patrol des Glaciers
The Patrouille des Glaciers (PDG; German translation : «Gletscherpatrouille») in Switzerland is the largest ski mountaineering race in the world and was first held in April 1943. It was originally explored and planned by the two captains Rodolphe Tissières and Roger Bonvin of the then Swiss Mountain Brigade 10 to test and increase the operational capability of the troops as part of the mobilization organization before the Second World War .
The PDG is organized by the Swiss Army , which appoints the PDG commander for this purpose. Military and civil patrols with three athletes each can take part, although women and men can also form a mixed patrol. In 2004 a foreign team won the race for the first time. In 2008 the 13th PDG took place. The 14th PDG was held on April 25, 2010. The 15th PDG (2012) was canceled for weather reasons. The PDG 2014 took place from April 29th to May 3rd, 2014.
Special events
Due to the war, the PDG did not take place between 1944 and 1948 inclusive. The third PDG took place in 1949; a patrol (three men) fell into a crevasse in the Mont Miné glacier and could only be recovered after eight days. The Federal Military Department (EMD) then banned the implementation of the PDG. In 1983 the ban was lifted by head of training Roger Mabillard , and in 1984 the glacier competition was relaunched.
On April 18, 2007, a memorial stone for the PDG was unveiled by the Swiss Army in the two starting locations Zermatt and Arolla as well as in the destination Verbier to thank the communities, helpers, sponsors and friends of the event.
The billionaire and CEO of the Tengelmann Group, Karl-Erivan Haub , has not returned from a private preparatory tour for the PDG 2018 . In April 2014 the same thing happened to two ski mountaineers from the canton of Jura who wanted to climb the 3790 m high Pigne d'Arolla as training for the PDG .
Participation and implementation
Only very experienced ski mountaineers are allowed. You must be able to ski with ropes. Each team consists of four registered members (three people who form the "patrol" plus a substitute who does not start). The teams can consist of women, men or both genders. Mixed patrols are equated with men in the ranking list. On the day of the race, each participant must be at least 18 years old (Arolla – Verbier competition) or at least 20 years old in the year of the competition (Zermatt – Verbier). The rules for the PDG 2018 are presented below:
There are two runs for each route - Zermatt – Verbier on Tuesday / Wednesday and Friday / Saturday, Arolla – Verbier on Wednesday and Saturday.
The participants are divided into four categories:
- P1: Members of the Swiss Army: You must have completed the recruiting school and you must not have reached the age of 65 in the competition year. If they have been released from their service, they can also start in this category. The patrols are divided into age categories according to the sum of their age (up to 102 years, 103–150 years, 151 years and more) and evaluated in separate rankings.
- P2: Members of a foreign army: They must wear the uniform of their country and are only allowed to compete in the later of the two Zermatt – Verbier races. There are no age categories.
- P3, civilian participants with an IVBV- qualified mountain guide and P4, without a mountain guide: The mountain guide is included in the four registered patrol members. If the mountain guide starts the race, he is inevitably the patrol leader. Women's patrols are scored together; mixed or male patrols according to the above age categories.
While participants in categories P1, P2 and P3 will receive starting places after registration, starting places for category P4 will be raffled off.
At a checkpoint, the participants can decide to continue running in pairs and without scoring, but they have to take their equipment with them. The participants have to meet various lead times during the race. For Zermatt – Verbier, the route to Schönbiel has to be covered in 3 hours; for Arolla – Verbier the route to the first pass crossing in 1 hour and 45 minutes.
To the required equipment includes among other things, a minimum of 30 m long cable , compass and altimeter , helmets, avalanche shovels , avalanche probes , avalanche devices and ice pick .
stretch
The extraordinary mountain race at above-average altitude offers a long route from Zermatt to Verbier and a shorter distance from Arolla to Verbier, which must be covered in one stage. At the checkpoints en route, the athletes can be fed by helpers. The route leads over more than 100 performance kilometers (horizontal distance 53 km) and includes a difference in altitude of 4,000 meters for the ascent and for the ski runs. The route from Arolla covers a distance of 26 km horizontally and has around 50 performance kilometers. The competition route partly runs along the well-known Haute Route .
Due to changing snow conditions there are always changes in the exact route guidance. At the PDG 2018, those athletes who start in Arolla do not have to head for the Col de Riedmatten , but the Col de Tsena Réfien (2951 m) 650 meters to the south.
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Start 0 km: Zermatt (1616 m)
Destination 53 km: Verbier (1520 m) |
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Course records
In 2010, the Swiss patrol set a new course record of 5 h 52 ′ 20 ″ in the men's ranking with Florent Troillet , Martin Anthamatten and Yannick Ecoeur . They improved the record from 2006 of 6h 18 ′ 48 ″ by more than 26 minutes.
Also in 2010, the Swiss women's team with Nathalie Etzensperger , Emilie Gex-Fabry and Marie Troillet undercut the existing record from 2008 with a total time of 7h 41'18 ″. The previous record (set by the Swiss women's team around Nathalie Etzensperger, Gabrielle Magnenat and Séverine Pont-Combe with a total time of 7h 53 ′ 25 ″) was undercut by more than 12 minutes.
literature
- Rolf Majcen : Uphill - Adventure Endurance Sports. ISBN 978-3-900533-39-7
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ History of ski mountaineering ( Memento from February 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ NZZ: PDG canceled again
- ↑ www.pdg.ch , pdgnews.ch ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Memorial stones for the Patrouille des Glaciers ( Memento of 23 August 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Still no trace of the missing alpinists. Retrieved April 11, 2018 .
- ↑ route. Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
