contour Skins athlete Iain Innes has shared his experiences from the Pierra Menta:
Pierra Menta - The greatest Ski Mountaineering race in the world. by Iain Innes
Four days racing through the Beaufortain, 10,000m of ascent and descent, along ridges, down couloirs, and over the Grand Mont. This is what skimo is all about. Epic terrain, racing in teams, huge crowds lining the course. It was more than just a race, it was a true celebration of our sport.
I was teamed up with Josef Huber (GER), we weren't a perfect match, but we worked hard to play to our strengths, Josef leading the climbs, me pushing the descents, smooth transitions and constant communication in a mix of German and English. Mostly just "Alles gut?", followed by "Alles gut!", even when things were in fact not "gut".
Photo credit : ISMF
Day one was exactly as expected, controlled chaos. With 20km and 2600m of elevation gain on the menu we set off hard, the first climb went straight up a narrow couloir and we knew it was important to arrive here in a good position, to avoid getting stuck at the bottleneck. I struggled with the furious pace but Josef kept trucking along, so I just hung on for dear life. I was relieved to reach the downhills where I could finally breathe and take a turn leading the team.
Photo credit : ISMF
As usual, the organisers had prepared a long and low angle second day for us. We started in the village and had nearly half an hour of running on tarmac in our carbon boots before reaching the snow. 31km and 3100m of ascent, I suffered for almost the entirety of it, the course was never steep and didn’t suit my strengths at all. Another day of chasing Josef and trying to save just an ounce of energy for the next 2 days, we still had a long way to go!
Photo credit : ISMF
Finally on day 3 we had the most beautiful stage I have ever raced. It was full blue skies and perfect cold powdery snow, a skimo racer’s dream. I think my energy levels faired better than Josef’s here and I pushed had for the full 24km and 2900m course. We had steep bootpacks, untouched powder descents, and our final climb took us up the legendary Grand Mont ridge. Here we had to clip into fixed lines, as it was the most technical and exposed section of the course so far. Arriving on the summit was surreal, a couple hundred fans waiting for us at 2700m; cowbells, airhorns, the atmosphere was nuts. One final long descent took us back down into the valley by which time our legs were almost useless.
Photo credit : Simon Gerard
On day 4, the last day, we woke up to heavy snow and poor visibility. The feeling in our legs and sleep deprived eyes matched the weather perfectly. The organisers had however been kind to us and given us a shorter 13km and 1800m stage to finish. Or so we thought, it basically turned into an all out sprint from start to finish, something our bodies were barely capable of. Being a Saturday, thousands of locals had ascended the mountain before us to cheer us on. My parents and girlfriend were there too, and I was excited to see them on course. The atmosphere was insane, the entire course was lined with fans, cheering, ringing cowbells, revving chainsaws, waving signs. It was like a Tour de France stage on skis.
Photo credit : VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports / @peakpixelcafe
After 4 days of racing, 88.42km covered and 10,522m climbed, we crossed the finish line in a total time of 12 hours and 26 minutes. We were completely spent, but feeling fortunate to have experienced such an incredible race once again.
We finished 30th overall in a stacked international field of around 300 teams; a result we’re proud of, but more than that, an experience that reinforces why Pierra Menta holds such a special place in ski mountaineering.
Vive la Pierra Menta. See you next year!