Round 2 / SKI MOUNTAINEERING - PLUM KV COURCHEVEL - Friday 30 January 2015

New records for Tony Portanier and Géraldine Bau in the 2nd stage of the Plum KV Courchevel.

73 ski mountaineers were present for the 2nd stage of the Plum KV Courchevel on Friday 30 January. This 2nd stage had been added to the calendar to replace the 22 November event, cancelled because of the total absence of snow on the course. This time, however, the snow was well and truly there, with the heavy falls of the last two days and accumulations of more than a metre in places. To let participants perform in the best possible conditions, the organisers of the association “Courchevel Sports Alpinisme” had asked for a small tracked vehicle to groom the whole course just before the first start at 6 pm. In the morning, a fairly strong north-westerly wind was blowing on the last part, 150 m of elevation gain before the finish, but the forecast promised a clear improvement from mid-afternoon. Yet at the moment of the start of this time trial, a snow shower arrived with very strong gusts of wind at the summit, making the finish very difficult for runners who struggled to keep their balance. After crossing the finish line in extreme winter conditions, the participants quickly descended to the aid station, where they could warm up and talk about this apocalyptic finish with the feeling of having achieved a fine feat.

This Vertical Kilometre course (1,000 m of elevation gain and 5 km), approved by the Fédération Française de la Montagne et de l’Escalade (FFME), lets the best ski mountaineering specialists fight for the French Vertical Kilometre record in the 4 events held in winter.

The hellish conditions in the last metres before the finish did not stop Tony Portanier and Géraldine Bau from taking new provisional records. Indeed, Tony Portanier of the ESF in Courchevel 1550 won this 2nd Plum KV Courchevel in 46min43s and Géraldine Bau in 1h03min44s.

Among the men, Julien Poquet (46min44s) took second place just 1 second behind Tony Portanier and Steven Blanc finished third in 47min25s. Among the women, Christine Gachet (1h04min25s) came second and Stéphanie Pommat (1h16min35s) took the third step of the podium.

An event that will remain engraved in memory this Friday 30 January for Erige De Thiersant, who after completing the climb in 1h31min celebrated his 73rd birthday with 73 participants in Savoie (73).

At the prize-giving, Albert Félisaz, director of the binding brand “Plum”, partner of the race, congratulated all the participants and organisers before giving a preview of the novelties for 2016.

Only two more winter dates remain (20 February and 20 March) before summer, when it will be the trail runners' turn to compete on this same Vertical Kilometre course over 4 events (10 / 24 July and 7 / 21 August).

In the end, €500 of prize money will be given for the best men’s and women’s time of the season in each discipline and €1,000 for the best men’s and women’s time of the year, by adding the 2 best performances in ski mountaineering and trail running.

William Perrier and Géraldine Bau win the 2nd Grand Slam.

During the weeks when the MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL (MSTC) and the PLUM KV COURCHEVEL (PKVC) are held, a ranking will be compiled for those who complete the “Grand Slam” (taking part in both events in the same week).

This week, the “Grand Slam” took into account the cumulative MSTC times of Wednesday 28 January with the PKVC times of Friday 30 January. 28 competitors completed both races this time, and it was William Perrier who won this second stage in 1h13min50s and Géraldine Bau who prevailed among the women in 1h37min03s.