ROUND 5 - DYNAFIT SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - 11 January 2012

The 5th round goes to Du Crest Blandine and Alain Gillet.

It was under a full moon that the 42 ski mountaineering competitors set off for this 5th edition of the Dynafit Ski Touring Courchevel (DSTC). After a 3.2 km climb with 500 metres of elevation gain, Blandine Du Crest of the Courchevel Sports Alpinisme club, 2nd woman in the Senior category in the individual race at the French championships last weekend in Arêches-Beaufort, won the race in 32min55s and moved into 3rd position in the season’s provisional overall standings. Mireille Bartnicki took second place in 44min38s ahead of Anne-Marie Henrion of the CAF Albertville, who finished in 45min25s. Among the men, Alain Gillet of the club les Vorosses won in 26min28s ahead of Frédéric Thérisod of the Courchevel Sports Alpinisme Club in 27min16s and Thierry Jorioz of the CAF Albertville in 28min07s.

These DSTC, whose concept is unique in France, allow all ski touring enthusiasts and amateurs to choose, according to their form, the weather conditions, work, motivation… the most suitable Wednesday up to 4 April to come and beat the records or get close to them, reach their goal, improve their time, compare themselves with the best…

This is the case of Magali Vauge Lalanne, who had decided to finish under the 1-hour mark and finished in 53min29s, or of Pierre Gruneberg, who at 81 gets closer week by week and is now 1min55s from the hour. Others, such as Jean-Luc Chedal, Laurence Setiey, Armand Mongellaz are fighting to improve their times. And some, such as Bernard Pansier or Anne Armand, did not hesitate to get up at 5 am to come specially from Salon-de-Provence to try ski touring for the first time in their lives and to find themselves in a ranking headed by the best in the discipline.