ROUND 12 - MILLET SKI TOURING COURCHEVEL - Wednesday 23 February 2022

Showdown at the summit among the men in the 12th round of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel.

Record participation this Wednesday 23 February, with 120 ski tourers at the start. In this pack were the winners of the 2021 edition, Thibault Anselmet, and of 2013 and 2016, Mathéo Jacquemoud. In this duel of champions, Thibault won in 22min41s without, however, improving his best time of the season, 22min02s, a performance that remains the benchmark in the provisional overall standings.
Mathéo hung on well to miss out by only 6 seconds, a time that takes him to 8th place overall and into the group of competitors under 22 minutes. To complete this prestigious duo, Jean Christophe Bette, on his 6th podium this season including one win, took 3rd place in 26min01s.

Among the women, with 24 competitors at the start, Laurie Renoton had to work hard to win in 30min43s ahead of Véronique Lathuraz in 31min19s. Manon Morin confirmed her consistency by taking the last step of the podium for the 3rd time this season in 33min38s. A thought for Evelyne Colotto who won the “La Trace ESF” finisher medal in 1h06min08s on her birthday.

From Vertical Race to Ultra Ski Mountaineering

Next week promises to be thrilling, with 2 events on the programme:

- The 13th round will take place as normal on Wednesday 2 March. It will be a qualifier in the U20 category for the Vertical Race event of the ski mountaineering World Cup in Flaine in early April. Anselme Damevin and America’s Grace Staberg hold pole position in the provisional U20 overall standings, but the competition announced may change this ranking. Also worth noting is the arrival of Xavier Gachet, holder of the 2nd best MSTC performance in 21min37s and currently 5th in the provisional 2022 overall standings in 22min31. Suspense in prospect with the presence of several international skiers. Hostilities will intensify until the final on 23 March with €8,000 of prize money and €4,800 of shopping vouchers.

- The second edition of the Millet Everest, the Ultra Ski Touring Courchevel. It will consist of linking climbs from Saturday 5 March at 1 pm until Sunday 6 March to reach the summit of Everest starting from sea level, that is 9,000 m of elevation gain, equivalent to 18 MSTC in under 20 hours. A crazy challenge that will allow each participant to find their limit. To win, you will need strategy in managing rest times, nutrition and changes of clothing between each ascent, because only the climbs will be timed. This challenge will be run in 2 phases:
- the 1st, known as the “M3000” qualification, will start at 1 pm on Saturday 5 March and end at 7 pm. In these first 6 hours of racing, 3,000 m of elevation gain must be climbed in order to continue the ascent by night. Once this qualification is validated, participants must observe a compulsory 2-hour acclimatisation period at the Everest Base Camp, where the film “Everest 2021” will be shown in the presence of Jonathan Lamy who made the ascent on 23 May 2021.
- the 2nd, known as the final ascent, will take place at night from 9 pm until sunrise at 9 am on Sunday 6 March. Athletes must complete the last 6,000 m in under 12 hours.
In parallel with this crazy challenge, the 14th round of the MSTC will take place from 6 pm on Saturday. The best of the 6 times set by participants during the M3000 qualification phase of the Millet Everest challenge will be counted for the standings of this round.

In a month, the climax of ski mountaineering with Louis Bertignac

After 2 years away, the grand fancy-dress final of the Millet Ski Touring Courchevel is eagerly awaited. A fine evening seems to be taking shape with the lifting of health restrictions planned for mid-March. A return to a very festive past is on the programme for Wednesday 23 March. The costumes hastily put away in cupboards after the cancellation of the 2019 final, 4 days beforehand, and the concert by Shy’m will be brought back into the limelight and allow the one who stands out to win the Deguisetoi.fr trophy for best costume 2022.

For this great ski mountaineering party, which will incidentally mark the arrival of spring, more than 600 participants in fancy dress will be present for this final climb. A colourful cascade start amid smoke flares and powder cannons, which you can come and watch from 6 pm at Courchevel Le Praz. Spectators will then be able to reach the finish in Courchevel 1850 free of charge by the Praz gondola and come back down by the same means of transport to reach the Envolée gym, at the foot of the Olympic ski jumps at Le Praz. From 8 pm they can attend the prize-giving hosted by the race’s patron Nelson Monfort followed at 9 pm by the concert by Louis Bertignac.
Of course, those who are not racing can register just for the show as spectators.

Participant prices:
►€15 for participants in fancy dress and €25 for those not in fancy dress (race, buffet and concert). Limited number of places. No registration on site. Online registration only.

Spectator prices: ► €25 (without buffet)
Limited number of places. No registration on site.
You can register online or directly at the Forum ice rink office in Courchevel 1850 and at the Tourist Offices of Courchevel 1850, 1650, 1550, Le Praz and La Tania.

A gift will be given to everyone at the entrance to the hall and plenty of surprises are planned throughout the evening!

Next events: Millet Ski Touring Courchevel on Wednesday 2 March 2022 and Ultra Ski Touring Courchevel on 5 and 6 March 2022