Ground Travel

June 29, 2009

Story on Vasaloppet 2006 contributed by Boris Petroff (FRA)

Mora, 5.05 AM: the town is dead! Not a living soul in view. I had never seen that. It’s almost disquieting. I am trying to find the buses that are not waiting in the same place as the previous years. Nothing, nobody. Or rather yes: two other skiers, haggard as we who circle around without understanding what’s going on. When I say we I mean me and my friend Joseph Luce who in this matter has a blind confidence in me. I am here for my 18th Vasaloppet and am considered by my friends as a reliable reference.
The two other skiers are Russians. They explain (having Russian forebears I understand Russian) that the buses left at the prescribed time; the last at 5.00 AM.
No taxi in the surroundings. I run to the parking lot where I parked my car. By the time I am back in Mora it is 6.00 AM. I load Joseph and the two Russians in the car and drive at more than 100 km/h on the snowy roads towards Sälen. We reach the parking area at 7.30 (after overtaking inelegantly the late spectators who were clogging the road).
 At 7.45 we are on the start line. No doubt those were not ideal conditions for the psychic preparation, but the essential was that we were in time. Except Joseph, who needs at least half an hour of preparation before the race and who started just after the last skiers of the last group (he was shown on the Swedish TV).
Well, after the race I was of course obliged to take the bus back to Sälen and drive back to Mora. In round numbers: 100 km on skis, 200 km by car and 100 km by bus, that was quite a busy day of ground travel!

The Tenth Stamp

June 23, 2009

The following story was submitted by Berndt Bellmann, a IAWLS member from Radebeul, Germany. Received March 8, 2009.

Because of my tight professional schedule I usually participate only two or three times a year at Worldloppet Races. Since several years I try to get the last lacking stamp in my second Worldloppet Passport. This would bring me the second Worldloppet Master title.
In 2007 this tenth stamp was supposed to be acquired. My wife and I were well trained and to finalize our shape we spent a week in the wonderful area of Nordseter, Norway. On the day of Birkebeinerrennet we were standing already in our wave at the start when the race was cancelled because of bad weather conditions in the mountains.
Another attempt followed in 2008. All preparations were made for Tartu Skimarathon, flight tickets were bought and accommodation ordered. But there was not enough snow in Estonia, so the race was cancelled. Again no stamp.
In 2009 the third try was planned in Canada. Everything started admirably. On the day before the race I wanted to show the first kilometres of the course to my wife and my daughter who wanted to participate too. However, it turned out later that this part of the course was not used for the competition. Because of the rainy weather the day before, the track was very icy. I slipped on the icy track and injured my shoulder. So, I stood there with my wife and my daughter in the middle of the woods injured and in big pain. It was out of the question to participate in the race the next day and the idea of the tenth stamp had completely flown out of my mind. For more than 50 years I have practiced cross-country skiing and would never have thought that one can get so seriously injured in this sport.
Why do I write these lines? I would like to thank very much the persons who helped me in this extremely painful situation in a fast and professional way:
-My wife Gitta who accompanied me on the way to the next Gatineau Park Way.
-My daughter Christine who hurried ahead in order to organize further help.
-The guides of the Gatineau National Park who picked me up and brought me with the snowmobile  to Gatineau.
-The officials of the Gatineau Loppet: Race Director Frédérique Moulin, Past Chairman Claude Laramée and the Technical Delegate Jim Rodiquez. Although they had a lot of work during the day before the race, they engaged time and energy to assist my wife and my daughter very efficiently.
-The ambulance man who drove me to the hospital and encouraged me.
-And last but not least the doctors and medical staff of the hospital Gatineau Hull who medicated me successfully by relocating my dislocated shoulder.
To all and also to those that I have not mentioned, I forward again my thanks for their help. The attached picture shows some of the above mentioned persons, from left to right: my daughter Christine, Jim Rodiquez and Frédérique Moulin.
When people ask me naively whether I have got enough of Worldloppet, I laugh. I am absolutely determined to finish my second Master and to continue my skiing career beyond that point. I am looking at the possibility to travel to Australia next August and participate in Kangaroo Hoppet. If this project cannot be realised, I will make a new try during the Nordic winter 2010.

Meeting with WL Secretary General Angelo Corradini

June 17, 2009

On January 24, 2009 (the day before Marcialonga) IAWLS president Hannes Larsson and president-elect Jacek Jaskowiak met Angelo Corradini in his office in Cavalese. There was nobody else in the surroundings, so Jacek took the picture of Angelo and Hannes. The picture of Jacek and Hannes was taken 6 weeks later at the Bieg Piastów reception (courtesy Stanislaw Grabowski).

We discussed questions of common interest. First we reported about some on-going developments of IAWLS:

• Race evaluation form available for skiers on our website (already made).
• Table of all XC ski races in the world. This is of interest to many skiers who prefer to stay in the same country after a WL race and ski some other races, or wish to find another race in the surroundings in case a WL race is cancelled; furthermore there are a number of attractive races before the beginning and after the end of the WL season.
• On-line voting system for our general assemblies.
• Forum for sharing travels and accommodation.

Angelo found these features interesting. He also said that he had appreciated the stories that we published during the endless summer season on outstanding WL skiers and their adventures.

Angelo with the help of his sons has pursued the development of the WL database. It contains now 220’000 names and 1’000’000 results!This is a gigantic task. To distinguish skiers with the same name, it is not sufficient to add the birth date! WL is now approaching the 3000th Master. A record number of new Masters was reached during this season (more work for Carla!).

In recent years the Russian Ski Federation has proposed three different races as new candidates to WL. Now it seems that a new star is born (Rybinsk!!!). This is probably the best XC place in Russia. Slovakia wants to enter WL but they have financial problems. We should probably wait for some more years.

Angelo expected that this year the number of 100’000 skiers in WL races will be reached for the first time. Concerning the new race Bieg Piastów Angelo hoped that skiers who participate will come back home happy; that would be the best promotion. (At the moment of writing this report we can state that the race was quite successful and we have heard only positive comments).

The No. 1 Swede, Richard Lovik

June 12, 2009

During the 2008 season Richard Lovik (SWE) obtained his second, third, fourth and fifth Worldloppet Masters and became the foremost Swede. Richard was born in Stockholm in 1969, made his studies in this city and still lives there. We interviewed him.

Q. Usually we don’t see much snow in the Stockholm area. Has this handicapped you?
A. When I was a kid, we had cold and long winters with lots of snow. Although my parents took me and my sister skiing during our childhood, I had to learn all about skiing and waxing by myself. Nowadays, due to lack of snow in Stockholm, I don’t practice skiing in my homeland. Skiing the WL races is my way to get in shape, which is also the major reason to participate.

Q. We have seen you together with your sister Marie in some WL places. Is she also a WL enthusiast?
A. Yes, she is WL Master No. 2322.

Q. How did you get involved in WL races?
A. It was not until after my military service that I skied my first Vasaloppet. Starting amongst the very last, and with warm temperatures during the race, made for a very tough initiation. A few years later I returned to Vasaloppet. Meanwhile I had read, and heard stories about Marcialonga, Dolomitenlauf and the WL Master title. Gradually I became determined to one day become Master myself. I obtained my first Master in 1999. It took me ten years between No. 1 and No. 5, so that means an average of 4 races per year.

Q. What is your job?
A. I have been working with finance and as a scuba instructor. Being based in Sweden made it possible to fly to the races in Continental Europe just over the weekend.

Q. What motivates you travelling to these races?
A. Of course I could practice skiing in snow-rich areas of Sweden. But I like travelling and each WL race has its own charm, it’s nice to return to a race after a year or more.

Q. You are a Global Worldloppet Skier. What do you think about this new recognition?
A. I think that the GWLS helps motivate skiers to complete also the more remote, but rewarding races in Australia, Japan and North America. I have made the tour of the 14 races twice. Although WL issues only one GWLS diploma per skier, I plan to complete my third tour in the coming years.

Q. Can you tell us something about other interesting races that you have made?
A. I have skied the Arctic Circle race in Greenland on their second year. A race I cannot recommend. That year many skiers were taken off the track, although they were well within the beforehand announced cut-off times. Five skiers were caught in an avalanche on the course, and only by pure luck, just one perished.
A race I can recommend is the Svalbard Skimarathon, Spitsbergen, Norway. It is a one day event, also set in an arctic scenery. And yes, there is a chance/risk to encounter polarbear in town!
I have also skied the Polish race Bieg Piastow. My participation in the Murmansk Skimarathon was rather adventurous. It was not a wonder of organization but I have never met more friendly people than in Murmansk. When my skis were missing, I was given top-of-the-line race-waxed ski-gear by a guy from the organization, without charging me a single ruble! But the return flight was cancelled without prior notice and I was obliged to buy a new and expensive one-way flight back home via St Petersburg. That is a race suitable for adventure-minded people but not as a WL race.

Q. You must have a lot of memories from the WL circuit?
A. Yes, from almost every race. One of the funniest lines I remember was when I was skiing side by side with an American at Kangaroohoppet. That year it was really hot and the snow was just melting away. We were passing an area with almost no snow, ruining the bases of our skis, and his only comment was: “What the heck, they were due for stone grinding anyway!”

Q. Last winter you were desperately trying to find somebody to transport your skis from Gatineau Loppet to American Birkebeiner; what was the problem?
A. Oh, yes, skiing the races can be hard work, but getting there can be even harder. One episode that really put my nerves to a test was when I had planned to visit my girlfriend in Columbia (South America) between the two races you mentioned. The very morning of the flight I found out that I was not going to be allowed to check in my skis from Canada to Columbia. I was told that I could take my skis to any destination worldwide, except to Columbia (due to some kind of embargo). Travelling on an extremely tight schedule, meant that I would have to find someone who could transport my skis to the race in Wisconsin. This turned out to be a big challenge. Most people did not believe that the airline would not accept skis. Some people who were just about to offer me help, turned me down when they heard what country I would visit in between the races. Obviously they thought that it wasn’t really skis that I needed help to transport to the USA. Just when I was thinking that I would have to abandon my two sets of skis and poles in Canada, and not having any skis for the Birkie, two Swedish sisters reached out their hand. I was so grateful for their trust in me! What happened with my Columbian girlfriend? We broke up!

Q. What about your future plans?
A. To participate in more WL races but also all the Euroloppet races, Marxa Beret (SPA) and the Vasaloppet races in Japan, China and Minnesota.

Open letter to Vasaloppet

June 9, 2009

Dear Vasaloppet Organizers,
The mass start used by Vasaloppet has been the object of complaints for many years. In 2009 an angry letter from a Swedish journalist who had participated in some Worldloppet races in southern Europe, was published in the newspaper Vasaloppet. Although one can easily understand the reasons of these outbursts, we will not follow that kind of model. This letter is based on facts. We will analyze the problems created by the mass start and discuss why it is unavoidable for Vasaloppet to adopt a modern start arrangement.

The bottleneck

Vasaloppet’s start system consists in starting 15000 skiers simultaneously. The skiers are put in ten start groups (led) with the fastest skiers in front. In small races with 500 skiers this sort of start system is quite sufficient, but with the size of Vasaloppet it leads to chaos. In Sälen there is a wide flat field after the start, with many parallel tracks, on a length of about 1 km. In this area there are usually very few accidents, sometimes it is even possible to overtake. But when the skiers reach the end of this flat area, they still form a compact mass. There, after a turn to the right, begins a 2 km long climb, and at the bottom of the climb a bottleneck forms. The bottleneck, repeatedly appearing in the steep sections of the climb, is uncomfortable for the skiers. One is obliged to open the skis in a V form to avoid gliding backwards and/or to get cramps in the arms, while there are 89 km remaining. Skiers are so tightly packed that the neighbors trample or poke their poles on your skis. Apart from the fact that it is uncomfortable, a big inconvenience is the time lost in the bottleneck. The bottleneck begins with group 4, and the more you go back in the field, the more time you lose. It is usually reported that skiers starting in group 10 lose up to 45 minutes.
The bottleneck has been a feature of Vasaloppet for many years. Thirty years ago there were less skiers but the bottleneck was the same. In the following years the climb has been widened but the increase of the number of skiers has cancelled the benefits. In 2008 Vasaloppet announced on their website that they had decided to take into account the wishes of the skiers and widen the climb. Also in the newspapers the trackmaster proudly reported about this improvement which was going to strongly reduce the bottleneck. What happened? From the testimonies of skiers of the 2009 race, we know that
- skiers who started at the end of group 8 needed 60  minutes to reach the 3 km point, meaning a time loss of at least 35 minutes,
-skiers who started in group 10 needed 75 minutes to reach the 3 km point, meaning that the bottleneck cost them about 45 minutes.

Capacity of a ski course

Thus, the changes made before the 2009 race had a negligible effect for skiers of the later groups, i.e. those who suffer from the bottleneck the most. This was evident. To suppress the bottleneck in that climb, the track should be much wider than in the start field, i.e. some 200m or 300m. But that would lead to a clogging of the tracks on the top. The essential notion in ski races is the number of skiers per minute that the track and the food stations can handle. With a too high density of skiers, also the first descents become dangerous.
In order to preserve the quality of such a big race, the total duration of the flow of skiers at the top of the climb should be sufficiently long, say 90 minutes. That is the time between the passage of the first skier and the last. Vasaloppet’s solution to achieve this result is to create the extension of the field after the start, in the bottleneck. This is an aberration. The obvious solution is to create the extension of the field before the start. That’s what organizers of other big Worldloppet (WL) races do.

International rules

Vasaloppet is a member of WL. The WL statutes (or Constitution, as they call it) insist that the member races are high quality races. It is also stated that WL complies with the rules of FIS. The FIS guidelines for popular XC competitions state: “The start should gradually narrow to the width of the course over a distance sufficient in length to allow competitors to spread out before entering the tracks”. In other words, bottlenecks are not allowed.

Sportsmanship

Skiers do not need to know the international rules for race organizers. What they say is that Vasaloppet’s bottleneck is unfair, inhuman and an incredible tarnish for this otherwise well organized race. Vasaloppet’s refusal to admit that there is a problem is in striking contrast with the famous hospitality of people in the Dalarna area. All skiers, not only the elite skiers, should be treated with respect. The lack of response from Vasaloppet to complaints about the start arrangement has created a feeling of frustration amongst skiers, as if there was no solution to the bottleneck but it was a necessary part of Vasaloppet.

Medical arguments

A few years ago, at the time when Vasaloppet organized a reception for WL passport holders, the bottleneck was once mentioned and Arne Andersson said that according to doctors, the bottleneck is good for the health, because it avoids tackling the climb too fast. An outburst of protests assaulted the brave Arne. One of the participants, probably a doctor, said that those who forward such stupid arguments have never skied Vasaloppet.
I am not a doctor but I give a layman’s point of view. One must see what happens at the start. Everybody makes a 1 km sprint, as if the finish were on the bottom of the hill. This happens because of the bottleneck. If you don’t sprint, you will be passed by thousands of skiers and be stuck for a longer time in the bottleneck. At the start the skiers are not warm because they have been standing for a long time in the start area. Warm-up exercises help to avoid freezing but are not sufficient to be really warm. One does not need to be a doctor, common sense dictates that such a sprint, when the blood is not perfectly circulating in the body, is not good. The stop in the bottleneck allows one to recover the breath, but the climb occurs in fact by a succession of stops and accelerations.
This is the pernicious effect of the bottleneck. As long as the bottleneck exists, all recommendations of the organizers to take it easy at the start, are in vain. I would not be surprised if the statistics on deaths in Vasaloppet showed that deaths seldom occur towards the end, from exhaustion, but often soon after the start. This is an interesting subject for journalists to investigate.

The Ideal Start

It is perfectly possible to organize the Vasaloppet start in such a way that there is no bottleneck. In 2009 Birkebeinerrennet used a wave start with 18 waves with 5 minute intervals. No bottlenecks occurred, although the race almost reached the size of Vasaloppet with 14000 entries.
Marcialonga takes place in a narrow valley where it is impossible to make a wide course as in Vasaloppet. They had used a wave start for some years but because of the lack of space there were problems in some points along the track. In 2007 they adopted what we call the Ideal Start. It is essentially a continuous flow of skiers through a gate where the individual start times are taken. Vasaloppet’s Open Tracks also have a continuous flow of skiers, but the inconvenience is that skiers have to stand in a long line that takes up to 45 minutes for the last. Marcialonga made a clever move by dividing the flow in a succession of “waves”, each with a prescribed time for the start of the flow. Each wave starts from its own “box” and when the front door of the box is opened, the skiers walk into a transit area where they put on their skis and move slowly towards the start gate. This is comfortable for the skiers who know their starting time within the accuracy of a few minutes, the duration of the flow of their wave. Thus they can stay in the warm tent to the last minute. No need to reserve a place in the start box hours before the race as occurs in Vasaloppet. Everybody behaves with calm, there is no sprint and everybody can ski at his/her own pace right from the beginning. The total duration of the starts is designed in such a way that no bottlenecks occur along the course. In 2008 Jizerská Padesátka successfully adopted the same system.
For Vasaloppet, one can look at the problem by extrapolating from the Open Track races. I have a personal experience with the two Öppet Spår in 2004. On Sunday there were 10000 skiers, on Monday 8000 skiers. Both days I started amongst the last and observed no bottleneck. On Sunday the start took about 45 minutes. Extrapolating to 15000 skiers one can deduce that a sufficient duration of the starts is 75 minutes. Say 90 minutes, to be safe. I believe that with the Ideal Start Vasaloppet has even a potential for growth.

Yes you can

Vasaloppet had the possibility to be the first in the world to adopt the Ideal Start. You lost the opportunity, the honor goes to Marcialonga. But the honor of Vasaloppet is at stake as long as you cling to the impossible mass start.
We believe in Vasaloppet’s capacity for change. In the past we have seen two examples. When ladies were accepted after a 60 year ban, it was a landslide change. More recently, when Vasaloppet at last began accepting the payment by credit card, after years of insistent requests from the skiers, you made the best on-line payment system of the whole WL circuit. Changing the start is a technical problem that competent organizers can master easily.
Some people think that Vasaloppet clings to the mass start because it is spectacular. I don’t believe them. The Ideal Start can also be exploited for the TV. If the camera returns every 15 minutes to the start area to show the continuous flow of skiers, it gives a convincing proof of the size of the race. And interviews of happy skiers are the best possible promotion.

Yours sincerely,

Hannes Larsson
18-fold WL Master
17 Vasaloppets and 4 Öppet Spår
President of IAWLS, the International Association of WL Skiers

Moonlight marathon in Italy on February 7, 2009

June 4, 2009

There are many more marathons than the Worldloppet ones. Thoma Huber participated in the 3rd Edition of Moonlight Classic on Seiser Alm / Alpe di Siusi this year.

Some weeks ago we started with 4 persons from SC Villingen / Black Forest to participate Moonlight classic Marathon in Italy near Bozen.
Alpi di Siusi has an altitude of 1850m and original track is between 1850 and 2150m, very high and thin air.
If the weather is fine you can choose between 36 km and 20 km race. But be careful, 36 km is really heavy with strong time limits.
Time limits have an safety aspect, because start is at 8 pm in the evening. Each year when its full-moon at the end of January or beginning of
February the race is taking place.
A lot of new snow and cloudy weather forecast with more snow was the reason that the organizing team decided to prepare
just a 20 km lap. Whole track was lighted with torches. After the start with 130 skiers the clouds went up and we had 30 min clear view.
Shortly after the start in Compatsch it was possible to see most of the track because the torches burnt in the dark night, an
interesting and spectacular atmosphere. Lot of up and downs are characteristic of that event.
You can go up by car or cable from Kastelruth to the start / finish place. For all people cable is free in the afternoon, and on the Alpi
is folk festival with tent and live music. So many people are along the track, especially near start and finish. After the race, until one o'clock in the night is “high-life” in the tent. Race is very well organized, fire brigade and regional clubs are helping.
Start fee is 40.- €, included start number, meal after and during race, polo shirt, ham and other small starter gifts.
Always when the price money is high international skiers are in front. So winner was czech Petr Novak in nearly one hour. I finished direct behind woman winner Demez in 1.14 hours on overall place 27. Beginning was very hard, because its dangerous to start to fast in that thin air, recovering takes much longer as in normal altitudes. The last minutes it started to snow again. Using a head lamp is a must and after 200 long distance races it was a new experience to run a race with head lamp.
It was great and we are planning to start there again, hopefully on long original distance and with attention to the difficult track.
Next year is the race on Friday 29.01.2010, that is Friday before Marcialonga, perfect to combine. But be careful, for average skier I suggest to do the 20km race.
More and detailed information you will find under www.moonlightclassic.info.

IAWLS letter to Worldloppet 2009

June 1, 2009

We have published our yearly letter to Worldloppet.

Birkebeinerrennet 2009

April 27, 2009

Sunny race in Norway.

Skiers who are experienced with Birkebeinerrennet always worry about the weather and snow conditions in Norway. Wind, heavy snowfall, temperatures ranging from -4/-6°C in the morning to +6/+8°C at noon on the sunny day, can make the race very difficult because of unwaxable snow conditions.  March weather can bring a surprise like the very strong wind out of a sunny morning that forced the organizers to cancel the race last year.
Despite these threats skiers are massively coming to Norway to run the last Worldloppet race of the season and to enjoy skiing in the beautiful area around Sjusjoen which is considered the best prepared, biggest and one of the most beautiful cross country regions in Europe. Those who arrived this year a few days before the race could enjoy beautiful sunny weather and perfect snow conditions on hundreds kilometers of ski tracks.
Record number 13494 skiers arrived on the sunny Saturday at Rena to run a 54 kilometers distance to Lillehammer through Norwegian mountains and high plains. They were divided into 20 start groups. No bottlenecks occurred after the start although it was quite crowded on the course during first 10 km and not everybody could ski at his own pace. It is worthwhile to note that Birkebeinerrennet reached the size of Vasaloppet and with good start arrangement it still has capability to grow.
As usually the morning temperatures were below zero and with the sun rising high they went up very quickly. This made the waxing difficult but feasible even for less experienced skiers. The course was well prepared but with the huge number of skiers passing through, it deteriorated gradually and last waves’ skiers were struggling with slippery and destroyed tracks catching klister left on the snow by thousands of preceding competitors. It seems that with a big number of competitors, sunny weather and high temperature it is beyond the control of organizers to make tracks being in good condition until the last skier finishes.
Jerry Ahrlin of Sweden won at the time 2:36:58 which being compared to previous years confirms that the race was fast but not a record one.

As always some IAWLS members’ results:

Engadin Skimarathon 2009

April 21, 2009

Once again sunny weather and perfect tracks in Engadin Skimarathon.
Transport to start went well as usual and while waiting in Maloja the sun come over the mountain and hit us nicely. Some minusdegrees in the start made waxing easy for classic skiers and the classic tracks were fine like train tracks all the way to finish line. This pleased the classic skiers from the nordic nations which were in record numbers this year. The snow was packed fine for freestyle skiers too and tracks were comfortable wide as usual. The cold temp and sharp snow made the glide a bit slower for early starters but during the day the sun heated up the snow and made glide much better. Along the track there were crowds chairing as usual and the service stations looked good with their stack of neon-red replacements poles. The race arrangements were as usually very good. Transport, servicestations and information. The meeting for Worldloppet Passport-holders on Saturday was very nice and served fingerfood and wine for the attendes. Good party atmosphere were also in the "pastaparty-hall" in the finish area. A big party hall where we got beer, food and live music.

The sunny weather resulted in many pictures taken during race and it was a nice weekend to be a skiing tourist in the Engadin valley.

Race evaluation

January 27, 2009

We are introducing a new tool that should facilitate the way you express your comments and opinions about Worldloppet races. It is a comprehensive questionnaire covering all aspects of races that are of our interest. If you want to criticize, praise or just comment any aspect of the race please fill in the appropriate box and submit it. You do not have to fill in all the boxes, just the item that is of your interest. At the end of the season we shall compile all the remarks and send a letter to race organizers passing on your opinions. Your comments will be of great value to us. Look for the Race Evaluation link at the left of the page.

Communicate

You can write to the Executive Committee, iawls@worldloppetskier.com . All questions, comments and suggestions are welcome. The Executive Committee can read e-mails in 12 languages: Czech, Danish, English, Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish and Swedish. We have also main correspondents in Russia who can help us with the Russian language.

This page was last revised on June 29, 2009