The ISMF World Cup returns in Verbier (SUI)

Press Release

An Individual and a Vertical race are scheduled for the weekend

Lausanne/Mondovì, 28 January 2021 – After the races held in Pontedilegno-Tonale (Italy), which opened the ISMF World Cup season in late December 2020, in the coming days the international athletes of ski mountaineering will compete in Verbier (Switzerland). A Vertical race, planned for Friday 29 January, and an Individual race, scheduled for Sunday 31 January, will be held on the Swiss snows.

A famous ISMF World Championships took place in 2015 in Verbier, the arrival point of the well-known Patrouille des Glaciers, belonging to La Grande Course circuit. The arrival of the Spanish Kílian Jornet i Burgada between two sides of a delirious crowd on that occasion is still in everyone’s memory. Unfortunately, the current Covid-19 pandemic has forced the local organisers to decree that the event will be “behind closed doors” for the public.

The famous photo of Kílian Jornet i Burgada at the 2015 ISMF World Championships

The Vertical Race will follow, especially in the final part, the 2015 World Championships track starting from the heart of Verbier and arriving near the mountain station of the cable car in Les Ruinettes. The positive altitude difference will be of 655 metres.

Due to adverse weather conditions, the Individual race will take place opting for the reserve course. The venue will remain in Bruson, a few kilometres from Verbier, where the athletes will have to face a height difference of about 1500 metres divided in 4 ascents.

15 national federations will be present at the starting line in Switzerland: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and USA.

Immediately after the ISMF World Cup in Verbier, the skimo élite athletes will move to France and precisely to Flaine, Arâche-la-Frasse, where an Individual and a Sprint race are scheduled for 5 and 6 February 2021.

The President of the organising committee Mr. Christophe Maret asserts: “It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to Val de Bagnes and Entremont for the Ski Mountaineering World Cup! Our goal in hosting this event is to wholeheartedly support and to promote your sport and to give you the chance to attain new heights of athletic excellence. A passionate amateur ski mountaineer myself with endless admiration for the many young local athletes making a name for themselves in international competitions, it means a lot to me, personally, to participate in the organisation of this event. I would like to thank our generous donors for their support, the countless volunteers posted to the various event sites, and a motivated and experienced planning committee”.

Contact
Roberto Cavallo, General Manager, rcavallo@ismf-ski.org, +39 335 5745945

About the ISMF
Founded in 2007, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation ISMF is the global governing body for ski mountaineering competitions. Since 2016, the organization is officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee IOC. Its main goals are the promotion, regulation and development of the ski mountaineering sport worldwide. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the ISMF’s membership consists of 38 national mountaineering or ski sports federations in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The ISMF organizes ski mountaineering World Cups events and World Championships. For the first time, ski mountaineering has been a medal sport at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne Switzerland. The ISMF’s ambition is to become an Olympic sport by the 2026 Winter Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy.

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