The Engadin Ski Marathon on March 9 will receive a new starting area in Maloja at short notice. Large amounts of snow and difficult ice conditions make it impossible to build the launch site on Lake Sils; the start will be moved to fixed land and will be carried out according to a new “pit start” system. The original route from Maloja to S-chanf is in good condition — the 46th Engadin Ski Marathon is out of the question.
The above-average amounts of snow this winter are affecting the ice sheets on the Engadin lakes. The heavy weight of the snow weighs on the thick ice sheet and allows water to escape onto the ice rinks in places. The marathon trail across the Engadin lakes from Maloja to Champfèr was nevertheless prepared and, like the rest of the original route, is in good condition.
However, the difficult ice conditions pose problems for the start in Maloja: The launch area cannot be set up on Lake Sils as usual and is being moved to the lakeside in Maloja. This requires changes to the start procedure. For the new “pit start,” runners first go to waiting boxes next to the starting field. From there, they are led to the starting field in groups and start independently. Thanks to chip technology, an individual time can be evaluated for each participant.
More than 13,000 participants from 55 countries are expected. “Despite the difficult conditions, the trail was very well prepared on the entire original route,” says OC President Ivo Damaso. “Thanks to the relocation of the starting area, the race can now take place on Sunday, March 9, on the original track.”
Tags: start area and pit start
The starting area for this year's Engadin Ski Marathon is located right on the lakeside in Maloja, in the passageway between Hotel Maloja Palace and the lake. It consists of a 22-meter wide starting field and waiting boxes for the various categories placed on the side.
The Elite and Elite A categories start as planned at 8:30 a.m. directly from the starting field, followed by Elite B. The runners in Elite C, main classes A and B as well as the popular runners start in the new “pit start”: First, they gather on foot in the side waiting boxes. From there, they are led into the starting field in groups, put on their skis and start individually. Thanks to chip technology, the start time of each individual runner is measured on the starting line so that an individual running time can be evaluated. By dividing the field of participants into smaller groups, the last groups will start around half an hour later than previously planned.
Keyword: sandwich ice cream
If a lot of snow falls on a water surface after the ice sheet has formed, so-called “sandwich ice” can occur: The weight of the snow presses the ice sheet onto the water. This allows water to reach the ice from below, resulting in water-saturated slush. The overlying snow has an insulating effect, so that the slush sometimes does not freeze through for a long time, even when it is very cold.
To prepare the trail on Lake Silser and Silvaplana, the much lighter skidoos were used instead of heavy snow groomers. This allowed the snowpack to be compressed at the top without stirring up the underlying slush. The trail across the three lakes was opened on February 11 and has been continuously prepared ever since so that it now meets the high quality requirements of the Engadin Ski Marathon.
For the construction of the launch site, slush would have had to freeze through, which could not happen due to the weekly and sometimes heavy snowfalls since Christmas and the relatively mild temperatures.
road closures
Due to the extended start times, road closures may also cause delays. Those responsible for the affected sections of the route are trying to keep delays as low as possible.
infos
Detailed information is available on the Internet at: www.engadin-skimarathon.ch
contact
Engadin Ski Marathon
Quadscha 18
7503 Samedan
Ivo Damaso/Sonja Negrini
email: info@engadin-skimarathon.ch
tel. +41 81 850 55 55
gartmann.biz manages the media operations of the Engadin Ski Marathon.