The Patrouille des Glaciers (PDG) is a ski mountaineering race organised every two years by the Swiss Armed Forces, in which military and civilian teams compete. It takes place once every two years at the end of April, in the south part of the canton of Valais below the summits of the PennineAlps.
The Patrouille des Glaciers is a stage of La Grande Course that includes the most important ski mountaineering competitions of the season. There are two different races, a normal and a short one:
Zermatt – Arolla – Verbier: 57,5 kilometers, altitude difference +4386m and – 4519m. This is equivalent to 110km without altitude difference.
Arolla – Verbier: 27 kilometres, altitude difference +1881m and – 2341m. This is equivalent to 53km without altitude difference.
Each patrol consists of 3 members who, in order to compete, must
have alpine experience which ensures their capability to independently master unexpected situations under extreme conditions in an inhospitable high-alpine environment
train to meet the physical, mental and technical requirements of the competition
be willing to live the ‘PDG spirit‘ towards their own team, all participants and organising staff by acting fair, with caution and solidarity recognizing their limits as well as respecting nature and the unique alpine world
have excellent skiing skills, experience in skiing while being roped up to others, experience in alpine touring and mountaineering competitions
be able to complete the races in the following times, given normal conditions: Zermatt – Schönbiel within 3h; Zermatt – Arolla within 8h 30min; Arolla – Riedmatten within 1h 45 min; Arolla – Verbier within 8h 30 min.
History
The Patrouille des Glaciers has military origins. During the Second World War, the Swiss army organised a race to test the abilities of its soldiers. The first military patrol edition was held in April 1943 thanks to the work of two captains of Mountain Brigade 10 (Rodolphe Tissières and Roger Bonvin). That year, 18 patrols, each consisting of three members, travelled 63 kilometres to reach Verbier. In 1944, 44 teams participated, but for a few years, no races were organized because of war fatigue from the years of military mobilization during World War II. On April 10, 1949, the race was organised once again, but the deaths of three participants from Orsières (Mauritius Crettex, Robert Droz and Louis Thétaz) who died in a crevasse caused a controversy. As a result of that accident the organisation of the race was prohibited by the Federal Military Department until 1984.
The competition was revived by Rene Martin and Camille Bournissen. It remains under the control of the army which ensures its smooth running. The race is now held every two years and is also open to civilians. In 1986, bad weather forced organizers to interrupt the race. In 2002, the same mishap occurred.[1][2]
In 2004, a foreign team won the race for the first time. The same year, the race was competed by 2934 participants (approximately 60% of civil patrols and 40% military), with 984 for the normal race, and 636 and 1314 for the short races.[3]
In 2006, organisers were forced to refuse a thousand entries. That year a second race was organized from Zermatt for the first time. The media have recently raised the problem of doping: patrols are not subject to any controls which causes rumours about the performance of the participants. The commander of the race, Brigadier Marius Robyr (who retired in 2008), refused to impose controls and instead called for participants to act honestly, and in the spirit of the race in which there is no financial gain for the winners.
On April 18, 2007, memorials donated by the Swiss army were unveiled in Zermatt, Arolla and in Verbier in honour of the communities connected with, benefactors of, and friends of, the PDG.[4] A doping case came to light at the end of the 2008 edition in which ten competitors were checked.
Records
Record times are measured on the longer course only (i.e. from Zermatt to Verbier)
Men
The record time is 5 h 35'27 and is held by an Italian team winning the 2018 race. Team members are:
Ski mountaineering is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment used, free-heel Telemark skis and skis based on Alpine skis, where the heel is free for ascents, but is fixed during descent. The discipline may be practiced recreationally or as a competitive sport.
The Haute Route is the name given to a route undertaken on foot or by ski touring between the Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France, and the Matterhorn, in Zermatt, Switzerland.
Verbier is a village located in south-western Switzerland in the canton of Valais. It is a holiday resort and ski area in the Swiss Alps and is recognised as one of the premier off-piste resorts in the world. Some areas are covered with snow all year. Skiers have settled in the Verbier area in order to take advantage of the steep slopes, varied conditions, and resort culture.
Arolla is a village in the municipality of Evolène in the Swiss canton of Valais. It is situated at the end of the Val d'Hérens, south of the cantonal capital, Sion.
Military patrol is a team winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Formerly ski mountaineering was also part of the sport. It is usually contested between countries or military units.
Tony Sbalbi AKA "Tony the tiger" is a French ski mountaineer and non-commissioned officer of the chasseurs alpins corps.
Yannick Ecoeur is a Swiss ski mountaineer and mountain runner.
Sébastien Epiney is a Swiss ski mountaineer and long distance runner. Epiney started ski mountaineering in 2001.
Catherine Mabillard from Troistorrents VS is a Swiss ski mountaineer and marathon mountain biker.
Jean-Yves Rey is a Swiss ski mountaineer and long-distance runner.
Florent Troillet is a Swiss ski mountaineer.
Rolf Zurbrügg is a Swiss ski mountaineer and national ski-mountaineering coach. He is also a cross-country skier and a trained mountain guide.
Pius Schuwey (1970–2020) was a Swiss ski mountaineer from Jaun.
Émilie Gex-Fabry is a Swiss ski mountaineer.
Ernest Farquet is a Swiss ski mountaineer.
The Mezzalama Trophy is an Italian high altitude ski mountaineering competition in upper Valtournenche and Ayas valleys, in Aosta Valley.
The Trophée des Gastlosen is a Swiss competition of ski mountaineering, which is carried out annually in the Gastlosen, near Jaun, since 1993.
Lyndsay Meyer is an American ski mountaineer.
Karl-Erivan Haub was an American-born German-Russian billionaire businessman. He was managing director and part owner of Tengelmann Group. He disappeared while mountaineering on April 7, 2018, and was legally declared dead by a German court in May 2021.
La Grande Course is an international competition of ski mountaineering in stages. It includes the most important competitions of the season for teams of two or three competitors.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
