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Amid the superb setting of the Beaufortain Mountains in Savoie, France, 168 teams crossed the finish line after four stages covering over 10,000m vertical rise.
The suspense ended on Sunday 18 March in Arêches-Beaufort, as the 22nd Pierra Menta race acclaimed its winners – local guys and Team Millet Alpinisme members, Florent Perrier and Gregory Gachet. In the women’s event, Francesca Martinelli and Nathalie Bourillon triumphed once again.
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Ski-mountaineering combines an ascent with skins and the pleasure of an off-piste descent through virgin scenery. During competitions, the route is marked. To negotiate some mountain features (aretes, couloirs), racers need to be roped up and take off their skis.
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Every year the Pierra Menta attracts more than 3,500 spectators to the “natural stadium” of the Grand-Mont Arete, over an hour’s walk from the top chairlift station!
The enthusiastic crowd cheers the racers on, and the event often turns into a thrilling duel that lasts until the very last seconds. From pillar to post, all the racers are driven by a sustained ovation and cries of “hourra!”.
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Check out these video highlights of the most famous race in the ski-mountaineering calendar:
