Record number of women to compete at Patrouille des Glaciers ski race
The traditional Patrouille des Glaciers ski-touring race gets under way next Monday in canton Valais. This year’s event features 1,376 teams, with around 5,500 ski mountaineers taking part. The event is expected to see a record number of women competing.
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening:
Record number of women to compete at Patrouille des Glaciers ski race
+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox
Teams will compete on two routes between April 13 and 19. The shorter Patrouille des Glaciers (PdG) course runs from Arolla to Verbier, covering 29.6 kilometres with 2,200 metres of ascent. The longer route stretches from Zermatt to Verbier, spanning 57.5 kilometres and almost 4,400 metres of ascent.
+ Swiss Patrouille des Glaciers ski race re-opens registrationsExternal link
Speaking at a media briefing in Arolla on Wednesday, the PdG commander, Brigadier Yves Charrière, said he was especially pleased by the record number of women taking part. A total of 112 all‑female patrols will be on the start line. Organisers also say participation is continuing to rise among mixed and military teams.
Two former Patrouille des Glaciers winners will line up on the long course this year: Olympic champion Marianne Fatton and overall World Cup winner Rémi Bonnet. They will be joined by European Championship medallists Caroline Ulrich and Aurélien Gay, as well as Jon Kistler, an Olympic silver medallist in the mixed relay.
+ Iconic Swiss Patrouille des Glaciers ski race secures futureExternal link
The Patrouille des Glaciers has its origins in the border defence operations of the Second World War and was first held in 1943. The ski race, which takes place every two years, was originally designed to test the endurance and resilience of soldiers. Around 900 military personnel will be involved in organising this year’s event.
Translated from German by AI/sp
We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.
Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.
If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at english@swissinfo.ch
External Content
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.