French Championships: La Pousterle's preparation secrets

The secrets of preparing La Pousterle

In 2023, we will be hosting the French Elite Alpine Ski Championships. The downhill and Super G events take place on Les Orres' legendary La Pousterle piste . With a vertical drop of 690 m and an average gradient of 36%, it is a physically demanding course. Hosting a major competition on this emblematic slope is not something you can invent! Before kicking off the races on March 24, a great deal of upstream work had to be carried out.

For weeks now, the Ski Club Les Orres Crévoux Embrun (SCOCE) team, Les Orres resort professionals,Les Orres town hall staff and volunteers have been pampering La Pousterle with the utmost care. A colossal operation requiring experience and know-how.

The aim: to ensure a spectacular race that meets the technical and safety criteria of the French and international federations. A real adventure!

Discover all the secrets behind the making of an Olympic-sized track!

Glace vive: a concrete slope!

Did you imagine that the champions would be racing down this slope on fresh, powdery snow? Not so! What awaits them is a thick layer of snow as hard as concrete. Jean-François Hermitte, event director, orchestrates the preparation stages with one imperative in mind: to get about 15 centimetres of ice on the surface. An obsession for us humble skiers, but an absolute necessity for competitive skiers. It's a question of fairness (the track must always be in the same condition) and safety.

With their feet slipping in the snow, three people, no less, support and drag a heavy water hose. With regular watering, they moisten the snow to form ice. The snow groomer follows close behind, and the drivers concentrate on mixing the wet snow with the fresh. As the hours go by, daylight fades and temperatures drop. It's freezing. It's time to mill with the snow groomer to make the surfaceas smooth and hard as possible.

Here's the recipe for a perfect piste:

• Track the slope to mix wet snow with fresh snow
• Water the snow
• Soak 10 to 15 cm
• Wait until nightfall and the first frosts
• Track a second time
• Milling with a snow groomer

Nets, tarpaulins and mattresses by the kilometer

Competitors may have the technique, physique and equipment to hold their own on this type of snow, but that doesn't always prevent them from falling. With a slope of 36% (for comparison, L'Eclipse in Courchevel has a 30% slope, La Face in Val d'Isère 32%) and an average speed of 100 km/h on the downhill runs, the slightest fall can be very serious.

To reinforce safety, some fifty people take turns every day to set up the safety equipment. Nets slung over their shoulders, edges firmly attached to the steep slope, team members huff and puff as they hoist kilometers of red mesh all along the piste. A volunteer waits for a hole to be drilled before setting the stake. Peg by peg, the nets are tied together and covered, putting the courageous fingers to the test. The protective barrier takes shape. Meanwhile, inflatable mattresses are laid out at strategic points. In all, 4 km of 2 m-high nets, 900 m of tarpaulins and 13 inflatable mattresses line the descent course. You have to be tough to set up all this equipment on a piste that's more than just black!

Weather that's not always kind

Storms, thunderstorms, mild temperatures, gusty winds... The weather gets involved and puts teams to the test.

On the night of March 26-27, a beautiful snowfall covered the slopes. Good news? Unfortunately, not for the race! The extra 20 cm of snow proved fatal for the men's Giant Slalom race on Monday March 27, which was cancelled as a result. The Orres team had to rework the piste in a hurry to restore a perfectly smooth descent.

🚨 French Championships in Les Orres: giant skiing day. 20 centimetres of fresh snow to remove. Schedule on hold. It's not won... pic.twitter.com/SqslLm0ot0

- Ski Chrono (@Ski_Chrono) March 27, 2023

Thanks to technicians who know their job inside out, and do it brilliantly, and to the relatively cool temperatures, the championships are still in full swing!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIPS