Countdown to the ISMF Comapedrosa Andorra Ski Mountaineering World Cup
Arinsal will once again host one of the most important sporting events in the country, the ISMF Comapedrosa Andorra 2023 Mountain Ski Mountaineering World Cup, which will be held in exactly 38 days, from 20 to 22 January 2023with the two traditional tests, the Individual Race and the Vertical Race.
The great novelty this year is that the individual race will incorporate the Open modality, which will allow all ski mountaineering practitioners to compete on the same route as the World Cup runners, scoring for the Park Piolets Andorra Ski Mountaineering Cup and the Catalan Mountain Ski Cup. In this way, the Open category returns to the Individual race and will be added to the Vertical, which already had this modality.
The individual test will also have the Open modality, scoring for the Park Piolets Andorra Cup and the Catalan Ski Mountaineering Cup.
This morning the official presentation of the test took place in an act that was attended by the Minister of Culture and Sports of the Government of Andorra, Sílvia Riva, the minor consul of La Massana, Eva Sansa, the general director of Pal Arinsal, Josep Marticella, and the technical director of the Andorran Mountaineering Federation, Carlo Ferrari.
All of them have highlighted the trajectory of Andorra, and specifically of Arinsal, as the permanent venue of the Ski Mountaineering World Cup, which is celebrating its 12th edition in the Principality, while Comapedrosa Andorra reaches its 4th edition.
ISMF Comapedrosa Andorra 2023
The world Cup will start on january 20 with the opening ceremony that will take place in the town of Arinsal, while the action will begin with the single race on the 21st, and will end on the 22nd with the vertical race. Both tests will be carried out in the senior female and male categories, counting this year with the Open modality, in which non-professional ski mountaineering practitioners can take part, who will be able to follow the same routes as the World Cup runners. The appointment will be valid for the Park Piolets Andorra Ski Mountaineering Cup and the Catalan Ski Mountaineering Cup.
As you have explained the technical director of the Andorran Mountaineering Federation, Carlo Ferrarithe Individual Career will contemplate a solo tour due to the unification of the categories. It is a spectacular and high mountain test with start and in the Igloo Xaletin the Arinsal sector, and with the aim of reaching the highest peak in Andorra, whenever the ground conditions allow it. “We want to guarantee maximum safety for the runners and the public, and we have planned alternative routes in case the conditions do not allow us to reach the objective”Ferrari explained.
The vertical race Once again, it will be carried out entirely on the Arinsal ski slopes, which will allow athletes to give 100%, which makes the race very attractive for both runners and spectators. In this case, the race has different starts, one for the World Cup and the Open senior and U20 male categories, at 1,580 metres, and another for the Open U14, U16 and U18 female categories, at 1,880 metres. In all cases the arrival is at an elevation of 2,300 meters, next to the Xalet Igloo.
The General Manager of Pal Arinsal, Josep Marticellahas valued the importance of this event, which in its last edition achieved a cumulative audience of 6.5 million people and about which 77% of the total news of the Ski Mountaineering World Cup made reference, with an economic valuation of 280,000 euros. The forecast for the 2023 edition is to exceed these figures, with 130 riders in the World Cup races coming from 16 different countries, and some 300 participants in the Open events. Marticella wanted to highlight the role of the more than 350 people involved in the event, including “the more than 100 volunteers without whom it would not be possible to achieve the organizational success of the event”. In addition, they are “Premium volunteers, since they all have great knowledge of the mountains and help us in conditions that are sometimes complicated.”
In addition, the general manager of Pal Arinsal has highlighted the qualities of the station for lovers of ski mountaineering, recalling that it has 9 mountain ski circuits and with long opening hours with the presence of guards for greater security. “We always say that we have the courage to be skimo territory and I think that it is a dynamic that can be seen in all the stations of the country”Marticella has pointed out.
Actions for sustainability
One aspect that has always been key in the organization of Comapedrosa Andorra is the sustainabilityand in this sense different important actions are being worked on: the assignment of electric cars during the event thanks to the collaboration with FEDA, the CO2 compensation of the teams, whose objective is to make the carbon footprint neutral, or the LOC Plan and volunteers who undertake to collect the garbage that may remain during the race . Another action has been the elaboration of the Environment dossier carried out by the station where the impact that the World Cup can have within the Comapedrosa Natural Park is evaluated.
Teaser video Comapedrosa Andorra 2023