Topic - Winter (on-snow)
Nordic walking
Date first posted on eCommunity - 18
March 2007
INTRODUCTION
The success of the Swiss Snow Walking Event is
giving on-snow Nordic walking a bit of a boost in the Alps. The Event was first held in the resort of Arosa in January 2005.
On that first occasion the organisers expected 300 entrants but in fact 1200 took part. By January 2006 the figure had increased
to around 1800, and in 2007 there were over 2100 participants.
For 2008 - encouraged by this growth - the organisers have added a second venue, Engelberg in Central Switzerland. The Arosa event
will be on 12 January 2008. The Engelberg one will be on 1 March 2008.
In large part, the popularity of the Snow Walking Event is due to the fact that it is open to all levels. There are in effect
three events: a "beginners" race over 6 kilometres, a "long-distance" race over 11 kilometres,
and the "crazy snow walk" over 17 kilometres. (These distances are for the Arosa event;
each of the Engelberg races will be slightly longer.)
The format is for the races all to take place on the Saturday morning, after which there is a bit of a party with oompah bands,
etcetera. On the preceding Thursday and Friday there are related events, such as Nordic walking demonstrations and pasta parties.
There are also earnest-sounding talks on "The theory and practice of Nordic walking" - parts one and two! - and on fitness
and nutrition. These are all in German.
For more details, and course maps and profiles - and to see pictures
like the one below - go to
http://www.swisssnowwalking.ch/. It is a portal to the events in both Arosa and Engelberg. (It is in German.)
The Swiss Snow Walking Event is an interesting development. For many years lots of Alpine resorts have maintained winter walking trails,
but they have appealed mainly to visitors, generally older people, who want a week of fairly gentle activity. Recently, however, these
visitors have been joined by rather more energetic Nordic walkers, and the Swiss Snow Walking Event is a reflection of that trend.
If you want to do just Nordic walking in a resort in the Alps (as opposed to mixing Nordic walking and other activities) then it makes
sense to choose an area that has at least 100 kilometres of prepared trails. This will not only give you a good choice of terrain, it
will also allow for some trails being uncut or being closed through avalanche risk. And it will compensate for tourist offices' tendency
to over-state the amount of trails that they have. (A stretch of trail that is shared by two routes will very often be counted twice.)
Resorts that are good for cross-country skiing also tend to be good for winter walking – for the obvious reason that there will be a lot
of relatively flat ground and for the less obvious reason that they will have a large enough fleet of grooming machines to roll the
tracks. Perhaps the best choice in Switzerland is the Engadin valley, which has 150 km of walking trails. It is possible to put
together your own Nordic walking version of the 42 kilometre Engadin ski marathon – though at a likely average speed of 5 or 6 kilometres
per hour you need to be prepared for a long day. In Austria the Seefeld area is a good option. In Italy the Dolomites are excellent.
However, downhill ski resorts will also have some trails. Even Zermatt
has 45 kilometres of winter walking paths. (See:
http://bergbahnen.zermatt.ch/e/bahnen/winterwandern.html)
Arosa and Engelberg themselves are both medium-sized downhill ski resorts, and their mountainous nature sets a limit on the amount of
walking trails. Even so, Engelberg has about 50 kilometres of paths and Arosa has about 60 kilometres - including one that climbs to the
summit of a 2300 metre peak, involving a considerable height gain.
For details go to the following sites:
http://www.engelberg.ch/en/Winter/Winterwandern/Winterwandern.php
http://www.arosa.ch
Other downhill ski resorts that offer reasonable winter walking are Kandersteg in the Swiss Bernese Oberland, and the Austrian resort of
Pertisau, an hour's drive east from Innsbruck.
EQUIPMENT
You can buy foot-grippers to attach to your shoes or boots. They are useful if the snow is hard or icy. Examples are:
"Magic Spikers". £13.00 per pair from Cotswold Outdoor.
http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/Cat/126585?Ref=116412
"Spiky PLUS". £14.50 per pair from Foot Health Care.
http://www.foothealthcare.com/acatalog/Spiky.html
Nordic walking poles are fine on snow, though their blunt tips might not grip on icy surfaces, and in that case you would be better with
short cross-country ski poles. Cross-country ski poles can be hired at most ski shops. Hired poles will almost always have
a "biathlon" strap (which is a simple loop of webbing) rather than the more ergonomic Nordic walking strap, but that is not a serious
shortcoming.
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