The 7th edition of ‘La Gorzderette’, described by organisers as, “the truly iciest competition in the world” is underway and will continue to Sunday 31st January 2010 in the valley of Champagny le Haut at La Plagne in France’s Paradiski area.

The organisers, known in the local Patois dialect as the Gorzdérés, have created the contest of five traditional events, which all take place on and around the main attraction – the ice tower. Each event requires participants to show specific skills and teams of two, (come with a partner or find a partner on site on the day) have to work together to bring out the best in each other.

The 22m high tower, the only one of its kind in Europe, has for 6 years been erected annually in the Valley of Champagny le Haut at about 1500m. The tower has different levels of difficulty and is accessible to all. Beginners start out on 80° climbs and experts take on verticals (90°) or overhangs of 45°.

Last year’s competition attracted around 250 competitors who could be heard shouting the now famous and heartfelt slogan, “détendez-vous, ça va bien se passer!” which translatrs as, “relax, everything’s going to be just fine!!”. More and more newcomers join returning competitors every year to participate in this one-of-a-kind and out of the ordinary sporting challenge that enjoys the reputation of great, great fun with a superb atmosphere.

The five events include ice-climbing and the more unusual cross-country ski race with beret throwing. This biathlon type event consists of a cross-country ski sprint on an obstacle packed course and a béret throwing challenge. Bad throws will incur penalty laps.

The third event, La Cordée, is ‘on-the-ground mountaineering’ where team members are roped together, as they cross an obstacle course. The fourth event, the hay sledge, involves pushing and pulling a sledge loaded with hay as fast as possible around a track, so teams showing both strength and speed excel here. Finally three-legged snow shoeing provides plenty of challenges.

Competitors score points based on their successes with the highest points total at the end of the contest winning. Each evening there are parties and concerts to added to the festive atmosphere.
“Nobody goes home empty handed,” say the organisers.

http://gorzderette.free.fr/

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