The Engadin Valley - the most picturesque cross country ski destination in the world
My Engadin Ski Marathon adventure in the Swiss Alps.
The Engadin Ski Marathon: skiing across frozen Lake Sils with 14,000 other skiers
On the second Sunday in March for the past 50 years, over 14,000 nordic skiers line up in Maloja in the Upper Engadine Valley to ski across a frozen Lake Sils for the start of the largest sporting event in Switzerland.
The Engadin Ski Marathon is part of the annual Worldloppet Ski Series - mega cross country ski races held on almost every continent. The biggest Worldloppet event is the Vasaloppet in Sweden and the Engadin Marathon is the second-largest cross country ski event in the world. Just finishing one of the Worldloppet events is a life accomplishment.
Truly the ultimate Swiss experience: the ski trails take you over frozen lakes and through quaint alpine villages as you traverse a deep-cut valley surrounded by snowy peaks.
The Engadin marathon is a “point-to-point course - skiing from Maloja to S-Chanf in southeastern Switzerland.
New for 2024: the impact of too much snow on frozen Lake Sils
For the first time in the race’s history, the course was slightly re-routed. Too much snow fell on frozen Lake Sils in the weeks leading up to the race this year. The snow grooming equipment needed to prepare the course on the lake would be too heavy for the lake’s ice. Just a week before race day, the organizers moved the start from Maloja to Sils Maria.
My Engadin Ski Marathon adventure experience in 2016
Traveling via the Bernina Express from Zurich
The Engadine Valley is located in southeastern Switzerland. My husband and I opted to take the world-famous Bernina Express as part of our train journey from the Zurich airport to Pontresina where we would be staying for the week. Our train ride lasted about 4 hours which gave us time to relax and absorb the breath-taking alpine vistas.
Our home for the week: Pontresina, a classic mountaineering village nestled at the base of Piz Bernina, the highest peak in the Eastern Alps.
After an exhausting day of travel, we finally arrived at Hotel Rosatsch in Pontresina and collapsed. The next morning we feasted on a wonderful Swiss zmorge of muesli, fresh fruit and Zopf, a braided egg bread. Of course, I could not get enough of my favorite morning beverage - anything made with coffee. After filling up on all kinds of Swiss delicacies, we grabbed our skis and headed to the ski trails, a short walk from our hotel.
Mattress Alley - the most famous descent on the course.
Pontresina is located near the half-way point of the race route - about 21 kilometers - and near “Mattress Alley” - so named because several mattresses have been placed around many of the trees lining the ski descent that is famous for wipe-outs during the race.
We strapped on our skis and headed out to find Mattress Alley and to get familiar with the course terrain. Pontresina lies at an elevation of just over 5,900 feet so getting acclimated to the higher altitude was a goal, too.
With plenty of snow in Pontresina and bluebird skies, I felt like I died and gone to skier heaven. My muscles were still tired from our travels but I knew I needed to get on my skis and start striding.
After a few kilometers of warming up, we found Mattress Alley and skied up and down several times. From what I understand, after thousands of skiers descend the hill on race day, ridges of snow form along the trail creating moguls.
My Mattress Alley race strategy
I decided that I needed a strategy - a plan on how to tackle the hill. I decided the following: when I arrived at the top of the descent, I would slow down. Then I would look ahead to estimate how many skiers were in front of me and carefully choose a path down that seems less congested. Finally, I would take my time. However, I reminded myself that on race day, my strategy may not work - I may need a back-up plan. I may have too much skier traffic around me or something else may happen that I have not considered. We shall see. I need to be mentally prepared.
Before race day arrived, we hiked and ate a lot.
In the next few days, we skied some more and hiked. Our favorite hike was trekking to the Morteratsch Glacier, near Pontresina. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a scrumptious meal at the Morteratsch Hotel/Restaurant, located near the trailhead.
Race day arrives!
After a short bus ride to St. Moritz from our hotel, we loaded a special Engadin Ski Marathon train with thousands of other skiers heading to Maloja, the race start.
The race start seemed organized but I felt overwhelmed with all the other skiers rushing around just like me. I tried to stay focused and relaxed. Before we headed to our starting corral, we took a pit stop and dropped our gear bags for transport to the finish.
All skiers are assigned to a starting corral. We headed to our corral and stood in line waiting for the throngs of skiers ahead of us to move forward to the corrals. Finally, our start time was here. We were off!
Thanks to Josh Ridley for the following overhead shot!
Skate skiing across Lake Sils with thousands of other skiers
For the first 4 kilometers or so, we skied across Lake Sils, a frozen snow-covered lake. As I started across the windy lake, my adrenaline was up and I was breathing hard. I knew I was skiing too fast and I needed to slow down and pace myself. I reminded myself that I have over 42 kilometers to go. I needed to save some energy for the upcoming hills. I tried to get my breathing normalized.
Since we could not warm up before the race start, my muscles were stiff. I was cold. I had an extra layer of clothing on me that I would need to discard after I warmed up. I kept moving along. I had thousands of skiers in front of me and following me. Usually after a while, the crowd of skiers starts to thin out in a race. Not today.
I finished skiing across the lake and headed for the trail along the valley perimeter. I was somewhat relieved that the wind had subsided. However, I was still skiing with many other skiers and as the terrain started to get steeper, other skiers finally started to slow down.
The herringbone gaggle
The trail into St Moritz is preceded by the first biggest climb of the race. As I approached the hill, other skiers start to slow down dramatically. I looked up and saw a huge traffic jam of skiers ahead. I was forced to come to a standstill and wait. Slowly we started to crawl up the steep incline, using the herringbone technique. To simply describe the herringbone, it is walking up with your skis in a V shape to prevent sliding back. If you slide back, you may fall into the skier behind you. The steeper the incline, the more you need to spread your skis. After what seemed like an eternity, I finished the climb.
A big surprise for me at Mattress Alley
For the next 15 kilometers, I focused on managing my energy and pacing myself. I knew that Mattress Alley was coming up soon but I had a plan and I felt confident that I could conquer it.
As I approached Mattress Alley, I noticed a lot of fans lining both sides of the course route. I could hear the clinging of cowbells, a traditional noisemaker in cross country ski races. At first, this did not bother me. However, as I approached the top of the descent, the crowds got bigger. The noise got louder. Everyone had come out to Mattress Alley to cheer us and to be entertained by all the skiers crashing on the descent. Needless to say, I was not expecting this. I started to tremble. I told myself to calm down.
Stuck to my plan
I took a deep breath and slowly approached the top of the descent. I scanned the skier traffic ahead and looked back to see if any skiers were coming up fast. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of room around me in case I need to make a quick turn without running into another skier. I looked down the steep hill and chose a path. I started to snowplow as much as possible. The snow on the trail had been skied off quite a bit from the thousands of skiers who had already come through. I was forced to ski around a lot of moguls.
Big surprise - a loudspeaker
Just as I approached the middle of the descent, I heard a voice come over a loudspeaker. They were announcing my name! Here comes Jennifer Woltjen from Endicott, New York. Upon hearing my name, my body shook. My legs felt weak. I took a deep breath, tried to smile and focus on my technique. I did not want to fall! After a few more slow turns, I made it past the loudspeaker and the terrain started to level out. I made it. I conquered Mattress Alley.
Village to village: chocolate, hot broth, cheese and smiling volunteers
For the remainder of the race, I decided to enjoy the camaraderie in each village I skied through. I stopped at almost every aid station to enjoy Swiss chocolate and to sip on hot broth. The final 10 kilometers were the toughest but I kept pushing. I knew the worse was behind me. I knew I would finish.
Celebration and reflections
We joined with other skiers in the big hall at S-Chanf for refreshments, live music and relaxed conversation. After a train ride back to Pontresina, we collapsed in our hotel room.
As I look back on my Engadin journey, I can completely say that the adventure pushed me outside my comfort zone. As a result, I have grown more confident in my skiing abilities and in conquering the big hills. I think I am ready for another ski marathon. Stay tuned here.
