The race volunteers recce the route for Font Blanca 2012.

Taking advantage of the festival of the Three Kings, from Friday 6th to Sunday 8th January the race organisers, along with a group of volunteers, have been inspecting the course for the individual race at Arcalis and the vertical race at Arinsal.

The very strong winds of the past few days, with gusts up to 120 km per hour, have substantially modified the conditions, resulting in hard-packed snow in the lower and middle parts of the course. This does not affect the vertical race in Arinsal as that course follows the pistes, but it has had consequences for the individual race in Arcalis.

The difficult conditions, with icy snow in the sector of Tristaina and the peak Forcat, have required some changes to the route. As the Tristaina cirque is not currently safe, the race route now runs between the Cap del la Serra de la Coma and the peak of Peyreguils.

The new route consists of five climbs with 1700m of height gain for the men, four climbs with 1350m of height gain for the women and three climbs and 1000m of height gain for the juniors, as is required by the ISMF regulations for a World Cup race.

But don't worry! Despite the changes, the route will be varied and technical, completely off the pistes, with sections of ridges and couloirs to overcome to reach each of the peaks.

On 14th and 15th January the race organizers will put in a skin track that will challenge the best racers in the world.

See you there,

COL Font Blanca