Blue Sky Dreams – History of Skyrunning

Skyrunning has firmly embedded itself into the Australian and New Zealand trail scene via events such as the Hillary and Mt Difficulty in New Zealand and Buller, Buffalo and the new Vertical K happening next weekend in Australia. While these races do an admirable job emulating their bigger-mountain cousins in the northern hemisphere, the epitome – not to mention the origins – of Skyrunning is found in Italy and within the hearts and minds of founders, Lauri van Houten and Marino Giacometti.

With the inaugural Vertical K happening locally (Victoria, Australia) in just over a week’s time, we present Talk Ultra’s Ian Corless who catches up with Skyrunning’s godparents on home turf. 

Words and images: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra

NOTE: this is an extended excerpt from Edition #18 of Trail Run Mag. For the full article download the edition for FREE at www.trailrunmag.com/magazines.

Biella, Italy.

A trickle of piano noise from the local music school weaves its way through open window shutters left ajar to allow some breeze, the heat of the day can be stifling. It feels and sounds like a scene in a movie. Cobbled streets, stone arches, a wonderful old square, the chatter of children playing and the smell of freshly brewed cappuccino in the air.

Biella, or should I say, the International Skyrunning Federation HQ (and home of Lauri van Houten and Marino Giacometti) is atop a hill in a walled village close to the Aosta valley, just over an hour from Chamonix and in close proximity to Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn. It seems the perfect location for the home of pure mountain running. Biella lies in the foothills of the Alps in the Bo mountain range near Mt. Mucrone and Camino.

webIMG_7459

IMAGE: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra

“We moved here as the sports brand Fila were based here. In the 90’s they were a key sponsor for Skyrunning,” says Lauri van Houten, Executive Director for the International Skyrunning Federation.

“When Fila folded, we were left with a dilemma; should we stay or should we go? Stay we did and it feels natural and relaxed to be here now.”

 Mountains dominate the life of Marino and Lauri. It’s not a job; it’s a passion that dominates 12+ hours of every day. You will see the dynamic duo at all the Skyrunner World Series races every year. In total, that is 15 events in 3 disciplines, VK (Vertical Kilometre), Sky and Ultra. But these worldwide events are just the visible face of what the ISF does. Behind the scenes it’s a frenetic, highly-pressured stream of telephone calls, emails, logistical planning and negotiations that make the Skyrunner World Series tick.

web iancorless.com-0805

IMAGE: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra

It’s a scenario far removed from 1989 when Giacometti set a record running from the village of Alagna to the summit of Monte Rosa. 25-years of mountain running and today, iconic names such as Bruno Brunod and Fabio Meraldi are once again being talked about in the same breath as Kilian Jornet.

“Older generations were already Skyrunners. My grandfather crossed the mountains working, for example. ‘We’ as Skyrunners added more speed but in essence it has always been the same thing, Skyrunners have always existed.” Bruno Brunod says.

“What I liked was going quickly to the summit. I felt the same when I was a kid in the pastures, I always ran up and down the summits that surrounded me. It is something I felt inside, something I liked.”

In 2012, Skyrunning went through a revival. After careful and strategic planning, the ISF launched the new Sky Ultra Marathon Series with Transvulcania La Palma and a seminar, ‘Less Cloud, More Sky.’ The sport moved up a notch and became something that runners all over the world aspired to. It’s was dubbed the ‘the next big thing’ but as Giacometti explains, “there is nothing new in Skyrunning. It is just now that everyone is catching up with our vision from so many years ago.”

web iancorless.com-0727

IMAGE: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra

Midway through the 2014 season, between Ice Trail Tarentaise and Trofeo Kima, I spend time with Lauri and Marino at their home in the mountains (the Casina) Corteno Golgi to get an inside look at what makes this couple tick and how the calendar and its logistics fall into place.

‘Casina’, Corteno Golgi. Italy.

The ‘Casina’ is a mountain house in Corteno Golgi close to Marino’s birthplace of San Antonio. Spread over two floors it is almost two completely different buildings. Upstairs is all wood, a combination of rustic/ modern and a wonderfully relaxing place that has been heavily influenced by Lauri. Downstairs is the original building, un-touched for years and one that harks back to Marino’s past. The garage is a Skyrunning museum of ice axes, helmets, shoes, race bibs, clothing, videos and old slides.

Surrounded by green fields and mountains on either side I suddenly see Marino in a new light. He is at home. He points at peaks and explains his childhood, his passions and I suddenly feel very honoured and privileged.

webIMG_8383

IMAGE: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra

The African Attachment (TAA) arrive tomorrow and you are going to be able to spend a couple of days in the mountains with Marino,” says Lauri.

“They are filming a piece on Skyrunning and they want to take Marino back to his childhood, revisit old haunts and film Marino running in the mountains.”

I met Dean Leslie and Greg Fell from The African Attachment at Transvulcania La Palma back in 2012 and since then we have kept in-touch and often crossed paths at races all over the world. I am excited at the guys arriving and the opportunity to work alongside them and shoot stills, a real perk of the job. Photographer, Kelvin Trautman is directing the film and although I haven’t met him before, we soon hit it off and I realise what is in store: two awesome days in the mountains.

web iancorless.com-9259

IMAGE: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra

The evening turns amazing. The sky is adorned with clouds and as we climb with cameras, Marino runs to the instructions of Kelvin. Looking for ridges and technical lines, Marino embraces the challenge and is arguably having the most fun he has had in ages. Days don’t get much better than this… at the summit of Monte Padrio the light is incredible and as the sun disappears for the day we are rewarded with a colour palette of orange, red and gold. Marino is in silhouette on the Skyline and I realise I am in a moment, a moment that I won’t ever forget.

The following day starts early with a short drive and we are suddenly looking at Marino’s childhood home. Marino laughs as he recounts boyhood memories.

“I used to go mushroom picking in this area.”

Following him up the trail, Kelvin wants Marino to go back 50-years to those mischievous days as a boy. Immediately Marino finds a mushroom, he removes his Buff and ties a knot in one end to create a cloth bag. Moving left to right on the trail, the bag slowly fills with the rewards from the land.

“In the Valle Campo Vecchio I would go skinny dipping in the river.”

webIMG_8243

IMAGE: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra

Marino may well have regretted this sentence as just an hour later he was running along grass banks barefoot and then submerging himself in the ice cold river water from the mountains.

The warmth of the log burner in the Casina provided that ultimate feeling of contentment that one longs for after a day in the mountains. Marino’s body was aching, his legs heavy from the repeated running but beneath a tired façade I knew he had had a good day.

“We have plans for some very exciting races at high altitude that will be very technical in future years. 2012 was an important stepping-stone. Less Cloud. More Sky was an important phase in the development of Skyrunning. One thing that was apparent is the desire from runners for technical and high altitude sport. So, here we are following our heritage for a new era.”

I wondered: was it a happy coincidence that the revival of Skyrunning coincided with the rise of Kilian Jornet?

web bIMG_3500

IMAGE: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra

“It is no coincidence!” says Lauri. “Bruno Brunod was Kilian’s hero. Kilian followed his dreams from the inspiration Bruno provided, Kilian is now the epitome of Skyrunning.”

Kilian first arrived on the scene in 2006 and impressed immediately. He was a natural Skyrunner. As the profile of Kilian has grown, so has Skyrunning. It seems a natural process of evolution of the sport and to that end Marino confirmed his plans for the future.

“We need to expand, to grow and introduce Skyrunning to a new audience. We will go back to our roots moving forward. We would love to do a race from Cervinia or Chamonix to the summit of Mont-Blanc but this is not for everyone!”

As the day comes to an end, final preparations are made for Trofeo Kima. Kima, as it is affectionately known, is a shining beacon that personifies Skyrunning.

…continued. READ THE FULL ARTICLE by downloading you free edition (18) of Trail Run Mag at www.trailrunmag.com/magazines.

webIMG_8216

IMAGE: Ian Corless / Talk Ultra


 

Trail Run Mag Edition 18


 

Larapinta strip


STATIC_FOR_EDM_TNF_MA_RUNNING_600x300

New Skyrun series

Question: has trail running just grown grassroots style, Screen shot 2013-01-11 at 2.23.50 PMor has it exploded,   splattering dirt all over the running community like a pig in the proverbial?

It would seem the latter with new events now springing up every second week – witness the Up The Buff in Queensland (March), the Forrest Half in Victoria (June), the Baw Baw Trail Run Festival, also in Victoria (9-11 March), the new mid-distance Sydney Trail Run Series by Mountain Sports (on top of its shorter distance series already underway), and now news of a new mountain running series of five races throughout Victoria.

Okay, so the races themselves are not all new – the series consists of a string of long held favourite stand-alone events on the Vic calendar, those being Paul Ashton and Running Wild’s:  

  • Mount Buller Skyrun – 3 Feb & 27 October
  • Alpine Challenge – 16-18 March
  • Prom 100 – 27 April
  • Razorback Run – 23 November

Screen shot 2013-01-11 at 2.23.40 PMThe ‘new’ in the news here is that La Sportiva has hopped on board as naming rights sponsor (hell yes, we give credit to any sponsor who comes on board…they are supporting the sport we love, so hats off…), and the line up will now be known as the La Sportiva Mountain Running Series.

No news on what that means in terms of someone vying for a Series crown, but to knock off all these events in one season would be a huge achievement in itself.

Ashton reports that in addition to these classic ultra-distance races he is introducing a brand new mountain run event in October, a short course event offering three distances of 14/21/31km. To be held at the Lake Mountain Resort – recently in the news for hitting troubled financial waters with a new administrator brought in to hold fort and, by the looks, revitalise visitation to the mountain – The Lake Mountain Skyrun will explore some pretty fine territory (and hopefully do exactly what its new custodians want in bringing people up to the mountain).

Screen shot 2013-01-11 at 2.23.29 PMAustralia’s representatives for La Sportiva say they are excited about the future of trail running in Australia and their first foray into sponsorship of the sport.

“We are super keen to be working with Paul and supporting his ultra mountain running events. La Sportiva’s home is in the Dolomites and their core values and history is in the mountains. Our Australian Alps might not be Dolomites, but they certainly no walk in the park with events such as Paul’s Running Wild Classics. We see it as a great partnership and it will be an exciting year ahead.” says Matt Adams General Manager Expedition Equipment La Sportiva Australia, also adding “I’m training up to being able to run at one of the races this year!”

One, Matt? Only one? Step up, son…you’re part of the scene now…

Those interested in the Skyrun events can  check into and like Facebook at: www.facebook.com/LaSportivaMountainRunningSeries13.

More details on all of Running Wild’s events found at www.runningwild.net.au/