JRH Photography ¦ Gallery - Swiss Air Force at Patrouille des Glaciers 2010

Swiss Air Force @ Patrouille des Glaciers 2010

Words and Photographs by Julien Ritz

PDG. The Patrouille des Glaciers was created during World War II (39-45) thanks to two captains of the 10 Mountain Brigade (Rudolph Tissières and Roger Bonvin), while Switzerland was living under the threat of invasion. At that time, the 10 Mountain Brigade's mission was to defend the south-west of the Central Swiss Alps.

Ski Mountaineering Racing is said to be one of the hardest sports in the world and the Swiss Patrouille des Glaciers is perhaps the hardest of them all. The Patrouilles des Glaciers was held the first time in 1943 but because of an accident in 1949 stopped until 1984.

On foot and ski the runners run from Zermatt to Verbier a distance of 53 km with a vertical drop of more than 22'900ft (7'000m). From the start in Zermatt at 5300ft (1620m) they climb to the highest point at Tête Blanche 12'220ft (3724m) and further down and up again before they reach Verbier. The race is organized every two years. The 14th edition of the PDG which is still organized by the Swiss Army was held this year from April 21-25. More than 4300 participants from 17 countries participated in 2010.

MILITARY SIDE. For the Air Force Commander Markus Gygax, the Patrouille des Glaciers is testing the boundaries of several systems and is one of the largest and most complex real mission of the Army, as planning and logistics. During four weeks, the Air Force regularly fly with 3 to 6 SE.3160 Alouette III, 2 to 3 EC635P2+ (TH05) and 2 AS.332M1 Super Puma (TH89) to cover the enormous transportation needs in close collaboration with civil partners. During the five days of the race, two supplementary helicopters come as reinforcement.

The logistics center is situated in the Val d’Hérens. The organization starts in mid-March and ends in early May involving 330 soldiers. More than 80 tons of material is transported and distributed by helicopter in twelve different positions on the race route. All the material dropped in a sector is equipped by GPS to facilitate localization after the event.

The budget amounts to 6 million Swiss Francs and the work is enormous. Only the Army is able to achieve the mission successfully. It is also a great showcase for Swiss Army.