Heiko Weissinger, General Manager of Royal Canin in Malaysia, hadLim Ee Ming and See Olivia from Singapore as guests. The two are wholesalers for Royal Canin and took the opportunity to visit Alpen-Trail from their headquarters in Cologne. As you can see they had fun at the race especially the snow.

Currently visiting Heini Winter is Mike Holz and his wife Jackie. Heini and Mike have had a long time friendship. Heini Winter had a few dogs from Mike Holz’s kennel near Fairbanks, Alaska. Mike Holz earned his money with his construction company which he eventually sold and moved to Kentucky to retire. He bought a ranch and now raises cattle as a hobby. The dog in Mike’s jacket is a Toy Griffon, bred by Dagmar Kriegler. Info

Ekatarina Vaksova and Vladislav Onishchenko from Moscow came to Alpen-Trail to take a look how such a race is organized. At home in Moscow there are many sled dog owners so they would like to organize a sprint race there. They were put into action throughout the week in various positions.

01/21/2012 closing ceremony:
In the evening the closing ceremony took place in the Sport Hotel at the Rotwand slope. One saw only happy faces and that was so, because at Alpen-Trail there are only winners. The rookies have learned a completely new type of trail and if they were smart they could have gotten some tips from the “pros” by looking over their shoulders. There was only fantastic winter weather the whole week which provided additional exuberation.
After the dinner, Lutz Binzer thanked the staff, helpers, communities, sponsers and all those who made Alpen-Trail possible and then it was time to hand out the prizes. The first of the 6 and 8 dog race classes each received a sled from Ernst Danler. Pavel Sarkovsky got to take a new pair of cross country skis home with him. Heini Winter could celebrate a special anniversary this year. It was his tenth time that he won the Alpen-Trail as overall winner. Georg Hörmann (Royal Canin) gave a confident short speech in which he said he feels at home here among friends and friends don’t let their friends down. He promised that Royal Canin will still to support the race. After all the speeches were said the party began. Hardly anybody was sitting but was dancing to the music played by the live band. Lutz Binzer had to get up on stage and prove his singing ability as co-lead singer.

01/21/2012
Today is the last day of the race. It had snowed overnight which did some good to the hard trail from yesterday. At the start it was still cloudy. But photographers seem to be pessimists, the race just barely started, the sun came out and on top of the Nemes Alpe there was fantastic weather. It was all snowy with sunshine, usually a guarantee for great photos.
Helmut Peer and Martin Dickel didn’t really have a good start. On the slope Lukas Kriegler’s team got tangled up, but his daddy, Winfried Kriegler, stopped to help him out. This is what you call teamwork. Later in the race it started to become exciting. The people waiting at the finish line always had an eye at the ski lift to see who would be the first to come down. Suddenly, we saw Marte Heilemann and with some distance behind her was Heini Winter putting some pressure on her. But overall it was enough for Heini to win his 10^th Alpen-Trail. A great performance also made by Helumt Peer, who made it to third place before Lutz Binzer.
In the 6-dog class, Lukas Kriegler, who showed throughout the week a good performance, took the well-deserved stage win of the day. Sylvia Ulrich, the overall winner in this class, came in second ahead of Martin Dickel.
Pavel Sarkovsky, the only skijörer of four left, was the only one who made it to Sexten to the finish and thus the overall winner.

01/20/2012
This morning, snow and wind, not particularly friendly conditions for the sun spoiled Alpen-Trail mushers.
Last night at the pizzeria, Heini Winter said that this race will be a real thriller and this was also the case, because the top three positions were changed several times. Shortly behind the Kreuzberg Pass, Heini Winter was overtaken by Marte Heilemann on the flat part after the Nemes Alpe. He then came back and passed her with his six dogs, but on the steep trail to the Klammbach pasture he had to let her go by. After the Nemes Alpe the Norwegian drove into a hole and had only a short time to sort her team out. This opportunity was used by Helmut Peer to pass her. In the meantime Helmut Peer had also passed Heini Winter but on his way down the trail he had a collision with a spectator who was hiking up the mountain trail. The first at finish line in Sexten was Marte Heilemann before Heini Winter followed by Helmut Peer. The situation tomorrow for Heini Winter doesn’t look bad. Marte Heilemann will have to be 6:23 minutes faster to win the race. The Swiss Luzi Bernhard ran a very strong race today, fourth place before Volkmar Stuber and Lutz Binzer. Winfried Kriegler had some trouble with his lead dogs today. Up at the Klammbach Alm, they didn’t take the trail over the bridge, but wanted to go through the Klammbach creek. It took him some time until he got back to the other side on the trail. To make matters worse they even took the wrong trail down to the finish line and drove the trail from last night’s night race.
In the 6-dog class, the physics student Martin Dickel came first into the finish line. Sylvia Ulrich still had a respectable margin of 10 minutes before Martin Dickel and Lukas Kriegler and could drive in reassured. Lukas Kriegler led on the Klammbach Alm, but could not hold the position before Martin Dickel. Sylvia Ulrich stayed behind and had to make sure that her distance wasn’t too great. As usual, Thorsten Ballas was before the pure breed teams of Dave Arnold and Nino Neubauer. The Dutchman Leon Ruiten was between them and the rest of the troop. Again a lonely battle with himself in the new snow was the Czech Pavel Sarkovsky in skijoring.

01/19/2012
Unfortunately, there is no detailed race report of the night race. Black dogs in the black night, otherwise you could not see much. You can take a look at the results. The transportation department made a very nice atmosphere, with torches on the trail and music at the start-finish area. Afterwards, the two Alpen-Trial cooks Dieter and Karl-Heinz made something delicious to eat. Arriving today were the representatives of our sponsor from Royal Canin, led by Heiko Weissinger and Georg Hörmann.  

01/18/2012
Actually, the daily report should have been finished ready, but after a long night sitting with friends in Tuscherhof Hotel, I’m just starting to write it, today. Most of the staff has already gone to Sexten to prepare the trail for the night race, which will count in the overall results this year. The first place winner of the first three stages is now second in the fourth stage. So that means Marte Heilemann was at the top in the fourth stage, followed by Heini Winter and Volkmar Stuber. Lutz Binzer, despite stiff leg is in fourth place, followed by Helmut Peer only two minutes behind. They were followed by Winfried Kriegler and Luzi Bernhard before the two Austrians Gerhard Offer and Erwin Föger. Although, Christian Moser, is in last place in this class, but it's nice to see the enjoyment he has in the race. No matter if he’s going up or down the mountains, he is always smiling all the way.
For the first time in the 6-dog class, the young rookie Martin Dickel made it to the top of the victory podium. Sylvia Ulrich still could lead by a minute before Lukas Kriegler, who mastered the race after his fall from the previous day. He was followed by Thorsten Ballas before the pure breed teams of Dave Arnold, Nino Neubauer, and followed by the Dutchman Leon Ruiten. Christian Münkel and Johannes Wahrhausen who seemed slow to get going are within the time limit.
The skijörer Janovsky Pavel had to turn back after a few meters, because his dog would not run. Pavel Sarkovsky also had some bad luck with his ski binding. They broke on the way up to Plätzwiese. He went the whole distance by foot. It was decided get him a replacement ski from the stakeout. Daniele Bartolini, the snowmobile driver from the staff, raced down with his snowmobile to meet Pavel with the new skis. Then Pavel was able continue the final kilometers on skis. He is now the only participant in this class and it is already clear that he is the winner, but he also has to face three more difficult stages.

01/17/2012
The teams had to conquer 51 km and 1743 elevation, today. Early this morning it was -14°C (5°F), but slowly got warmer as the race went on and choosing the right wax for the runners was a matter of luck. There were a few road crossing that had to be master after the start. Then it went up to known trail past Brückele over to the toboggan run to Plätzweise. Here the enthusiastic spectators often saw several teams at one time. Then it went down to Schluderbach where the Italian ladies fell in love with the beautiful sled dogs with their blue eyes.

Again, Heini Winter was fastest team to the finish; he needed for the 51 km, 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Marte Heilemann, now with eight dogs in the race, came in three minutes after into the finish. Helmut Peer was happy to a place on the victory podium and said that the race has started to really begin. Helmut Peer is certainly trying to improve his position in the total standings. Volkmar Stuber was “only” fourth, but is still in second place overall. Marte Heilemann is just under a minute behind. Lutz Binzer had another good run. He came in just 30 seconds later after Volkmar Stuber. Behind them arrived the two Austrians Erwin Gerhard Offer and Erwin Föger, before the Swiss Luzi Bernhard.

In the 6-dog class Sylvia Ulrich arrived first, again. It was certainly tight for her, because Lukas Kriegler drove a fantastic race today. He was able to hang on to Heini Winter for awhile, but on the descent to the Stolla pasture he had a crash. The dogs were ok and fortunately the team was able to be stopped after a few meters by a trail checker. Lukas had slid down a small hill and had to fight his way up through the loose snow. He limped back to team with some pain, and got on the sled and drove on. He has some problems with his knee and we all hope that he can go back to the start, tomorrow. Luckily, Lukas still landed in third place. Martin Dickel was happy with his position today. He is now in third place overall with a minute behind Lukas Kriegler, followed by Thorsten Ballas. Still in lead with the pure breed mushers is the Swiss David Arnold. He was able to enjoy smoking his pipe after the race. Nino Neubauer, a rookie, who still does not know the trail every well, did a good job and arrived way before Christian Münkel to the finish.

Pavel Janovsky started as favorite in the skijöring class with only one dog, but had to give up the day’s victory to his countryman Pavel Sarkovsky.
Tonight, at the Gasthof Tuscherhof is the musher evening with dinner, there will be certainly some good stories to be told of the day’s happening on the trail.

01/15/2012
Vincent Stuber along with his brother and sister in their home in distant Wurzelbühl will be anxiously looking into the computer to see the results of today. But not worry, daddy Volkmar was very successful today and finished in second place after Heini Winter. In order to better control her team downhill, Marte Heilemann went out today with only 6 dogs. However, she lost some uphill time. Lutz Binzer just missed his place on the podium coming in fourth. He was followed by Helmut Peer and Winfried Kriegler. In this class, all mushers had the same position as yesterday.
There was a little more movement in the 6-dog class. Sylvia Ulrich kept the men at bay, but Martin Dickel was close on her heels, followed by Lukas Kriegler. Thorsten Ballas could not keep the pace. First teams in with purebred dogs are Dave Arnold from Switzerland and was closely followed by the youngest participant in the field, Nino Neubauer from Königssee by only a minute. Dave Arnold and Nino Neubauer are both very athletic and there should be an exciting battle between the two.
It was bad news for the skijörer, Ernst Wuchterl. He had to give up his race bib to race marshal Aad Hekkers of the Netherlands, because he crashed into a protruding rock and obtained some bruises on his “rump”. It is not all so bad as Ernst assured me. He wants to go home and train some more, but for the strenuous Alpen-Trail you have to be one hundred percent fit. He’ll be coming back on Friday to Sexten to watch the end of the race. Remaining in this class are only Pavel Janovsky and Pavel Sarkovsky after the Swiss Andreas Ziltener, had to go home after exceeding the time limit.

01/14/2012
Today finally marks the start of the 15th Alpen-Trail. The mushers were released into the wonderful mountain panorama of the Biosphere in Val Müstair, a Swiss nature reserve with unique fauna and flora. The Skijörers were sent out a half hour before the main field.  Pavel Janovsky of the Czech Republic took the lead, followed by Ernst Wuchterl of Germany. It was a visual treat to watch Pavel Janovsky on the trail; he sovereignly rushed down the slopes and of course was also very strong going uphill. His time would have made it to 6th place in the 6-dog class. It would be very hard for Ernst Wuchterl to catch up for lost time. Very close behind Ernst is the Czech Pavel Sarkowsky by only 2 minutes. No matter what position, the trail is a huge challenge for all to tackle.

Then at 10 o’clock the 6-dog class started. The fastest among the rookies was not an unknown name, Lukas Kriegler of Germany; who made his Alpen-Trail debut by taking second place. As it was expected, the fastest time of the day was Sylvia Ulrich of Germany. On the way back, Lukas Kriegler had lost some time against Sylvia Ulrich. In third place was Thorsten Ballas of Germany, followed by Martin Dickel of Germany. Thorsten Ballas will have to work to keep his position against the Lukas Kriegler. In the Nordic Breed faction, Dave Arnold of Switzerland took the lead followed by the rookie Nino Neubauer of Germany, whose father has repeatedly won the Trans-Thüringia sled dog race, then followed by Christian Münkel, who is also a first time musher in the Alpen-Trail.

In the "champions league" there were several surprises. The favorite, Marte Heilemann of Norway, took a disappointing third place. Heini Winter of Germany, known for his fast times, came in first place. He was the fastest on the descent and on the return from S-charl. Volkmar Stuber of Germany shoved himself inconspicuously between Marte and Heini to take second place. Certainly one of the favorites is Helmut Peer of Austria, but he lost some time to Heini by 10 minutes, but now the stages are coming that are more advantages for Helmut Peer. Lutz Binzer started with a strong team, drove downhill with the same time as Helmut Peer and on the return he gained four minutes over Helmut Peer. Winfried Kriegler of Germany took 6th place in front of the two Austrians Gerhard Offer and Erwin Föger.

The trail was in good condition, there was surprisingly not huge amount of snow on the trail, but it was enough snow to make an excellent trail. There were a few problems, especially for the rookies on the sloping curves. All mushers arrived safely to their destination. The Biosphere, Val Müstäir had organized a program in Lü. Among other things, a chainsaw artist carved an eagle out of a piece of wood. This was auctioned in the evening by Winfried Kriegler in a funny American way. Heini Winter won the auction and may take the eagle home.

01/13/2012
The weather showed it's best side in Lü with a great mountain panarama. However, an icy cold blew between our ears as we came out of our cars.  The wind is also a problem for the trail markers, because they are partially blown away at the ridge of the mountain. But it's possible to go around these areas and still get to S-Charl as planned. The musher field has becoming thiner this year. The advantage is that there is more space at the stake out for all of us and not only that, it also provides a good atmosphere. At 8:00 p.m. is the musher meeting.

01/12/2012
Still fantastic weather in Lü, Switzerland. Forecast for Saturday and Sunday, sunny and very cold.
The trail is groomed and in very good condition. The trail is the same as last year for the exception of some small deviations.
Tomorrow Thorsten Kreft , Roberto Bartolini and Daniele Gerolami will begin putting in the trail markers.
The two Swedes, Kenth Smitt and Olle Rosén have arrived safely, today.

01/11/2012
Perfect weather in Lü.
Lutz Binzer and Kristiane Zöllner have begun with the preparations. Everything is going as planned.
Race Marshal Aad Hekkers arrived today.
Marte Heilemann has arrived at Erwin Föger and Gerhard Offer in Austria and they are completing their last training sessions.
Heini Winter and Mike Holz have driven to Langtaufers in South Tyrol for the finishing touches.

Report from Hans Rogg, translated by Klaus Czeranna