O-Ringen Magazine. Nr 2 - 2022

During the second
stage, all the courses
will reach the mountains
above the tree line.
STAGES 1 & 2
TRILLEVALLEN
Photo: Niclas Lidström
Stage 1, long distance, Trillevallen
O-Ringen Åre begins with a long distance
stage that mostly runs in the area where
many of Trillevallens cross-country ski
trails run. The ski tracks are prepared from
November and usually well into May. Here,
touring skiers with lunch bags and seating
pads in their backpacks meet both elite
skiers and exercisers with tight kilometre
times as their goal. Early spring usually offers
fantastic days with well-prepared tracks,
sun, and fantastic views. Closest to the tree
line, the area is dominated by mountain
birch forest where visibility is usually good.
The undergrowth is usually easy to walk
through, but where the forest becomes
sparser there can sometimes be denser willow
thickets to get through. Further down in
the terrain, there are mountain forests with
mostly spruce and birch. There is also some
pine, becoming more and more common
further down the mountain. There is very
little forestry in the area and the few new
and grown-up clearings that exist will only
be reached by the longer courses.
The youth classes up to and including
DH14, the open classes, the recreational
classes and the short classes will start in an
area with many ski tracks and hiking trails
with some bogs. Here, the terrain is at first
moderately hilly, but the longer courses
pass sections with more significantly hilly
terrain. Towards the arena, the hills increase,
but the courses mostly run slantwise so it
shouldn't be too tough. Other classes start
in sparse mountain birch forest just below
the treeline. Here, the terrain is very hilly
from start but most of the courses run at
the beginning before entering the same area
described above.
Stage 2, long distance, Trillevallen
During the second stage, all courses will
reach the mountains above the tree line. The
very shortest courses come to just above the
tree line, while the longer ones have most of
the courses higher up on the mountain. On
this stage, some courses will pass the top of
TRILLEVALLEN
the mountain Välliste, at the foot of which
the arena is located. The all-time highest
placed checkpoint on an O-Ringen will be
one of the checkpoints on this stage, with
an altitude of just over 1,000 meters above
sea level.
The elite classes and the longer difficult
courses have the toughest time as they start
a bit below the tree line with a string climb
TRILLEVALLEN
at the beginning of the courses. For these
classes, the courses start in an area with mostly
mountain birch, but with parts where fir
trees restrict visibility. The runability is really
good here. The difficulty lies in handling the
varying visibility, it is important to maintain
your orienteering when the visibility suddenly
becomes worse. Other courses start higher
up and have an easier start. On the mountain
» Arena Trillevallen
OL STAGE 1 LONG DISTANCE
Sunday 23 july 2023
ELITE TOUR STAGE 1 LONG DISTANCE
Sunday 23 july 2023
OL STAGE 2 LONG DISTANCE
Monday 24 july
ELITE TOUR STAGE 2 LONG DISTANCE
Monday 24 july
above the tree line the surface offers fast
runability. Here, you have to be careful with
the compass, as it is sometimes rather poor in
detail. Of course, it becomes extra important
to keep the direction when the sections go at
an angle. It is no fun to have lost altitude and
have to climb back up. The climbing is strong
for all courses, but when fatigue sets in towards
the end of the courses it is mostly downhill.
Photo: Peter Holgersson
22 O-RINGEN MAGAZINE NR 2 • 2022 O-RINGEN MAGAZINE NR 2 • 2022 23