The brand new 2022 Olympic Cross-Country venue is located outside the city of Zhangjiakou a couple of hours north of Beijing (with the Ski Jump and Biathlon venues located adjacent). The Cross-Country courses are built at an elevation between 1693 – 1721 meters. The venue has gone through a 5-year’s planning and construction process, and are now is its final stages of preparation for the Games in February.
The weather in the area is now turning cold, and the snowmaking system is ready to be turned on. The traditional snowmaking system consists of a large 200 000 m3 reservoir, an elaborate pump house and water system and over 70 hydrants around the courses. The system is fully automated with the newest technology where the consistency of the snow and the control of each snow-gun can be set from a central PC. Due to the dry climate in the winter months and minimum natural snow, the venue is totally dependent on the snowmaking system for skiing (the rain typically comes in August and September, and fills the reservoir).
With twenty snow-guns available it is still a lot of work for the operational staff to move the snow-guns around the 10 km course system – from section to section. It will take 5 – 6 weeks to lay the snow down, push the snow-piles out and groom the courses ready for skiing. With the expected consistently cold temperatures in November and December the operations can take place 24 hours a day in three shifts.
The venue’s grooming equipment consists of two Prinoth Bisons and two Prinoth Huskys (with respective quad- and dual track pans) machines, as well as snowmobiles with miscellaneous grooming attachments. The biathlon and Ski Jump venues have an equivalent machine park.
The first international use of the venue will take place during the December 2 – 5th Nordic Combined Continental Cup competitions, although last year the venue was used for a week of domestic competitions for the Chinese Cross-Country teams.
The Cross-Country courses are designed in cooperation with the Olympic Cross-Country broadcast director, and should present the sport in an optimal way. The terrain originally consisted of open fields with the lower parts used for cabbage production. In the last two years 10’s of thousands of trees have been planted to give better wind protection for the courses and provide a more varied landscape.
Last week, the courses were certified (homologated) by the International Ski Federation (FIS). They are demanding as required for Olympic competitions, but without super-long climbs. Undulating sections and a few technical downhills are included, and should be well liked by all skiers (see profile and plan of Olympic 7.5 km course below) .
During the Games, a few of the Cross-Country and all of the Nordic Combined competitions will take place during the evening.
