Chinanews.com, Beijing, January 5th, title: How can "Snow Feiyan" take off in the nesting Xiaohaituo Mountains?

　　Reporter Guo Chaokai Wang Hao

　　At the foot of the Great Wall, which is 130 kilometers away from Tiananmen Square and on the shore of Guishui, is the second highest peak in Beijing-Haituo Mountain. On the south side of the mountain, the National Alpine Ski Center is built on the mountain.

Looking down from the top of the mountain at an altitude of 2,198 meters, the 7 ski trails of the National Alpine Ski Center are like white waterfalls, "flowing" from the top of the mountain to the valley.

　　From site selection to construction to snow making before the game, how did the "Snow Feiyan" nest in Xiaohaituo Mountain in this "four no" mountainous area that used to have no roads, water, electricity, and communications?

What attitude will you take to welcome the arrival of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics?

Site selection: repeated inspections around Beijing to lock down Xiaohaituo Mountain

　　Starting from downtown Beijing to the northwest, if there is no traffic jam, it takes about 2 hours to drive to the Yanqing competition area of ​​the Beijing Winter Olympics at the southern foot of Xiaohaituo Mountain.

The National Alpine Ski Center is located in it, and it looks like a flying swallow from a distance.

According to legend, Haituo Mountain, where the venue is located, was transformed from the feathers dropped by the Dapeng bird. "Snow" is the element of the Winter Olympics, and "Feiyan" is the auspicious bird. The combination of the two gives the reputation of "Snow Feiyan".

　　In the past, although there were some well-known alpine skiing venues in northern China, these venues did not meet the standards of the International Snow Federation and the Winter Olympics.

To successfully bid for the Winter Olympics, Beijing must find a suitable venue for the alpine skiing event.

　　Hui Shiqiao, the media director of the National Alpine Ski Center, told reporters from Chinanews.com that the International Snow Federation has a "hard target" requirement for the alpine skiing venue, that is, the vertical drop of the snow mountain must reach 800 meters, and the track length must be no less than 3,000 meters.

But in fact, there are not many snow-capped mountains around Beijing with a vertical drop of more than 800 meters.

　　The bid is imminent, and site selection has become an urgent problem.

In April 2013, the relevant person in charge of the China Winter Sports Management Center went to Yanqing to inspect the three alternative sites of Haituo Mountain, Nanhouding and Fenghuangtuo, and chose Haituo Mountain as the first choice.

At that time, the location of the venue was mainly concentrated on the east slope of Haituo. After field investigation, experts believed that the terrain of the east slope was too steep and not suitable for competition.

Therefore, finding the right track has become one of the important early tasks.

　　Gao Xuedong, secretary-general of the China Ski Association, said in an interview earlier that after more than 10 field visits, the expert team initially concluded that the topography and geomorphology of the southern foot of Xiaohaituo Mountain can meet the requirements of the world's first-class downhill competition venue.

This direction not only meets the "hard targets" in terms of height and drop, but can also design a ski track longer than 3000 meters.

　　In 2014, the International Olympic Committee went to Xiaohaituo Mountain for an inspection. Xu Jianxi, secretary of Kecun Village, Xidazhuang, Yanqing District, led 6 people to climb Haituo Mountain and Yudu Mountain from different directions for more than 40 days. A number of hiking trails were cleared out of the 2-meter-high bushes.

The effort paid off. After surveys, inspections, and inspections by the Chairman of the International Snow Federation’s Alpine Committee, Xiaohaituo Mountain was finally determined as the construction site of the National Alpine Ski Center.

Construction: Build "Snow Feiyan" in the "Four Nos" mountainous area

　　After determining the location, the next step is construction.

　　But how easy is it to build a modern alpine skiing venue that meets the Olympic standards in the lofty mountains?

The weather in the mountains is more like a child's face, and it is changeable.

The sun is still shining in the morning, and there may be heavy fog at noon. Later, the fog may turn into torrential rain or hail. During the period, there will be strong winds of more than eight levels, which has caused great difficulties for the construction team.

　　The National Alpine Ski Center is called the "three most" projects in the Beijing Winter Olympics venues: the highest altitude, the worst environment, and the most difficult construction.

Different from building high buildings on the ground and building "Snow Feiyan" in the mountains, the primary problem is how to transport building materials, food, water and other materials from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain.

Huishiqiao said that in the initial stage of construction, the transportation of materials could only be carried out in the primitive way of "people carrying horses and horses".

The project team hired dozens of mules and horses from local villagers to carry construction and construction equipment up the mountain little by little.

After the construction road is repaired in the later stage, the equipment will be transported up with trucks, hoists, etc.

In this way, after nearly 5 years of construction, the Yanqing competition area of ​​Xiaohaituo Mountain is now established.

　　In this “four nos” mountainous area that used to have no roads, water, electricity, and communications, the majority of builders overcame difficulties and built the country's first alpine ski track that meets the Olympic standards.

At the end of December 2020, the National Alpine Ski Center was officially completed and delivered. The center has built 7 tracks. The total length of the track is about 10 kilometers. The maximum vertical drop is over 900 meters. One of the most difficult alpine skiing competition venues.

At the same time, "Snow Feiyan" also has ancillary facilities such as the starting area on the top of the mountain, the intermediate platform, the end of the competition area, the end of the competition area, the distribution plaza, and the ropeway, which can accommodate about 8,000 people to watch the game at the same time.

　　It is worth mentioning that in summer sports, basketball courts and football fields have clear standard sizes and specifications.

However, in the Winter Olympics, there is no uniform standard for the alpine skiing venue, except for the "hard indicators" such as vertical drop and track length.

In other words, the alpine skiing venues of different Winter Olympics are not the same.

It is precisely because of this that the alpine skiing event of each Winter Olympics only wins the first place and there is no world record.

　　"In the words of the experts from the International Snow Federation, the sport of alpine skiing is different from summer sports. Each mountain has its own character and characteristics, and each track will bring different challenges to athletes. Some tracks have more ups and downs. There are more jumping points on the track, and some tracks have more complicated terrain, so there are more turns and slopes. Like our track, there are not only very big undulations and corners, but also a very rare bowl-shaped track. , It integrates all the technical difficulties of the track, so there is no uniform standard for the track itself." Huishiqiao explained.

Snow making: Snow making during the game started in November last year

　　In order to facilitate the athletes to travel to and from their respective tracks during the competition, the National Alpine Ski Center has constructed 9 aerial ropeways and 2 towing ropeways, with a total length of 10.3 kilometers, connecting the areas of Yanqing Winter Olympic Village and Alpine Ski Center.

It takes only about 30 minutes to take the ropeway from the foot of the mountain to the starting point of the speed track on the top of the mountain.

　　When the reporter visited the National Alpine Ski Center, it was already in the middle of winter, and the outdoor temperature fell below minus 10 degrees Celsius.

The "Xue Feiyan" staff are enthusiastically doing the final preparations for the Winter Olympics.

　　In the departure area on the top of the mountain, reporters occasionally ran into Chinese and foreign staff holding skis and tools.

The seven tracks and technical roads of the National Alpine Ski Center are being covered with snow.

The water mist sprayed by the snow generators installed on both sides of the track is naturally atomized in the air and quickly condenses into snow falling from the sky, and then the staff manipulates the snow blower to smooth the layers of snow.

　　The snowmaking work of the National Alpine Ski Center will be from top to bottom, starting from the starting area on the top of the mountain, starting from the top area of ​​the racing track and technical road, and gradually advancing towards the end area.

In order to ensure that the highest glide speed of competitors can reach 130-140 kilometers per hour, the International Snow Federation has strict requirements on the hardness of the ski slopes, so snow making is the most critical link.

　　Hui Shiqiao told reporters that on November 15 last year, the stadium started to make snow during the game. The snow trails will be shaped in mid-to-late December, and ice-like snow will be made two or three days before the official game.

According to the requirements of the competition, the surface of the piste must maintain a crystalline state, which is similar to the ice surface. This kind of snow is called ice-like snow.

Ice-like snow can reduce the friction between the snowboard and the ski trail, making the ski trail not easy to be destroyed, and ensuring the surface of the ski trail is flat and smooth when the athlete turns at a high speed.

In this way, no matter which player is the first player to play, the state of the slope is relatively perfect to ensure the fairness of the game.

　　From site selection to construction and then to snowmaking, "Snow Feiyan" has risen from this "four no" mountain area and nested in Xiaohaituo Mountain in the past 9 years.

The snowmaking work of "Snow Feiyan" is still in progress, and related preparations are being carried out in an orderly manner, only waiting for the official arrival of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.

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