More than 3,000 Persons Took Part in the International Ski Race “Ski Track of Friendship”

On 10 March 2018, a mass ski race Ski Track of Friendship was held for countries of the Barents region in Rayakoski settlement in the Murmansk Oblast. TGC-1 was the traditional organiser of this international sporting event.

The unique ski race takes place across Russia, Finland, and Norway. Ski Track of Friendship originates in the village of Rayakoski, which is the northernmost point where the borders of the three states are connected. Everyone can join the track: for one day, the borders are open for athletes and fans of winter sports.

— For the twenty-first time, a small village welcomes a large number of skiing lovers. These competitions began as a border guard competition, but today it is an opportunity for everyone to participate in the race through three borders Every year, the number of participants increases, — said Alexey Tyukavin, First Deputy Governor of the Murmansk Oblast.

Traditionally, the race starts next to Rayakoski HPP of TGC-1. Power experts take part in organising the event and are responsible for piste preparation.

— The cross-border cooperation in the field of joint water use and electricity exports has served as a basis for development of close interaction of neighbouring countries. For us, Ski Track of Friendship is a symbol of the unity of our efforts, mutual understanding, and friendship of the three countries, — noted Stanislav Nazarov, Director of the Kolsky Branch of TGC-1.

Over 3,000 people took part in Ski Track of Friendship this year. Border guards opened the race, followed by professional athletes and amateur skiers.

Nikolay Mironov from the Republic of Karelia was the winner among the border guards. He passed the distance within 30 minutes 17 seconds.

Reference

Ski Track of Friendship was held in 1994 for the first time. The ski track passes through the territory of three countries. The race's uniqueness is that no visas are required for participants to cross borders.  Length of the ski track is 12 kilometers:

7 km across the territory of Russia,

4 km across the territory of Norway,

1 km across the territory of Finland.

The skiers' destination is the border of the three countries. From 1826, a rocky mound, 2 meters high and 2.5 metres in diameter, is assumed to be that point.

The Paz HPPs Cascade include five HHPs:  Kaitakoski, Yaniskoski, Rayakoski, Hevoskoski, and underground Borisoglebskaya HPP. All the stations operate in automatic mode. The are managed by the control point of Rayakoski HPP. The Paz Cascade allows for electricity export to Norway and Finland. The Cascade's installed capacity is 187.6 MW.