"On snow and ice" for historic vehicles was held for the third time on January 19, 2013. The "pièce de résistance" of this year's event was the Gottschalkenberg above Zug. A good dozen of them tackled the approximately 80 kilometers on roads that were sometimes covered in deep snow.
Down to business on the Ratenpass
After an initially undemanding route from Zug, over the Kistenpass above Menzingen, via the Rothenturm plateau and over the Wäniberg near Einsiedeln, the dozen or so riders reached the Ratenpass. There it really got down to business. The 12-kilometer forest road around the Gottschalkenberg - partly without winter maintenance - demanded everything from the vehicle, driver and co-driver. Tracks in the snow indicated 4x4 off-roaders.
"What such a modern vehicle - packed with electronics - can do, my 40-year-old can do too," some may have thought and plunged into the adventure. Unploughed downhill passages with the sign "no winter service", gradients of up to 15%, in between ideally ploughed, nervous stretches offered everything that winter can "conjure out of its hat" in terms of snow and ice for classic bikes.
Confidence in your own driving skills, knowing your own limits and those of the car, made you forget about approach aids, 100% locks and similar bells and whistles that patronize the driver. A real challenge. Everyone reached the finish. No incidents worth mentioning.
Pre- and post-war fraction in action
A glance at the start list showed the diversity of the registered classics. Two open "pre-war" cars - a Riley and an Austin Monoposto - a 3-liter Carrera, two Porsche 944s, the Maserati Mistral of the well-known restorer Edy Schorno, the MGB GT with Jacqueline Abrecht, the only woman at the wheel, were also part of the icy troupe, as were the perfectly restored Volvo 544 rally car of the Schumachers from Lucerne, the quirky Citroen Ami of Christian Heussi and the Aflenzer rally driver Gerd Schüler, who had traveled from Germany.
And finally this: The 'On Snow and Ice' event is no "Pickerlscheissen", as rally star Walter Röhrl once called classic car rallies with watch fetishists, grim hose tests and on-board computers. Fun and vehicle control were the only criteria.
"On snow and ice" will also take place next winter. A dozen starting places are once again available.
