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The Lauberhorn cup has one of the richest histories when it comes to alpine skiing. The Bern Alps were where Alpine Skiing competitions were born. Wengen gained worldwide recognition by hosting the downhill race every year. A race where legends are born and the stories passed down from generation to generation.

The Lauberhorn slope is the longest in the World Cup Championship and Alpine Skiing lovers know all about its famous jumps and turns.

START

The view from the starting point is, by far, the most beautiful of them all. Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau are three of the famous mountains that dominate the area. Skiers shouldn’t be distracted by their beauty; they are facing two and a half minutes of hell.

THE RUSSI JUMP

The upper part of the slope is not particularly difficult, so the Swiss commissioned Bernhard Russi, to build an artificial jump that could be broadcasted well and also analysed on TV. Armin Assinger was the first to fall on the jump; he was injured during the training session which took place on the slope.

HUNDSCHOPF

This is what separates the “boys” from the “men”. The passage is very narrow. On the right- hand side there’s a security net, on the left-hand side, just metres of rocks. The jump used to be much longer, but was shortened for security reasons.

THE MINSCH-KANTE

Is minor jump, which inclines to one side requiring the skier to make a turn to the right. In 1965, Jos Minsch didn’t manage to make this turn which resulted in injury. Back in the 60’s, there weren’t any security nets and Minsch fell all the way to the railway tracks; causing him to spend 9 weeks in hospital.

THE CANADIAN CORNER

A long right-hand turn following the Minsch-Kante. The skier has to balance himself on his left ski, whilst handling immense forces as he takes the turn. This part of the course is named after Canadian skiers, Dave Irwin and Ken Read who attacked this turn too aggressively and subsequently fell during the race in 1976.

THE BRÜGGLI “S” or THE KERNEN “S”

A very difficult passage in which to navigate and is usually frozen over at this part of the course.  The skier faces it with speeds of up to 100km/h. The passage is narrow and requires a combination of a right and left turn. The skiers must keep a speed of at least 80kmph when exiting it for a chance to win. It requires an excellent perception of space and quick reactions to pull this S-turn off. The skiers Brüggli and Kernen both had difficulty with it.

THE WATER STATION

The course passes under a funicular railway through a tunnel, but this part isn’t considered as difficult.

LAGENTREIEN

A less steep part of the slope, where the skier can take a breath and think about whether he did well in the Brüggli S or not. It’s essential that the skier has a good technique for sliding and that he turns correctly. It’s impossible to catch up in this section, but a lot of it can be lost.

HANEGGSCHUSS

A very steep part of the slope, with no turns, which results in the skiers reaching 150kmph, the extreme even by downhill standards. The slope is rarely smooth in this area, so it’s difficult to keep balance.

THE FINAL “S”

After two minutes and twenty seconds of skiing, every competitor is already exhausted, but they still have the final S to look forward to. It’s an extremely complicated turn, which is usually frozen. Skiers enter it at great speed and it takes the last of their strength to keep the skis steady and jump into the final arena. Last year the final “S” was widened and the jump shortened, because it was so dangerous. In 1991, Gernot Reinstadler flew into the net during training and died. It was the darkest day in the history of Lauberhorn, and the downhill wasn’t held that year.