This season Alpine World cup has now reached fever pitch. The male contingent will, after the Swiss tour, stop in Kitzbühel, Austria, for the 71st Hahnenkamm Cup, while its female counterpart will be visiting the cosmopolitan Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy. These races attract each year millions of television viewers, but also bring a huge number of spectators to the tracks themselves. This year would be no exception if it wasn’t for the weather that has been disrupting the competition for the 3rd week in a row.

For my part, I have noticed for the past few years that New Year is often followed by a sharp rise in temperature. The Föhn, a warm wind as it is called in the ski world has of late regularly threatened to disrupt the races taking place in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Adelboden, and Wengen, have had huge problems in recent seasons, and managed only with strenuous effort to bring the competition to completion. This year, the Swiss have been lucky to get enough snow and consequently had ample snow cover to proceed with the races, despite the spring-like temperatures.
Of course, the preparation of the competitive tracks in these conditions becomes a much bigger challenge. The organisers resorted in this instance to salt and artificial PTX. First, a layer of snow is removed from the track, by a snow groomer, which is then covered with a synthetic material that is sprayed with water before being covered again with the final layer of snow. This operation is repeated just before the race, albeit without the use of the snow groomer. Thus not spelling the best prospects for the competition or competitors for that matter! A bleaker prospect awaits the skiers placed higher up in the starting line-up. They will find it much harder to achieve any kind of good results. In the past, the Swiss have also had troubles with environmentalists who would not allow the use the PTX. But that threat has been removed as the State implemented a law that empowers ski race officials to do whatever they see fit in order to salvage a race.
It all seemed that the matter would be settled before the week end, and that winter temperatures would be greeting racers. But as it happened, the drop has failed to materialise on time and not all downhill trainings could be completed on the famous Streif track as it was still raining in the lower segment of the track only last Wednesday.
Workers were toiling day and night, trying to consolidate the snow on time for the first race. Later, on Wednesday night, the rain turned to snow. However, bad weather has now been forecast for the week end. Fog should also join the party. Let us not forget that, in the past, fog has already forced a few races to be cancelled at the foot of the Hahnenkamm Mountain.
No matter what, Günther Hujara, one of the judges in the men’s world cup competition, will be working overtime. Everyone is piling up pressure on him; the organizers, the media, the athletes and the coaches. Ultimately, he will be the one switching the red or green lights on to competitors at the starting line. Meteorologists too will be trying their very best to provide “to the minute” predictions about the changes in the Kitzbühel skies. Incidently, some world cup organisers have in recent years invested a lot of money towards state of the art meteorological equipment. However nature once again shows that it transcends man.
Kitzbühel is now faced with a tough ordeal, since the rules state that at least one downhill training session must take place before the actual race. If that fails, then the prospect of having to sacrifice Friday’s super G is well and truly alive. Downhill in Kitzbühel is the alpha and omega. The Super-G race can be moved to another location, but the downhill in Streif is irreplaceable. It is already clear that the race cannot be moved to the Monday and Sunday has specifically been scheduled to host the Slalom race. In the end, it seems that the weather will be the one to decide the next course of events.

Original text by Urban Lavrenčič translated from the Slovene by Christian Ngalikpima.

St Anton by night

St. Anton is a small town in Western Austria. It is located near the Rosanna River and is part of the Albert group of ski resorts. St. Anton boasts of being one of the best ski resorts in Western Austria and is also famous for hosting the World Alpine Ski Championship in 2001. What’s best about St. Anton is its wide slope for skiers, enhanced lift system, snowboarding ground and hefty snowfall. St. Anton is not only famous for its ski slopes, it is also well-known for having the best shopping, café, bar scenes and restaurants that offer some of Austria’s famous dishes. Eating at a recommended restaurant in St. Anton is the best way to relax after a long day of skiing and snowboarding.
Austrian cuisine is inspired by that of different countries such as Germany, Hungary and Italy. Dumplings and pancakes are two common dishes that you will undoubtedly see on the menu in many a restaurant in St. Anton. If you want to taste some of the typical Austrian cuisine, you can visit Fuhrmannstube and Trödlerstube. These two restaurants are well known for their very generous servings that will surely satisfy your hunger.
Mooserwit, another popular St. Anton’s restaurant, claims to serve some of the best traditional Austrian dishes that guests will definitely love. Visitors on a tight budget can try the Funky Chicken and Rodelalm on Gampen, which offer good food at affordable prices. Good places for snacks are Pomodoro and KrazyKanguruh where the burgers and pizza are said to be the best in town. The traditional Fondue is one of the most commonly served desserts in St. Anton and is definitely something to look forward to after a delicious meal. Restaurants in St. Anton take pride in their high quality meals and customer service to ensure that no customer leaves without being 100% satisfied.

Looks like the Swiss team...

Swiss Alpine skiing finds itself troubled waters. Last season’s results were extremely successful, however, this turn around, the Swiss team didn’t come close to their past achievements. The biggest loser so far, being Carlo Janka. Indeed, last World Cup’s aggregate winner is exhausted. This could be the result from the lack of training this summer, as a mysterious virus cut short the preparations. Furthermore, he also missed the traditional pre New Year’s downhill race in Bormio.
The next issue is Silvan Zurbriggen. The Swiss champion is currently giving his coach Martin Rufener some serious headaches. In Lake Louise, he was thrown out of the hotel he was staying in for harassing the cleaning lady. He reportedly walked about his room wearing nothing but his birthday suit. A horrified maid filed a complaint; and out of the luxurious premises was Zurbriggen thrown.
For as long as they could, the Swiss team tried to keep the lid on the “scandal”, and they did for some time. But then Silvan won the race in Val Gardena and tongues unleashed. Not a rosy prospect for Zurbriggen, who is in a serious relationship, especially when one considers the fact that he found himself into similar waters a few years back in Alta Badia. That time, he allegedly exposed his manhood to an old lady, who resorted to denounce him to the local authorities. His line of defence then was that he was just responding to nature’s call.
To cap it all up, there’s Lara Gut. She will undoubtedly drive the Swiss team coach Mauro Pini off the wall. Let us remind ourselves that Pini was in Gut’s team only a while ago, and that their subsequent separation didn’t happen in the friendliest of manners. Lara, on several occasions, criticised in public the work of the Swiss A team. She did not agree with the team’s training methods. That’s not all! In the summer, she opted to join the Swedish team rather than her own. It all went too far that time, and the ski federation decided to ban her from the Semmering events. To miss an event in Alpine skiing represents a severe penalty, as competition seasons are pretty short.
Lara Gut has threatened to compete for another country. Should she do so, then the Swiss team could render her life a real misery. Lawyers have been brought in to resolve the matter so as to satisfy both parties. On top of all this, her own sponsors are now also suing the Swiss champion for conflict of interest.
Regardless, the Swiss have this year accumulated so many problems off the track that it could easily make for a repeat of last year’s results. Heads are simply not cool enough and thoughts are erring in the wrong direction. The season is now in full swing and the other teams are already rubbing their hands in expectation.

Original text by Urban Lavrenčič translated from the Slovene by Christian Ngalikpima.