Trough twenty centimeters of snow on the mountain, zero in the valley. Just seven of the 30 kilometers of pistes are open and only five of the eleven lifts are open. The values reported by the specialist portal “Schneehoehen.de” for the Adelboden-Frutigen ski area, which extends up to 2282 meters above sea level, make one think more of hiking holidays than ski racing. And the view of the countryside is not exactly reminiscent of a winter fairy tale.
But the most important slope in the village presents itself as it should: with a white strip from start to finish. The Chuenisbärgli: 1.3 kilometers long, start at 1730 meters, finish at 1310, at the end a steep slope with a gradient of 60 percent. The giant slalom slope in Switzerland has been the legendary venue for thrilling World Cup races for 57 years.
And this time, contrary to expectations, they managed it – and were also rewarded with a Swiss winner: Marco Odermatt, local hero, giant slalom Olympic champion, overall World Cup winner, last year’s champion, Swiss athlete of the year – and despite his 25 years of age still with us Blessed with boyish charm and therefore suitable as a popular figure – won the giant slalom on Saturday in 2:30.68 minutes with a splendid lead over Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen (+0.73 seconds) and his compatriot Loic Meillard (+1.66). Stefan Luitz was the best German in 20th place (+4.69). Alexander Schmid fell while warming up and had to give up his start due to back problems
“Really awesome to drive”
Just a few days ago, you wouldn’t have bet that it would be possible to drive here this Saturday – and that the conditions would also meet the requirements of the world’s elite. “The track is great”, said the Austrian Manuel Feller, who was often at a loss for hearty words, who finished fourth (+2.27), after the first run: “Really cool to ski”.
The legendary race director Hans Pieren revealed the secret of slope preparation on the eve of the race when he presented a few packets of table salt. “The best sea salt,” as the 60-year-old insisted – he didn’t want to specify whether it was handmade, but certainly suitable for cooking.
And like a chef, the former ski racer from Adelboden, who himself finished second in his home race, approached the track on the Chuenisbärgli as race director since 1994, so that the drivers “tasted” it – no matter what the weather and snow were like. Salt was always an essential means of making the track suitable for racing, and apparently no one dosed it as skilfully as the compact Pieren, which was only 1.71 meters tall.
Although his successor Reto Daepp was responsible as race manager this year, he did not hesitate to ask the experienced Pieren for advice in view of the difficult starting position. It used to be said in alpine circles that nothing disturbs a ski race as much as fresh snow. If it fell at the wrong time, it had to be cleared from the groomed slope to keep the conditions fair.
