Lauberhorn is the longest and oldest active World Cup downhill ski course in the world, which is located and named after the same name mountain in Wengen, Switzerland. It debuted in 1930 and with Switzerland's long history of neutrality, downhill competitions were held during World War II.
Part of the Lauberhornrennen, the oldest active alpine ski competition in the world, the famous classic downhill course offers extraordinary scenery underneath the massive Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountains in the Bernese Alps.
The Lauberhorn is the longest course on the World Cup circuit at . Its incline of 42 degrees (90%) at the iconic "Hundschopf" jump course is the steepest section on the circuit.
In 1983, slalom was going to be held on this downhill course, not on Männlichen slalom course, the only time in history of this race. However all races that weekend were cancelled due to heavy snowfall.
On 18 January 1991, at the official downhill training, one of the most horrifying fatal crashes happened when Austrian Gernot Reinstadler crashed at full speed into the safety net below the Ziel-S, immediately before the finish. All races were cancelled that weekend and new safety measures were implemented.
Lauberhorn was one of the most traditional venues of combined events (classic, super, and alpine).
a.s.l. â Unlike most World Cup start houses that are temporary, the Lauberhorn's is permanent, classic, and wooden, with a spectacular view of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau triple mountain peaks.
2,315 m a.s.l. â The upper flat part has sliding parts and long curves. A "Simple" start with a low gradient and hardly any turning requires great acceleration and gliding skills. It turns into a long right-hand bend that leads over a narrow passage between rocks and safety nets to the Russisprung.
a.s.l. â The Russi jump (Russisprung) was built for testing purposes by ex-ski racer and piste builder Bernhard Russi in 1988 and named after him. At the instigation of race director Fredy Fuchs, the jump was integrated into the race track. The jump leads into flat terrain and is ideally around 40 to 50 meters long. The Russisprung leads past a reservoir that was created to feed the snowmaking systems.
2,120 m a.s.l. â Another gliding part, the "traverse shot" interspersed with slight curves and two terrain waves. It goes from 100 to over .
2,010 m a.s.l. â A sharp left turn forms the transition to the traverse, in which the terrain slopes away to the right. Only here, after 40 seconds of skiing, is the first intermediate time measured. The start of the combination downhill run is in this region.
2,000 m a.s.l. â Due to the ever faster material, adjustments have been necessary again and again throughout the history of the slope. In order to reduce the speed, the so-called panoramic curve was created in order to reduce the speed of the skiers before the tricky passage at Hundschopf. The long right-hand bend gets its name from the view of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks towering monumentally above the slope.
a.s.l. â After a tight S-curve to reduce the speed, comes the most famous part of the descent, the spectacular jump over the Hundschopf. The edge lies in a narrow place between two rocks, where it drops 15 meters. The short fall space and the slope that immediately turns to the left make the area even more difficult. ëEverything that is required of a downhill skier comes into play in the tightest of spaces. The curves in front of it are narrower than usual, there are a maximum of 5 meters between the rocks on the left and the safety net on the right, the edge of the jump can only be guessed at, the choice of the skier's line is determined by the end of the net and the skier's imagination. And then the bottomless!û (Bernhard Russi)
1,915 m a.s.l. â Immediately after the left-hand bend comes the Minsch edge, where Josef Minsch had a serious fall in 1965. It is a smaller jump, but its difficulty lies in the fact that it is approached in a left-hand movement and left in a right-hand movement - the rider has to change the inner ski on the edge of the jump, so to speak. Russi describes the spot as a ëbrilliant combination of jump, curve and choice of line!û
1,890 m a.s.l. â The sharply turning curve at the left-sloping transition into the Alpweg is named after the Crazy Canucks, a place where Dave Irwin and Ken Read crashed in 1976. The goal is to stay crouched despite the strong rotation. From here, the route briefly follows the Hasenbach valley parallel to the Wengernalpbahn. The Girmschbiel hill, located on the opposite side of the small valley, has become a fan stadium in the middle of the route for several years thanks to its location right next to the Wengernalp train station. On the hill and in the temporary bars and VIP zones set up there, over 10,000 visitors watch the race - only here they have a direct view of the famous key points of Hundschopf, Minsch-Kante and Canadian Corner.
1,860 m a.s.l. â Another fast gliding section, the Alpweg. The section is built as a just three meter wide connecting piece between the upper and lower parts of the run in the middle of the steep slope in the Hasenbachtal and must therefore be secured with safety nets on the left.
1,825 m a.s.l. â Russi calls this combination of curves âÂÂthe craziest chicane in the World Cup circus.â This very tight combination of a right and a left bend leads over a short bridge. Due to the high entry speed of 100 km/h, the driver has to drift in order to slow down and find the most technically sophisticated line possible without losing much speed. Quite a few drivers are driven a short distance up the opposite slope when exiting. Some of the world's best downhill skiers such as Karl Molitor, Jean-Claude Killy, Toni Sailer and Karl Schranz were eliminated at this technically difficult point. If you have an exit speed that is too low (at least 70 km/h is required), you risk losing more time on the following gliding sections. Until 2007, this passage was still called Brüggli-S. It was renamed after the resignation of Bruno Kernen, who had a serious fall here in 1997 and was almost uninjured.
1,775 m a.s.l. â The racer takes a small jump to reach a steep slope, but it is too short to pick up speed again if it has been lost in the Kernen-S.
1,770 m a.s.l. â Here the route runs through a short and narrow tunnel under the tracks of the Wengernalp Railway. The tunnel is only 9 meters wide, although the accessible area is significantly narrower due to the vaulted ceiling, the snow and the safety padding. After the tunnel, the route unusually runs a few meters uphill. This spot is unique in the World Cup and is therefore one of the distinguishing features of the Lauberhorn route.
1,775 m a.s.l. â Extraordinarily elongated glider section. Where the route was straight in the 1950s, today there are curves like in a Super-G. It has no key points and is relatively unspectacular in terms of landscape, which is why it is sometimes omitted from television broadcasts. Nevertheless, this passage can be decisive in the race, as the driver can lose the race here if he chooses the wrong material or has insufficient gliding and aerodynamic skills. Mental conduct also plays a role, as the driver has time to reflect on his previous race on the long, rather flat section.
1,590 m a.s.l. â This impressive steep slope in the middle of the forest has the highest speeds in this sport. In 2013, Johan Clarey reached the highest speed in World Cup history at . Approached via a left-hand bend, the upper part of the steep slope is slightly flatter than the lower one - the terrain transition can be "pushed" like a wave or jumped like an edge. The speed is so high here that the skis only come into contact with the ground every 10 meters. The compression at the foot of the steep slope must be managed with particular sensitivity.
1,470 m a.s.l. â A very flat section, a long left-right combination leads to the Silberhornsprung. ëA brief moment of calm. Here, on this small flat piece, breathing can return to normal. After the 'crescendo' in the Haneggschuss, you have to switch to a fine feeling of pressure and speed in the flat left-hand bend." (B. Russi)
1,450 m a.s.l. â After this passage you go over the Silberhornsprung (jump), which was newly built in 2003. The jump was designed so that in the camera angle of the television broadcasts, the picturesque triangle shaped Silberhorn mountain can be seen in the background alongside the jumping racers. The difficulty here is choosing the line when approaching, as the jump is in the middle of a right-hand bend.
1,420 m a.s.l. â The passage through the forest is characterized by restless curves.
1,390 m a.s.l. â The ÃÂsterreicherloch belongs to the crossroads and got its name in 1954 after three Austrians fell here: Toni Sailer, Anderl Molterer, and Walter Schuster. The bumps on the course here that caused their falls have since been removed.
a.s.l. â A sharp left turn with a subsequent bump leads to the last key point, the Ziel-S. At this point, all other World Cup downhills are long over. The technically difficult, heavily turning, often icy and unsettled right-left combination at the end of the long descent demands a lot of strength from the racers and often decides the outcome of the race.
a.s.l. â The target S leads into the target shot, the second steepest section after the Hundschopf. The finish jump was flattened before the 2009 race for safety reasons and the access road was widened. Previously, many riders had fallen here, including Peter Müller, Silvano Beltrametti, Adrien Duvillard and Bode Miller - who slid across the finish line as the winner. The target shot still demands the last reserves from skier.
a.s.l. â Unlike on the similarly spectacular Streif in Kitzbühel, the racer only sees the finish stadium with the temporary grandstand and the permanent media center at the finish line. The destination is in Innerwengen, around one kilometer south of the village center.
Combined times didn't count for World Cup between 1967 and 1974.
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In 1986, elite Club5 was originally founded by prestigious classic downhill organizers: Kitzbühel, Wengen, Garmisch, Val dâÂÂIsère and Val Gardena/Gröden, with goal to bring alpine ski sport on the highest levels possible.
Later over the years other classic longterm organizers joined the now named Club5+: Alta Badia, Cortina, Kranjska Gora, Maribor, Lake Louise, Schladming, Adelboden, Kvitfjell, St.Moritz and ÃÂ re.