World Cup
To say that skiing is a weather dependent sport is to pretty much state the obvious and to further extend the obvious ski racing must be one of the most weather dependent events in sports. Downhill racing in particular is the most weather sensitive alpine ski racing event. So many things can conspire to force the cancellation of a race.
Races can be canceled because there's not enough snow. They can be canceled because there's too much snow. They can be canceled because fog has reduced visibility on just one section of the course. They can be canceled because there's too much visibility - too much sun can soften the course and make it unsafe to race on.
Just getting the training run(s) off in time for the race can often be a challenge and getting the right conditions for a race which has been scheduled a year or even years in advance for a particular time on a particular day is at best a huge gamble.
Sometimes race officials can relax when race day dawns and the conditions make it obvious the race will go ahead without any problems. Other times they can't relax until enough skiers have run to make the race count because conditions are such that the race can be started but the weather may not hold for long enough to run enough racers to make the race official.
Whistler has had its share of glorious races and canceled races. Such is the nature of downhill racing. The races that have come off have provided some enduring memories. Here are just a few.
Race organizers didn't have a lot of luck with the weather back in 1979. It was warm and wet during the week leading up to the race, then the temperature dropped through the floor, and the course became rock-hard. Race officials canceled the downhill and offered fans the opportunity to watch a 'fun' GS race.
Ken Read endeared himself to many that day. He started in the course at the top of the Sewer and almost immediately started missing gates. At first spectators were dismayed, Read was out of the course. His run wouldn’t count. When Ken dropped into a tuck the fans realized he had missed the gates intentionally - he intended to ski the canceled downhill - safety considerations be damned! This feat was made more difficult by the GS gates that were often placed in the downhill line but he managed it. In effect he was saying, "I came for a downhill, I'm going to race one!" Whistler loved Ken that day.
In 1982 for reasons known only to race organizers and Al Raine it was decided that the race had to end in the Town Center or no one would watch it. It was a bit of a disaster. True, the course still contained the opening pitches of Double Trouble and Toilet Bowl but then it turned right, away from the Weasel, and went down Tokum. The Elevator Shaft was a difficult section (there is a great picture of the bottom of Dave Murray's Atomic's around) but from there the race was a snooze. Strictly a glider's race. Peter Mueller said he'd bring his cross country skis for another race down that side (and he won). The only good thing about the race was that it did seal Pod's over-all World Cup downhill title because his competition, Harti Weirather, wasn't a particularly good glider.
Perhaps the enduring memory from that race, other than the general disbelief that anyone would choose not to use a great downhill track and instead use a mediocre and boring one instead, is the image of Franz Klammer cavorting about the awards platform in the main square after the race in a gorilla suit.
In 1984 the race was again held where it was supposed to be, on the real downhill course. Big Bill Johnson won that race to the surprise and dismay of many. For unknown reasons many fans wished Bill Johnson bad luck. There were those who wanted to paint targets on willy bags with "Bill Johnson land here" written beneath the bulls-eyes. Maybe it was because they didn't think he deserved to win an Olympic downhill but that event has a history of dark horse wins. Bill ignored local prejudice and skied a better race than anyone else.
Whistler did not do itself proud on that day and the memory is not a particularly good one. Bill was actually booed by fans as he stepped onto the podium to receive his trophy. Two days later in Las Vegas at the NSIA show he asked a Whistler resident, "What did I ever do to you guys? We cheer the Canadians." There was really no answer to that question.
In '86 race conditions were perfect. That race will be remembered by Peter Mueller's great run - up until Franz's Hop. As Mueller's splits were announced it became clear he was the class of the field. He was almost a full second ahead at the last interval. Then, as he launched himself off the innocent little ledge called Franz's Hop, he got back on his skis. As he flew through the air he just kept on rotating backwards. It seemed to take forever but he finally landed on his back and lost the race. No one has ever fallen there before or after. Certainly no one will fall there this year since the race finishes on the timing flats, above the scene of Mueller's crash. Anton Steiner won that race, almost by default.
The 1989 race was held with ideal conditions. It was the perfect downhill as far as Whistler is concerned. It's going to be hard to ever come close to that one..
The next two races in '92 and '93 featured almost the same faces on the victory podium so they kind of blend together. Atle Skardl won both. Tommy Moe was second in the first, third in the second.
In one of them American A.J. Kitt showed remarkable judgment in the heat of battle. He lost his edge and fell onto his side just below Coaches Corner but somehow managed to bounce back up. He dropped back into his tuck but he must have felt something was wrong because he looked down at his feet, then pulled up. When the camera closed in on his ski boots it revealed the downhill ski he'd slammed into the snow during his near-fall was virtually off his foot. The boot was sideways in the binding. Had he continued he almost certainly would have launched himself off of Hot Air seconds later and immediately lost the ski. Smart ski racing.
Everyone remembers what happened last year and everyone is pulling for the race this year. When it comes off it will doubtless provide lots more World Cup memories.
One last note, and this is to whoever is responsible for re-naming sections of the course. It doesn't matter how many maps are printed with the names Afterburner and Funnel. It doesn't matter what they're called on television. No matter what sanitized names some public relations type chooses to use the Sewer will always be the Sewer and Toilet Bowl will always be Toilet Bowl. Those names are part of the memories.
30
World Cup
To say that skiing is a weather dependent sport is to pretty much state the obvious and to further extend the obvious ski racing must be one of the most weather dependent events in sports. Downhill racing in particular is the most weather sensitive alpine ski racing event. So many things can conspire to force the cancellation of a race.
Races can be canceled because there's not enough snow. They can be canceled because there's too much snow. They can be canceled because fog has reduced visibility on just one section of the course. They can be canceled because there's too much visibility - too much sun can soften the course and make it unsafe to race on.
Just getting the training run(s) off in time for the race can often be a challenge and getting the right conditions for a race which has been scheduled a year or even years in advance for a particular time on a particular day is at best a huge gamble.
Sometimes race officials can relax when race day dawns and the conditions make it obvious the race will go ahead without any problems. Other times they can't relax until enough skiers have run to make the race count because conditions are such that the race can be started but the weather may not hold for long enough to run enough racers to make the race official.
Whistler has had its share of glorious races and canceled races. Such is the nature of downhill racing. The races that have come off have provided some enduring memories. Here are just a few.
Race organizers didn't have a lot of luck with the weather back in 1979. It was warm and wet during the week leading up to the race, then the temperature dropped through the floor, and the course became rock-hard. Race officials canceled the downhill and offered fans the opportunity to watch a 'fun' GS race.
Ken Read endeared himself to many that day. He started in the course at the top of the Sewer and almost immediately started missing gates. At first spectators were dismayed, Read was out of the course. His run wouldn’t count. When Ken dropped into a tuck the fans realized he had missed the gates intentionally - he intended to ski the canceled downhill - safety considerations be damned! This feat was made more difficult by the GS gates that were often placed in the downhill line but he managed it. In effect he was saying, "I came for a downhill, I'm going to race one!" Whistler loved Ken that day.
In 1982 for reasons known only to race organizers and Al Raine it was decided that the race had to end in the Town Center or no one would watch it. It was a bit of a disaster. True, the course still contained the opening pitches of Double Trouble and Toilet Bowl but then it turned right, away from the Weasel, and went down Tokum. The Elevator Shaft was a difficult section (there is a great picture of the bottom of Dave Murray's Atomic's around) but from there the race was a snooze. Strictly a glider's race. Peter Mueller said he'd bring his cross country skis for another race down that side (and he won). The only good thing about the race was that it did seal Pod's over-all World Cup downhill title because his competition, Harti Weirather, wasn't a particularly good glider.
Perhaps the enduring memory from that race, other than the general disbelief that anyone would choose not to use a great downhill track and instead use a mediocre and boring one instead, is the image of Franz Klammer cavorting about the awards platform in the main square after the race in a gorilla suit.
In 1984 the race was again held where it was supposed to be, on the real downhill course. Big Bill Johnson won that race to the surprise and dismay of many. For unknown reasons many fans wished Bill Johnson bad luck. There were those who wanted to paint targets on willy bags with "Bill Johnson land here" written beneath the bulls-eyes. Maybe it was because they didn't think he deserved to win an Olympic downhill but that event has a history of dark horse wins. Bill ignored local prejudice and skied a better race than anyone else.
Whistler did not do itself proud on that day and the memory is not a particularly good one. Bill was actually booed by fans as he stepped onto the podium to receive his trophy. Two days later in Las Vegas at the NSIA show he asked a Whistler resident, "What did I ever do to you guys? We cheer the Canadians." There was really no answer to that question.
In '86 race conditions were perfect. That race will be remembered by Peter Mueller's great run - up until Franz's Hop. As Mueller's splits were announced it became clear he was the class of the field. He was almost a full second ahead at the last interval. Then, as he launched himself off the innocent little ledge called Franz's Hop, he got back on his skis. As he flew through the air he just kept on rotating backwards. It seemed to take forever but he finally landed on his back and lost the race. No one has ever fallen there before or after. Certainly no one will fall there this year since the race finishes on the timing flats, above the scene of Mueller's crash. Anton Steiner won that race, almost by default.
The 1989 race was held with ideal conditions. It was the perfect downhill as far as Whistler is concerned. It's going to be hard to ever come close to that one..
The next two races in '92 and '93 featured almost the same faces on the victory podium so they kind of blend together. Atle Skardl won both. Tommy Moe was second in the first, third in the second.
In one of them American A.J. Kitt showed remarkable judgment in the heat of battle. He lost his edge and fell onto his side just below Coaches Corner but somehow managed to bounce back up. He dropped back into his tuck but he must have felt something was wrong because he looked down at his feet, then pulled up. When the camera closed in on his ski boots it revealed the downhill ski he'd slammed into the snow during his near-fall was virtually off his foot. The boot was sideways in the binding. Had he continued he almost certainly would have launched himself off of Hot Air seconds later and immediately lost the ski. Smart ski racing.
Everyone remembers what happened last year and everyone is pulling for the race this year. When it comes off it will doubtless provide lots more World Cup memories.
One last note, and this is to whoever is responsible for re-naming sections of the course. It doesn't matter how many maps are printed with the names Afterburner and Funnel. It doesn't matter what they're called on television. No matter what sanitized names some public relations type chooses to use the Sewer will always be the Sewer and Toilet Bowl will always be Toilet Bowl. Those names are part of the memories.
30