Ramy James Salameh puts on his skis and mixes it up with the world’s best slalom skiers at the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup Race in Gurgl, Austria – The Diamond of the Alps.
The “snow gods” were looking down upon organisers of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup Slalom Race in Gurgl, a ski resort famed for its “altitude”, long winter season and dramatic crucible of lofty peaks.
Located at the end the Oetztal valley in Austria’s Tirol region, skiing takes place between 1,800m and 3,030m, meaning “divine intervention” is rarely required to ensure Gurgl has plenty of the white stuff, even as early as the season’s opening ski weekend in November.
A fresh blanket of powdery snow across the landscape and a cloudless sky, set the scene for the thrills and spills of World Cup ski racing, as well as excellent conditions for a newbie like me to graduate from beginner to intermediate level skier.
Skiing beside the elite competitors
With 112km of well-groomed slopes, of which 60.2km are blue runs and a morning of one-to-one ski-tuition from Dominik my ski instructor, I was soon exploring a few of Hochgurgl’s easier slopes and trying to take in the type of views that makes one feel glad to be alive.
Whilst, I was not carving with the style and elegance of the many who swept passed me, I was starting to feel their freedom and exhilaration, for which only skiing can illicit. For someone who has skied before, Hochgurgl’s easier blue marked trails have the odd descent resembling a red, adding some reasonable challenges.
There is even a blue slope dropping-down from 675m from one of the resorts not-to-be-missed highlights Top Mountain Star hut. This modernist glass-walled observation platform & restaurant sits on a narrow ridge atop the Wurmkogel mountain, at over 3,030m, boasting epic vistas stretching out across the Oetztal Alps and Italian Dolomites.
“This is your goal for day two,” Dominik had suggested, pointing his ski-stick to the summit of the barely visible Top Mountain Star. The fact that skiers of all levels, have the choice to ski down from such a high summit on either a sweeping blue piste or exhilarating black, encapsulates the versatility of this snow-sure ski resort.
As our focus returned to the elite competitors, it certainly felt slightly surreal to be skiing around the Kirchenkar race slope, at the same time as world’s best slalom skiers competed against one another. There can be very few world-class sporting events where amateurs and professionals have this symmetry.
Spectators could either ski up to view the racing somewhere beside the 548m-long race course or join the mass of flag-waving fans in the Finish Zone. Dominik, managed to guide me to within touching distance of the Finish Zone, just as Michaela Shiffrin, one of the greatest alpine skiers of all time, crossed the line, for the first of her two competitive runs, capturing a slender lead; I was determined to return for her final descent.
From ‘Spa Zone’ to ‘Finish Zone’
Between the heats of the women’s World Cup race, there was a chance to escape to the luxurious spa of the five-star, Top Gurgl hotel. Located at 2,150m this ski-in, ski-out property oozes Tyrolean charm, balancing 12th century wood panelled carvings in the dining room, with an oasis of modern wellbeing facilities in the spa area. The highlight being a star-trek style sliding door to access the outdoor pool, unveiling a sweep of 3,000m peaks, rising atmospherically above the steaming waters.
Refreshed and invigorated, I returned to the grandstand to witness Shiffrin take her 99th race win in emphatic style. If you have never experienced a World Cup ski race then put it on the bucket-list, as the atmosphere is electric. The cauldron of excitement reaches boiling point, as each skier stretches every sinew to cross the finish-line, slowing in a cloud of snow before glancing the clock, as the partisan crowd erupts in noise.
Fans can capture every hundredth of a second, by tracking progress through split-times from the top of the course to the bottom, via the big screen. In between races a playlist of dance tracks, ‘live’ crowd and celebrity interviews and a few drinks keeps the crowd warmly entertained.
After the race, there was a mass exodus to The Crosspoint – Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum the focal point of the event. It is another of Gurgl’s architectural marvels, which nestles seamlessly into the landscape but incorporates the highest motorcycle museum in Europe, a restaurant and the Kirchenkarbahn I gondola lift, all under its sleek roof.
Whilst, in Obergurgl, the village immediately below Hochgurgl, the Gurgl Carat, a diamond shaped congress centre, staged the ceremonial allocation of athlete bib numbers ahead of both races, whilst VIPs looked on from the angular floor-to-ceiling windows during their gala dinner events.
It is only the second year that Gurgl has hosted the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup Slalom competition and the first time the women’s race has been included, yet it looks to become a firm favourite on the race calendar, especially amongst the 9,000 fans that had turned-up to experience this sporting spectacle.
The elite men compete on Kirchenkar
The following day, my graduation from beginner to intermediate level skier was confirmed, when I had the chance to ski alongside Konrad Bartelski, an ex-GB skier who finished second in Val Gardena, Italy, in December 1981. “Always look forward, not at your skis and breath….” he said insightfully, as we ascended the mountain on the Große Karbahn chair lift.
Confidence and adrenaline, coursed through my veins as I caught sight of the elite men warming-up on their slope, and tried to emulate their balance and dexterity. It was my last chance to ski, before taking my position in the grandstand to watch the final heat of the men’s blue-ribbon world cup race.
Living up to its billing, the men’s slalom was captivating; Austrian Marcel Hirscher drew much attention after coming out of retirement to race again, before slipping from contention, whilst Dave Ryding, GB’s best ever Alpine skier came in a creditable 7th. It was left to Frenchman Clément Noël to take the trophy in a time of 1:46.25.
To cap-off a memorable stay in Gurgl, I had the chance to speak with Dave Ryding after his top ten finish, a result he was delighted by. Aside from his performance, what also shone through is his fondness for a ski resort, which he now counts as his second home in the Alps and where he is treated as a local hero on and off the slopes.
Ryding, who is widely considered to be the greatest British skier of all time, likes to get out on the pistes like any regular leisure skier: “I just enjoy skiing, not just ski racing, but I don’t do enough of it because of time constraints.” The other place one might bump into him is at his favourite mountain hut: “I love going up to the ‘Hohe Mut Alm’, it’s my favourite view in the Alps, it is such an untouched landscape; I get a morning expresso and then crack on with my day.” He was even supposed to get married in Gurgl, had Covid not intervened and changed plans.
One thing both I, and Ryding would certainly agree upon, is not waiting for the next Alpine Ski World Cup before experiencing a sparkling ski adventure in a resort known as “The Diamond of the Alps”.
For more information see gurgl.com and tophotelhochgurgl.com