 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Dave Burt, I was in Wengen last year for part of the race weekend, can certainly recommend it.
1.If booked early enough shouldn't be a problem, most of the associated staff/races/media are only in town for a few days.
2.All the area in Wengen was available, only the race piste was fenced off. We were there the week leading up to the weekend, and very little queing until the saturday (race day). You even get to share the piste / chairs with the racers whilst they are training during the week.
Saturday was pretty busy though.
3. We watched a little bit whilst skiing back to Wengen, but had better views on the Thur/ Fri practices. Good party atmosphere
Presume that this is similar in all the other resorts.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I went to Val d'Isere for the Men's WC weekend this season (actually, I stayed in Les Arcs and commuted up). I saw the downhill race and final practice run, a bit of the downhill leg of the combined and all of the combined slalom. The only skiing that was closed was the race piste itself and a couple of small sections running parallel to it. There were some negative points: all skiers going down to La Daille were funnelled into one run (with consequent icy conditions at the end of each day) and some local grumbling that artificial snow making was too focused on the race piste to the detriment of other areas.
As it was very early in the season, the resort and skiing was pretty quiet so it was easy to avoid avoid the race activities - which seemed to be the case for the majority of guests in the resort (I did overhear one skier asking what was going on when he saw the huge setup in the finish area!). If you wanted to focus on the racing that was also very easy. There are several vantage points down the course where you get good views of individual sections - perhaps my favorite moment of the weekend was sitting on the terrace of the Triffolet restaurant underneath sparkling blue skies watching Finlay Mickel zoom past, accompanied by some AC/DC pumping out of the loudspeakers (although this was briefly drowned out by the huge cheer from the many Brit/Scottish supporters sitting around me). The best place to watch for atmosphere and for actually knowing what's going on is down in the finish area. You get the huge TV monitors so you can watch the racers coming down the course, you have all the race times posted on the scoreboard, there's a great atmosphere from the crowd, there's often entertainment in the shape of a live band/DJ, etc. The best vantage points at the finish area in Val d'Isere this year were reserved for ticket holders, but there was plenty of space for everyone else to get a decent view. It's worth making the effort to be there for one of the practice runs - fewer crowds around, and all the racers are around if you want to see them up close. I had a brief chat with Finlay Mickel after his practice run on the Friday, and said hello to Bode Miller. There are also evening events in the Val d'Isere village, such as handing out the race bibs, etc. I didn't go to these this year, but have been in the past and they're fun if you like to see the racers in person. Overall it was a great way to start the ski season proper - the weather was great, the snow was OK, the racing was exciting and I got a fair bit of free skiing in as well as watching the WC circus trundle into town.
I would imagine the same applies to Kitzbuhel, but on a much larger scale. Bigger crowds, bigger atmosphere, etc, although this might have more of a detrimental effect if you're only there for the skiing?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Mnay thanks for that Rob & srobbo - your accounts are really helpful, and I'm now pretty certain I'll give it a go. Does anyone know when the FIS calendar comes out?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Dave Burt,
Thanks for rasing this thread - I'm in the same position, thinking about going to a race for my 40th in Jan 2008, possibly Wengen or Kitzbuhel depending on the calendar.
Not sure when the full calendar is available but this page reports Kitzbuhel as being on 26th-28th Jan next year.
I'd like to go just for the weekend but getting a hotel for just a few days is tough at the best of times, let alone race weekends. Be interested to know how you get on .... regards.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Next year's Lauberhorn (Wengen) is 12th-14th Jan 2007. It is usually around that date.
I've been in Wengen for the race for the past few years, but have always gone for the week, rather than the weekend. As srobbo has said, the whole resort is open as usual, with the exception of the race piste. In my experience, the training days are very quiet, with people coming in just for race day. Last year, there was a combined race on the Fri, and that wasn't too busy. The main problem is certain bottlenecks (like the lift at Innerwengen), but these can be avoided.
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FAQ
