 Poster: A snowHead
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Jean-Claude Killy, winner of 3 gold medals at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics, has repeated a demand for an environmental imperative at the 2009 World Ski Championships to be held in his 'home' ski resort of Val d'Isere.
His intention is that the resort will be car-free for the duration of the event, and all races will take place in an 800m-diameter zone.
This report from davidof on mysnowsports.com.
Website of the 2009 World Ski Championships: click here.
This report from Ski Racing on 23 December 2004, linked to on this snowHeads thread.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Tue 25-10-05 12:04; edited 1 time in total
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brian
brian
Guest
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I see they're planning to use the Face de Bellevarde for the mens' downhill again. Has it been used since 1992 ? IIRC the racers weren't too keen on it ?
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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 think the point is that it's a very artificial piste, heavily 'scaped' for the 1992 Winter Olympic downhill. I don't remember it being controversial, but maybe you're right - it probably doesn't flow like the old 'OK' piste. In terms of action and spectator appeal, it's pretty spectacular. I think one of the objectives was to make the race visible from top to bottom. One challenge must be getting enough snow on it.
Before they sculpted the new piste out of it, I seem to recall that side of the mountain being pretty wild and testing to ski, and it needed plenty of snow on it.
I hope Martin Bell drops in on this thread, because I believe he skied that very course in 1992. Just to refresh our collective memories, Martin raced at no fewer than four Winter Olympics, including 8th in the downhill at Calgary in 1988.
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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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I think the plan is to create a new FIS downhill piste for the ladies down Solaise, opposite the Face. Both courses would provide terrific viewing opportunities from the resort itself.
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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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Yes, it actually goes further than that, and is pretty neat: According to the plans all the men's events - downhill, combined, super G, GS and slalom - will be on the Bellevarde ... and all the women's events will be on the Solaise.
The men's downhill is specified as 973m vertical over 2.8 km length. The ladies' downhill will be 710m over 2.5 km:
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The Face was an usually steep course, so the speed had to be controlled with constant turns, and it didn't feel like a "flowing" course where you could really let the skis run, apart from the first 20 seconds up top. There were indeed some complaints then, but I think downhill has changed since then, there are more technical courses (like the Face) with constant turns, such as Beaver Creek or Bormio. Also, most modern downhillers are now also good Super G skiers, rather than just DH specialists, as was still the case in the 80s and early 90s.
The Face actually started a trend towards shorter DH skis (215/218 instead of 223/225) that would be easier to handle on its tight turns, and you can see the results today: racers actually carve around the S-bend above the Hundschopf, where in the 80s we had step around those tight bends.
So I think the Face will be welcomed by modern racers as a true test. The OK at La Daille is a bit of a "motorway", not that testing technically. The problem is just that the Face takes more labour to prepare.
The new ladies' DH looks like it could be quite challenging too...
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Do you believe the shortening of downhill skis, and tightening of courses like this, are good things?
Which course would you personally prefer to ski - the Face or the OK?
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At the time I preferred the OK, and got better results on it. But that was because I was an "old school" downhiller whose forte was not particularly in making tight turns, but in letting the skis run in big, long high-speed curves. Looking back at it dispassionately, the Face was a greater challenge and so I now have a greater feeling of accomplishment in making it down there, albeit four and a half seconds slower than Patrick Ortlieb.
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&raceid=9967
Looking at those results reminds me - at the time that course was described as "designed for Piccard". (Franck Piccard was a great French super G skier and had won gold in Calgary in that discipline.) In the end, those French plans were 5 hundredths of a second away from succeeding!
Last edited by After all it is free  on Wed 26-10-05 5:05; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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In reply to your first question: variety is good. It would not be a good thing if all courses were like the Face. You need some Lake Louises, OKs or Val Gardenas in there as well. The overall champion should be able to do well on different types of course.
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Martin Bell, You give a fascinating insight into your sport - something sadly missing from the glib post-match interviews we seem to endure in sports these days.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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1 minute 54 seconds to get down the Face! Must have been an unbelievable experience. How aware are you of your surroundings when you're travelling that fast? Do you see anything other than the next couple of turns?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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rob@rar.org.uk, no time to turn your head to look at the view! But I remember in one relatively slow section I actually heard some spectators yelling, which is very rare in DH because of the sound of the wind.
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Sliding (not easy to do) down the WC course for the Premiere Neige last year, I remember wondering how much difference the type of wax would make at that time of year on a surface that felt close to ice in consistency, and thinking that if I accidently pointed my skis down the hill for more than a couple of seconds I would soon be at 'terminal' velocity, very terminal. Terrifying.
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You know it makes sense.
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Martin, thanks for those really interesting points! Rob gave me an idea. Based on your time in the Olympic downhill in 1992 (1.55 secs), and the length of the course which is given for the 2009 Championships (2.905 km) - which is hopefully the same as the 1992 event, though that's an assumption - you were skiing down the Face at an average speed of 112.4 km/h.
This is 69.8 mph, so at times you were coming down that hill at speeds well in excess of that, allowing for the seconds you were accelerating at the start, the deceleration on turns etc. This (black) run is not exactly geared for a normal earthling to get silly, and if I've ever exceeded 25 mph coming down that piste - except for maybe the schuss at the end - I'll eat my hat.
Respect!
The OK downhill piste, coming down to La Daille, is - of course - classified 'red' (with adjacent pistes classified blue). And is presumably a lot longer than 2.9 km.
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FAQ
