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Inferno Race 2013 with video

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
The Inferno is the oldest and longest downhill race in the world, founded in 1928.

15.8 km long, 2.2km vertical drop, 1,850 competitors starting at 12s intervals...

Excellent snow and cold conditions last week allowed the full course to be run from the Schilthorn to Lauterbrunnen.

One of my team mates had a cam on his ski boot, available here:


http://youtube.com/v/mgj_uW1fH3k

You don't really get a sense of gradient (I don't think) but I think you get a sense of speed.

Consider though that although each steeper pitch is mostly no worse than a steep red, you are carrying considerable speed into it, which makes quite a difference to the experience

The last section, below Winteregg is a green/blue path and you can see what sort of trouble you can get into on something that would be really quite innocuous in any other context

The camaraman finished around 18m30s and the winning time was 13m10s... Shocked Cool (I confess to being at around 21m17s... Embarassed )


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 31-01-13 9:54; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
That, looks... tiring. Good effort.
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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?
David Murdoch, Impressive . . . very! Though the thought of chopping 7 minutes off that is Shocked
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Fantastic film, well done chaps. I saw the route bieng prepaired last week and wondered what it would be like to ski the race.
The shots give no idea how steep and icy the first sections are! Just getting down was a real challenge for my group.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Brilliant film - great stuff. Was in Murren 2 weeks ago and Run 3 down to Lauterbrunnen was being prepared at the time so didn't get the chance to ski all the way down.

Lovely place.

Thanks for posting.
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I'm confused, where do you stop for coffee?
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tiffin, you don't...

This was the first time we'd actually done start-Winteregg practising non stop which was a big help. The pistes were practically empty until Friday.

Mind you, coming over a blind roller into mineshaft at some considerable (but not full race) speed to discover a dozen snowboarders sitting nicely lined up across the entire piste nearly resulted in some blood shed.

Literally.

Luckily, we weren't hairy Germans at full race speed or it would have been a lot worse.

It's been said before, and will be said again, but placing yourself stationary and sitting in the middle of the piste in precisely the place to minimise anyone's ability to avoid you is going to result in a Darwin event sooner rather than later.
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Fantastic vid David Murdoch - thanks for posting.

So, your "team-mate" - were those race poles we saw? And he seemed (from the shadows being cast) to spend a long time in the tuck....and those skis (again the camera could have distorted) looked more race-style (straighter), than typical recreation skis. Oh, and he went by quite a few other skiers, but wasn't passed... Toofy Grin

tiffin, Laughing or beer.

Not sure that I could manage 18m+ skiing without a stop.

Respect!
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Good going. Recognized a few names on the GB list, including an old college mate I raced with at Uni who's obviously still going pretty quick, clocking a 15.25 Smile
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Great vid, my thighs were aching just watching!

How many places did the skier gain?
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Chasseur, in tuck for quite a lot of the top sections, out of tuck for tricky bits above and below kanonenrohr, back in tuck pretty much to bottom thereafter. Quite a lot of tucking to be done...

The really tiring bit is the climb however, although it does give you a bit of a respite from tucking.

200cm RD SG skis, race poles purely out of fun.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
David Murdoch, as you say, a fair bit of tucking indeed Laughing

I've seen one or two other edited vids of the Inferno, but that really seems to do it justice.

Another thing to go on the list, perhaps.

Thanks, again, for sharing Very Happy
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snowgood, hmmm, difficult question to answer.

Inferno start times are, interesting, especially if you haven't run it before. By the time we all ran, we were between 1-200 places better than our starts.

This year there must have been a particularly strong "intake" as most/all that advantage had evaporated.

I'd be delighted myself to move a little up the pack but I'm not counting on it.

Chasseur, it's a lot of fun - and this year we're doing the "series" http://www.super-vier.ch/ - a set of 4 "people's" races. Sadly the camera position was not optimal for the first race and all you can see after the first corner is frozen snow Crying or Very sad
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
David Murdoch, Excellent video. How easy is it to enter and how much does it cost?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
sequoiaboard, it's not expensive, but to guarantee a place you need to either do a lot of racing with local clubs (on snow) or be a member of the Kandahar club.

That said, first year I did it I just submitted an entry form...
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Thanks for posting that... great footage. It's on my bucket list to do. Lucky with the conditions too...awesome Happy
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David Murdoch, Fantastic, glad you're still going quicker! Seeing the whole course makes me relieved it was shortened the year we did it - don't think I could have kept up that level of panic much longer Shocked . Good luck in Davos! Madeye-Smiley
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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?
David Murdoch, thanks for putting that up. I enjoyed watching that as skied a lot of the course a couple of weeks ago. Not at your pace I hasten to add!
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shep, thanks! You would have loved the conditions - perfect for racing - cold, hard+ icy where required and the comedy Inferno gods didn't decide to go all overcast and flat just before our runs, thankfully.

We are hoping that Davos is the "comedy" race of the "circuit" as so far Belalp was frankly terrifying and Saas-Fee has a similar look to it.

Funnily enough, all the racers we spoke to in Belalp and Saas were most impressed that we'd Inferno'd. Possibly as it's so hard for them to get a place. Whereas we were most impressed that they'd skied those courses as they were just so much more technical - and scary.
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Great vid. I smiled at the 2 seconds of snowplough too Smile
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Scomber, i am told that there were a few judicious uses of the racing 'plough... Twisted Evil
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David Murdoch, it's gone? I was going to watch it again and there it is - missing?
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Ray Zorro wrote:
David Murdoch, it's gone? I was going to watch it again and there it is - missing?


Try here - I think youtube got a bit touchy about the backing tracks.


http://youtube.com/v/mgj_uW1fH3k
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telford_mike, they did.

It's up again with no Dire music, just search "Inferno Murren 2013 race" will replace links in the AM
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Superb! My legs were burning just watching Laughing
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Fantastic....I so enjoyed watching that! Very Happy
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Excellent, got tired just watching it. Better take up skiing again, I'd never be able to hold a line on a track like that for so long on a snowboard.
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Scomber, I had the camera! Racing snowploughs were a must! The icy ruts would spit you out in an instant if you arrived at the switchbacks too fast. You saw the massive racing sideslip on the Kanonenrohr too - hit the dropoff into the Icewall too fast and its curtains!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
David Murdoch, can you enter on a snowboard?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
JammieDodger, heard yesterday that a friend of a friend overcooked somewhere (presumably the Kanonenrohr dropoff) took 200m air and is in Inselspital with a compound fracture of his femur plus assorted other irritations. Ugh.

Masque, I am afraid not, againts the rules. Also, the 500m climb would be tricky I'd imagine...
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 Poster: A snowHead
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David Murdoch, ouch! It is quite possible to take the gunbarrel straight, carve sweetly through the Kanonerohr and arrive at the Blatvang lip at 100kmh. At that speed however the 90 degree left with 40 degree down angle turns you into a projectile!
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JammieDodger, and that is why you don't take it straight Laughing

David Murdoch, hope your friends friend makes a good recovery

It does somewhat make the chaps doing the worldcup downhills look a bit wimp like when they say how exhausting the Lauberhorn race is Laughing
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
D G Orf, that said I imagine the top guys took plenty of air there. I was mid field but over 5 MINUTES slower than the winner. I'd like to have seen how they made the corner at the bottom of the Blatvang. I bet there was a sneaky snowplough or sideslip or two even for them!! Very Happy
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JammieDodger, the gunbarrel is the Kanonenrohr wink literally Cannon Tube
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D G Orf, good knowledge. Am keen to get the correct names for other parts of the track so I can annotate the video to educate newcomers. Can't find anywhere these have been recorded. Any ideas?
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If I can find it I have a very old (pre cablecar) pistemap and book of the area that might have a few names on will see if I can find it, my parents started skiing in the area in the 50's so I've picked up a little knowledge of the area wink At least the modern racers don't have to climb up to the start from Murren, now that really must have been for the seriously fit Shocked

As to how the fastest got down, great fitness, great skill, no fear and supreme confidence in both their equipment and themselves, I couldn't do it at those speeds, on a really good day I might just about be able to do it at your pace, but I'm not sure, on a bad day I'd be much slower, over about half the drop and distance (top of Wixi to Brandegg station) I managed a reasonable 11 mins but I stopped once for a few seconds to look back up the hill and I'd say that route is somewhat gentler than from the Kleine Schilthorn down to above Murren, though I did have to get through the crowds at Kleine Sceidegg:lol:
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Quote:

Superb! My legs were burning just watching

+1 I loved the laconic captions. snowHead
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
JammieDodger, great camerawork!

Wasn't meaning to sound like I was taking the wee wee about the ploughing, lord knows I couldn't manage that race in anything like the speed you did it. Just liked to see it in a race Smile
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Scomber, it's a staple part of my method!! Ever since wooden planks, cable bindings and welly boots! Never fails to satsfy when you're well past the limits! Very Happy
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Yup - epic race in fabulous conditions and sunshine under blue skies, and only 3rd time in 25 years top to bottom - and the last in 2006 was in pretty rubbish conditions. I managed 21m 49s after over cooking into Kanonenrohr and not quite getting the perfect racing sideslip round the corner, then cutting too much of the last zig zag corner below Blatwang and going off piste into the bushes and finally loosing a ski pole in the netting down to Lauterbrunnen, stopping to recover from marshals.
Amazing how the adrenalin rush takes over after the start and all thoughts of self preservation disappear.
Record now 13m 20.53s, 33s inside previous in 1992. Very happy to get a Bronze award for 2nd attempt. DH boards booked for next year - plus XC skis for the langlauf round Murren.
What a change a week makes - yesterday run to L was slush and today a blizzard all day. Had the race been today, only Allmendhubel to Winteregg! But powder was fantastic!
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