Kandahar (ski course)
Ski course in Bavaria, Germany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kandahar is a classic World Cup downhill ski course in Bavaria, Germany, opened in 1936. It is located at the Garmisch Classic ski area on the Zugspitze, above Garmisch-Partenkirchen.[1]
| Kandahar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Place: |  Garmisch-Partenkirchen |
| Mountain: | Kreuzeck / Zugspitze Garmisch Classic |
| Member: | Club5+ |
| Opened: | 1936 (Kandahar 1) 2009 (Kandahar 2) |
| Competition: | Arlberg-Kandahar races |
| Downhill | |
| Kandahar 1 (women's course) | |
| Start: | 1,490 m (4,888 ft) (AA) |
| Finish: | 770 m (2,526 ft) |
| Vertical drop: | 720 m (2,362 ft) |
| Length: | 2.920 km (1.81 mi) |
| Max. incline: | 40.4 degrees (85%) |
| Most wins (W): |  Lindsey Vonn (5x) |
| Most wins (M): |  Roland Collombin (3x) Steve Podborski (3x) |
| Kandahar 2 (men's course) | |
| Start: | 1,690 m (5,545 ft) (AA) |
| Finish: | 770 m (2,526 ft) |
| Vertical drop: | 920 m (3,018 ft) |
| Length: | 3.330 km (2.07 mi) |
| Max. incline: | 42.6 degrees (92%) |
Since 1954, the competition called Arlberg-Kandahar races have been held here, which is rotating with other notable downhill ski courses in Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy.
In 2009, the new "Kandahar 2" course opened, parallel to the original, which became "Kandahar 1".[2][3] With a max. incline of 42.6 degrees (92%), it has the 2nd steepest gradient on the World Cup circuit.
Kandahar 1
The name origin
The course was named after Sir Frederick Roberts, a British Victorian era major general who was known as "Baron of Kandahar", who led the Kabul Field Force in the Second Anglo-Afghan War and defeated Ayub Khan at the Battle of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. The Kandahar Ski Club of Mürren, Switzerland, was founded by Arnold Lunn and other British skiers in early 1924.
Women's course
The original Kandahar 1 course was built for the Olympic debut of alpine skiing in 1936. Since 2009, it is used only for women's World Cup speed events, as a new parallel, more demanding "Kandahar 2" downhill ski course opened for the men's events.
The Kandahar 1 course starts on "Tröglhang" at 1,490 m (4,888 ft) (AA), and follows mainly the old men's route. After the "Schußanger" with two curves, "Himmelreich" jump follows where the Super-G start is located, then "Bödele". Then comes the "Waldeck" with 85% gradient, the steepest section in women's circuit and a technically very demanding traverse. From 2009, course from there continues by newly built route where also giant slalom starts; the "Eishang" is bypassed by via the "Ramwiesen" and via the "Höllentor" it returns to the original Kandahar in "Hölle", the steep section. Then passing the "FIS Schneise", a sloping run that, after a hard left-hand bend, ends in the men's course just before the "Tauber-Schuss".[4]
K1 course sections
- Tröglhang
- Olympia-Kurve
- Panorama-Sprung
- Schußanger
- Himmelreich
- Alte Quelle
- Bödele
- Waldeck (85%)
- Ramwiesen
- Höllentor
- Hölle
- FIS Schneise
- Tauberschuss
- Finish
Kandahar 2
Men's course
A new downhill run for men in 2009, "Kandahar 2" shares the same start and finish with the original course. It begins at the original start at 1,690 m (5,545 ft) (AA) on Kreuzjoch mountain, reaching speed up to 100 km/h (62 mph) after the "S-Kurve". After the "Tröglhang", the steepest section until 2008, the course continues into newly built route in 2009 to "Olympia-Kurve" and then to "Panorama-Sprung".
After that comes the "Alte Quelle", before the route at the "Bödele" returns into the original Kandahar to the start of the giant slalom above "Eishang" and after the cable car jump (40 to 60 m (130 to 195 ft)), the racers turn right into the second newly designed part at the "Kramersprung" (20 to 40 m (65 to 130 ft)). Then to the next newly section called "Padöls" and into "Auf der Mauer" flat passage. Next is "Frei Fall", with 92% incline, the absolute steepest section in this competition. At the end, last couple of hundred metres, routes joins with the old original course into the "Tauber-Schuss" and a twenty-metre (65 ft) jump just before the finish line.
K2 course sections
- Starthang
- S-kurve
- Tröglhang
- Olympia-Kurve
- Panorama-Sprung
- Schußanger
- Himmelreich
- Alte Quelle
- Bödele
- Eishang
- Seilbahnsprung
- Kramersprung
- Padöls
- Auf der Mauer
- Freier Fall (92%)
- Tauberschuss
- Finish
Olympics
Men's events
| Event | Type | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | KB | 7–9 February 1936 |  Birger Ruud |
 Franz Pfnür |
Gustav Lantschner |
Women's events
| Event | Type | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | KB | 7–8 February 1936 | Laila Schou Nilsen |
Lisa Resch |
Käthe Grasegger |
Combined (both downhills held on "Kandahar" and both slaloms on "Gudiberg" course.)
World Championships
Men's events
| Event | Type | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | DH | 29 January 1978 |  Josef Walcher |
Michael Veith |
Werner Grissmann |
| KB | (DH) 29 January 1978 (GS) 2 February 1978 (SL) 5 February 1978 |
 Andreas Wenzel |
Sepp Ferstl |
Pete Patterson | |
| 2011 | SG | 9 February 2011 |  Christof Innerhofer |
Hannes Reichelt |
 Ivica Kostelić |
| DH | 12 February 2011 | Erik Guay |
Didier Cuche |
Christof Innerhofer | |
| SC | 14 February 2011 | Aksel Lund Svindal |
Christof Innerhofer |
Peter Fill | |
| GS | 18 February 2011 | Ted Ligety |
 Cyprien Richard |
Philipp Schörghofer |
Women's events
| Event | Type | Date | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | SG | 8 February 2011 | Elisabeth Görgl |
Julia Mancuso |
Maria Riesch |
| SC | 11 February 2011 | Anna Fenninger |
 Tina Maze |
 Anja Pärson | |
| DH | 13 February 2011 | Elisabeth Görgl |
Lindsey Vonn |
Maria Riesch | |
| GS | 17 February 2011 | Tina Maze |
Federica Brignone |
Tessa Worley |
Team event
- Men's combined in 1978 (SL and GS held on other courses counted together with DH for combined result.)
- Men's and women's super combined in 2011 (both slaloms held on "Gudiberg" course.)
World Cup
The World Cup circuit debuted in January 1967.
| Gen. Frederick Roberts | Roland Collombin | Steve Podborski | Christoph Gruber |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| "Baron of Kandahar" (course is named after him) |
won record 3 downhills |
won record 3 downhills |
won record 3 super-Gs |
| Hermann Maier | Lindsey Vonn | Lara Gut-Behrami |
|---|---|---|
 |
.jpg) |
 |
| won record 3 super-Gs and record 5 events in total |
won record 5 downhills and record 8 events in total |
won record 4 super-Gs |
Men
Not in original calendar. It replaced Val d'Isere (1993), Sestriere (1996), Whistler Mountain (1997), Wengen (2004, 2017), Kitzbühel (2005, 2007).
Cancelled SL in St. Anton (1992) replaced in Ga-Pa and with scheduled DH there counted for classic combined.
In 1981, GS in Morzine (6 January) counted for combined with DH in Garmisch (10 January).
Women
| No. | Type | Season | Date | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIS–A | ||||||
| — | DH | 1954 | — | Miri Buchner | N/A | N/A |
| KB | Miri Buchner | N/A | N/A | |||
| DH | 1959 | Erika Netzer | N/A | N/A | ||
| KB | Anne Heggtveit | N/A | N/A | |||
| GS | 1964 | Edith Zimmermann | N/A | N/A | ||
| KB | Marielle Goitschel | N/A | N/A | |||
| World Cup | ||||||
| 75 | DH | 1969/70 | 30 January 1970 | Françoise Macchi | Wiltrud Drexel | Michèle Jacot |
| 233 | DH | 1976/77 | 11 January 1977 | Annemarie Moser-Pröll | Bernadette Zurbriggen | Marie-Theres Nadig |
| 661 | DH | 1990/91 | 8 February 1991 | Chantal Bournissen | Carole Merle | Veronika Wallinger |
| 662 | SG | 9 February 1991 | Carole Merle | Karin Dedler | Michaela Gerg | |
| DH | 1993/94 | 28 January 1994 | replacement for Leysin; due to strong wind rescheduled on 29 January | |||
| DH | 29 January 1994 | original DH from Ga-Pa rescheduled on 30 January; due to replacement from Leysin | ||||
| 758 | DH | 29 January 1994 | Isolde Kostner | Mélanie Suchet | Michelle Ruthven | |
| SG | 30 January 1994 | original SG from Ga-Pa cancelled; due to rescheduled DH from 29 January | ||||
| DH | 30 January 1994 | rescheduled DH from 29 January cancelled due to fatal crash of Ulrike Maier | ||||
| 784 | SG | 1994/95 | 14 January 1995 | Florence Masnada | Picabo Street | Shannon Nobis |
| 819 | SG | 1995/96 | 13 January 1996 | Katja Seizinger | Martina Ertl | Alexandra Meissnitzer |
| 1003 | SG | 2000/01 | 16 February 2001 | Carole Montillet | Renate Götschl | Brigitte Obermoser |
| SG | 17 February 2001 | cancelled | ||||
| SG | 2008/09 | 31 January 2009 | fog in mid-course; replaced on next day 1 February 2009 | |||
| 1273 | SG | 1 February 2009 | Lindsey Vonn | Anja Pärson | Jessica Lindell-Vikarby | |
| 1314 | DH | 2009/10 | 10 March 2010 | Maria Riesch | Lindsey Vonn | Anja Pärson |
| 1315 | GS | 11 March 2010 | Tina Maze | Kathrin Hölzl | Maria Riesch | |
| 1316 | SG | 12 March 2010 | Lindsey Vonn | Elisabeth Görgl | Nadia Styger | |
| 1372 | DH | 2011/12 | 4 February 2012 | Lindsey Vonn | Nadja Kamer | Tina Weirather |
| 1373 | SG | 5 February 2012 | Julia Mancuso | Anna Fenninger | Tina Weirather | |
| 1416 | SG | 2012/13 | 1 March 2013 | Tina Weirather | Tina Maze Julia Mancuso | |
| 1417 | DH | 2 March 2013 | Tina Maze | Laurenne Ross | Maria Höfl-Riesch | |
| 1418 | SG | 3 March 2013 | Anna Fenninger | Maria Höfl-Riesch | Julia Mancuso | |
| DH | 2013/14 | 1 February 2014 | lack of snow; replaced in Cortina d'Ampezzo on 25 January 2014 | |||
| SG | 2 February 2014 | lack of snow; replaced in Cortina d'Ampezzo on 26 January 2014 | ||||
| 1479 | DH | 2014/15 | 7 March 2015 | Tina Weirather | Anna Fenninger | Tina Maze |
| 1480 | SG | 8 March 2015 | Lindsey Vonn | Tina Maze | Anna Fenninger | |
| 1510 | DH | 2015/16 | 6 February 2016 | Lindsey Vonn | Fabienne Suter | Viktoria Rebensburg |
| 1511 | SG | 7 February 2016 | Lara Gut | Viktoria Rebensburg | Lindsey Vonn | |
| 1547 | DH | 2016/17 | 21 January 2017 | Lindsey Vonn | Lara Gut | Viktoria Rebensburg |
| 1548 | SG | 22 January 2017 | Lara Gut | Stephanie Venier | Tina Weirather | |
| 1593 | DH | 2017/18 | 3 February 2018 | Lindsey Vonn | Sofia Goggia | Cornelia Hütter |
| 1594 | DH | 4 February 2018 | Lindsey Vonn | Sofia Goggia | Tina Weirather | |
| DH | 2018/19 | 26 January 2019 | program switched due to bad weather forecast; DH moved from 26 to 27 January | |||
| 1624 | SG | 26 January 2019 | Nicole Schmidhofer | Sofia Goggia | Lara Gut-Behrami | |
| SG | 27 January 2019 | program switched due to bad weather forecast; SG moved from 27 to 26 January | ||||
| 1625 | DH | 27 January 2019 | Stephanie Venier | Sofia Goggia | Kira Weidle | |
| 1659 | DH | 2019/20 | 8 February 2020 | Viktoria Rebensburg | Federica Brignone |  Ester Ledecká |
| 1660 | SG | 9 February 2020 | Corinne Suter | Nicole Schmidhofer | Wendy Holdener | |
| DH | 2020/21 | 30 January 2021 | DH was replaced with SG; as due to weather no dowhnill was possible | |||
| 1687 | SG | 30 January 2021 | Lara Gut-Behrami | Kajsa Vickhoff Lie | Marie-Michèle Gagnon | |
| SG | 31 January 2021 | SG was cancelled due to heavy fog; replaced on the next day on 1 February | ||||
| 1688 | SG | 1 February 2021 | Lara Gut-Behrami |  Petra Vlhová | Tamara Tippler | |
| 1723 | DH | 2021/22 | 29 January 2022 | Corinne Suter | Jasmine Flury | Cornelia Hütter |
| 1724 | SG | 30 January 2022 | Federica Brignone Cornelia Hütter | Tamara Tippler | ||
| DH | 2023/24 | 3 February 2024 | cancelled due to the high temperatures and unfavorable snow conditions | |||
| SG | 4 January 2024 | |||||
| 1830 | DH | 2024/25 | 25 January 2025 | Federica Brignone |
Sofia Goggia |
Corinne Suter |
| 1831 | SG | 26 January 2025 | Lara Gut-Behrami |
Kajsa Vickhoff Lie |
Federica Brignone | |
Not in original calendar. It replaced Leysin (1994) and Val d'Isere (2013).
Sections
Kandahar 1 (W)
- Tröglhang, Schussanger, Himmelreich, Bödele, Eishang, Seilbahn Stadl, Waldeck, Ramwiesen, Höllentor, Hölle, FIS Schneise, Tauber-Schuss
Kandahar 2 (M)
- Tröglhang, Olimpiakurve, Panorama-Sprung, Stegerwald, Alte Quelle, Eishang, Kramarsprung, Padöls, Auf der Mauer, Frei Fall, Tauber-Schuss
Fatal accidents
On 29 January 1994, Austrian ski racer Ulrike Maier suffered fatal injuries at "FIS Schneise" section crashing into intermediate timing device at 105 km/h (65 mph) during the World Cup downhill event. A week before, she won a giant slalom in Maribor.[6][7][8]
Thirty-five years earlier in 1959, Canadian John Semmelink crashed into a rock-filled gully and later succumbed to his injuries.[9] Held on an icy course on 7 February in challenging conditions of fog and flat light, Semmerlink was the 44th racer on the course. At a lower section named Himmelreich (heaven) just 500 yards (460 m) from the finish, witnesses said one of his bindings opened and he crashed into a rock-filled gully.[10] Semmerlink had a serious head injury and was taken by U.S. Army helicopter to a nearby U.S. military dispensary, but died of his injuries.[10][11] Of the 89 starters, 39 did not finish the race.[10][12]
Club5+
In 1986, elite Club5 was originally founded by prestigious classic downhill organizers: Kitzbühel, Wengen, Garmisch, Val d’Isère and Val Gardena/Gröden, with goal to bring alpine ski sport on the highest levels possible.[13]
Later over the years other classic longterm organizers joined the now named Club5+: Alta Badia, Cortina, Kranjska Gora, Maribor, Lake Louise, Schladming, Adelboden, Kvitfjell, St.Moritz and Åre.[14]