All
or Nothing
MARCEL HIRSCHER MASTERS GNARLY
WEATHER AND A LEGENDARY SWISS HILL
FOR TWO MORE VICTORIES BY HANK MCKEE
Adelboden is one of the magic names of ski racing. It was the home of ski champions well before the World Cup and was strategically made an original stop when the
Cup was formed. In each era since, the best have risen to the top at Adelboden: Jean-Claude Killy in the late ‘60s; Karl Schranz and Gustavo Thoeni in the ‘70s; Ingemar
Stenmark and Pirmin Zurbriggen in the ‘80s; and Marc Girardelli and Hermann Maier
among many other great champions.
It’s a popular race. Who can resist the best skiers of all time on a classic GS hill, the
Chuenibaergli, which drops like an elephant from an airplane into a village inflated to 10
times the normal population of 3,500 residents.
The bonus is scenery. Adelboden guards the end of a spectacular alpine valley. That
can also create a drawback: weather.
