Replacing happiness

Sunny Sunday morning four Tyrolians from St. Anton’s town, taking skis with them, went to one of the vertices of the Alpine Mountain Ridge Arlberg. After a successful walk, looked into a restaurant and, drinking around a glass-other wine, decided to create a ski club called "Arlberg". On the calendar was January 4, 1901. This date is considered the birthday of skiing.

"Mountain skiing themselves are not happiness, but may well replace it", Said Jean-Claude Killie, an outstanding French skier of the 60s, one of the ten best athletes of the 20th century (according to the survey of the International Olympic Committee). And, apparently, this is true: Mountain skiing became one of the most popular sports. Alpine tracks are now competing even by Kuwait citizens (however, they train in Europe or America).

In the world championship dedicated to the 100th anniversary of skiing, representatives of 41 states participated. In 1924, an international federation of skiing (FIS) was established. Now she combines 100 countries. World ski championships are held since 1930, and in 1936 included in the White Olympiad Program.

. 1937 year. Moscow. Sparrow Hills. First Championship of Union. The Austrian anti-fascists who have been destroyed in the mountains, forced to leave the native Alps, taught shock and fearless boys to descend skiing from near Moscow. So the first of our champions were with sparrows, later from Leningrad, and only from the 60s in the list of winners there were athletes of truly mountain places – Sayan, Mountain Shoria, Mezhiba, Mezhiba and Kamchatka.

In 1956 there was the first for our athletes Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, in Italy. We rejoiced at our bronze medalist in the slalom Evgeny Sidorov and admired the sports feat of Austrian Tony Zalera, who won in all three alpine disciplines – high-speed descent, slalom and glomaxy giant. Later, leaving a big sport, the hailer, the loves of women, brunette with a flawless survey, starred in two art films – "Twelve girls and one man" and "Black arrow". Their success was a complete surprise for the extensive. In Japan, these films on attendance surpassed the Hollywood cash champion – "Gone by wind". During his visit to Japan, the crowds of enthusiastic fans damaged all the way from the airport to the center of Tokyo.

Another star of skiing was Jean-Claude Killi. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, he became the national hero of France, winning all the Olympic Gold in Mountain Skiing. Justice I need to remind you that his third victory in slalom was not indisputable: his main opponent – Austrian Karl Schranta on the second attempt to slam, with a strong fog, prevented the person unexpectedly appeared on the highway, who helped the tamper. After the protest of the progress, the referee’s board allowed him to resort. And in the amount of two attempts he ranked first. But a big jury canceled the result, and the gold was still given by the Frenchman. This case has been ruined the relationship between French and Austrian skiers for a long time. "I was an Olympic champion of 20 minutes", – Schrantz spoke with bitterness. Alas, for 15 years a big sports career, he never happened to become the owner of Olympic Gold.

And his more successful rival Killie went beyond the ocean and used his sports victories for a successful career, enrolling in the world’s largest advertising agency McCormick. Then he starred in films, carried away by road races and even made an attempt, but unsuccessful, to become a champion and in this sport.

Killi, Calm Dweller, Father brought from the world world war Elsas in the mountain village Val d’Isher. Goychell’s family and the world of two famous skiing sisters moved there. Three-year-old Jean-Claude, whom the Father for extraordinary mobility nick Toutouune (puppy), spent all the time on the snow. Killi, Sisters Goychel and Gi Perius brought fame to French sports for another two years before the Grenoble Olympiad – at the World Cup in Chilean Portillo.

Since 1968, all records in the high-speed descent belonged to the French. Only three years ago, the leadership seized Austrian athletes led by German Mayer. For fearlessness, the energetic and aggressive style of Catania Mayer called the Terminator, by analogy with his countryman Schwarzenegger.

Mountain Skiing – Certainly, Extreme Sports. After the death of Austrian Ulriki Meyer on the trigger in Garmisch-Partenkirchen International Federation made some adjustments in terms of security, but the risk always remains risk. The tragedy of thirty years ago is remembered: the fastening was revealed at the usual training session, and he, having lost ski, continued the descent on one. Lost skiing, too, rushed along the highway and seconds later hit the rider who was without a mandatory helmet, on the head. Help was rendered immediately, on the spent helicopter, the Frenchman was delivered to the hospital, but the doctors were powerless.

Despite serious injuries and the complexity of the development, riding in the mountains became more and more synonymous with a healthy lifestyle. It caused a real ski boom. The production of sports equipment and the construction of winter resorts increased dramatically. In the mid-60s on the roof of the largest Parisian department store LE PRINTEMPs built a ski trail with artificial coating. And in the USA held competitions on slalom on moving at a speed of 40 km / h of nylon coating conveyors. Slalomous gates were indicated by bright colored spots.

In the mid-70s, difficult times came for the mountain ski. "Green" Provided the prohibition of further building of the Alpine districts, and several low-light winters pulled the vacationers from ski slopes on sunny beaches. The global production of ski products fell, the mountain resorts suffered losses. The ski world responded to these changes not immediately, but very diverse. The youth was fascinated first by acrobatic skating – freestyle, then a snowboard, or simply "blackboard". It was not necessary to work for a long time to work on an elegant rack and classic descent technique – let’s go down as you want and what you want.

Winter sport has gained new forces. Innovations in the inventory were divided by age riding in age: older – on skis, youth – on "Boards", And the resorts themselves gradually began to be unlocutally divided into ski, classic and youth (only snowboarding).

The new boom helped to correct the architectural beggars – the Alps began to return to the traditional architecture. It was artificially recreated a typical medieval village Valmöl, not far from the Olympic Alberville – with the main street of seven meters wide, with which snow is not cleaned, so on skiing can be reached right before the entrance to the cozy two-story hotels.

And the announcement in the German newspaper – "Skiing 365 days a year from 9 am to 11 pm" – advertises the indoor ski stadium with the longest snowy track – 640 meters long and 30 meters wide. The initiator of creating such a stadium is the famous Mark Girardelli, a three-time world champion and an old friend of Russian skiers. Once at the beginning of a career, he was not taken to the Austrian national team, and he trained together with our buddy under the leadership of Senior Coach Leonid Tyharchev. Created by Girardelli "Alpine Center" Located in the city of Bottrop, at the crossroads of the main German motorways. Like in terrible fantastic novels about the future of mankind, the center is inside an artificial hill, crumpled green grass.