One of the Oldest Ski Races traces its origin to the Hindu Kush.

“There is always that lone skier…going down where it is steepest and the snow untouched, in absolute grace, marking each dazzling turn with a brief jab of the pole—there is always him, the skier you cannot be.”

James Salter- Essay “ The Skiing Life”

In January we found ourselves in the Bavarian Alps.  Chocolate box perfect Alpine chalets, with painted exteriors, seemed to stand at every corner.  In the town of Garmisch, towering above it all stood the imposing jagged profile of the Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany. 

On every street stood banners proclaiming the upcoming Kandahar Ski Run.  For those of my generation, the word Kandahar is more likely to conjure up images of an endless counterinsurgency against the Taliban than a ski race in an idyllic snowy mountain setting.

Yet the two, worlds apart, have more in common than it appears.  In 1928, the Arlberg Ski Club in Austria and the British Kandahar Ski club in Switzerland co-hosted the first race in St. Anton.  It was the first Alpine Combined ski race of slalom and downhill events in the history of skiing.  

45 fearless skiers from Austria, Switzerland, Britain, and the United States competed against each by hurtling down the mountain as fast as they could with their primitive equipment.  Its popularity led the International Ski Federation to recognize Alpine Skiing in addition to the classic Nordic disciplines.

Field Marshal Frederick Roberts was a Victorian era soldier whose career at the height of British Empire saw him fighting in India, Ethiopia, and South Africa.  In Afghanistan, at the head of a 10,000 man field force, he marched across 300 miles of inhospitable terrain to defeat Ayub Khan at Kandahar in 1880. In honor of the victory, he was named the Earl of Kandahar.  Later in life, he awarded the Roberts of Kandahar cup at one of the first ever ski races, which led to the formation of the British Kandahar Ski club.

The Kandahar ski race soon spread to other locations including Chamonix-France, Sestriere-Italy, and Garmisch-Germany.  Thus history is made and a ski race in Germany is named after a city in war ravaged central Asia.

Now a part of the Alpine Skiing World Cup, the Garmisch Kandahar run is considered by some to be the best ski run in the world.  It drops 1800 meters or 5 thousand feet in elevation in 7 km. One section, ominously labeled “free fall”, is a jaw dropping 92% gradient.  Those who want to win the race, compete for advantages in hundredths of a second.

Lisa and I were drawn to ski the run like flies are drawn to light.  Sneaking out for an afternoon on the slopes we found most of the route shut off as they prepared the course for the race.  Luckily a section wasn’t yet closed and we got to taste a little of the Kandahar in midst of a snow storm. Then on Friday, we skied on the margins of the course to watch the racers test themselves on the qualifying runs. 

By Saturday, race day, the skies were a brilliant blue.  Crowds walked through the town and fields to the base of the mountain.  Festive music blared, and people lined up for beers and bratwurst.

Above them on the impossibly steep slope, the racers battled.  Ski racing, probably like life, is a matter of finding the right balance between risk and restraint.  Too fearless and too fast and a racer would go crashing into the nets that line the course. Too prudent and a skier wouldn’t win.  The greatest, of course, were just over the edge of control as they hurtled down the mountain at maximum speeds of 140 kms an hour (86 mph) and jumps that could launch them 60 meters.

Hometown hero Thomas Dressen took the victory, the first for a German in many years.  The crowd roared their approval. He completed the course in 1.39.31. Second place was .16 of a second slower.  Last place that day was two minutes slower than the champion-an eternity.

Amidst the festive beer fueled atmosphere, which resembled an Oktoberfest in the Snow, we marveled at the athleticism and daring of the skiers.  Stranger still were the twists of fate that had led the race to be named after a city far away where men continue to fight.