Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety reports regularly from the World Cup tour in collaboration with Denver Post ski writer John Meyer.
Schladming, Austria – Tonight’s slalom in Schladming, Austria, is the most important World Cup race of the year for slalom specialists: 60,000 people on a Tuesday night with floodlights on the course. It’s just a madhouse.
Flares are going off in the crowd, people are waving huge flags, there are bars halfway up the hill and fans at the start house who are screaming at you, taking pictures. It’s super, super crazy.
It’s so cool to race in that atmosphere.
Watching the Schladming night slalom at age 17 in 2002 when I was on a trip with the Park City (Utah) Ski Team was one of my first European World Cup experiences. I couldn’t believe how many people were there.
We actually snuck in so we wouldn’t have to pay the admission fee. We got there just as Bode Miller was coming down on his first run. It was awesome, being that age and watching a World Cup race in a country where it’s so popular. I had watched a lot of World Cups in Park City, my hometown, but never was it anything like Schladming.
Bode won that night. That was the season he dominated in slalom and really hit the big time as a World Cup force. When you’re standing in the crowd as a fan, you’re just in awe of what the racers are doing. It was so cool to be in the crowd and watch an American dominate the way he did that night. A month later, he won two silver medals at the Salt Lake Olympics.
When I got to race at Schladming for the first time two years ago, I took a camera with me on prerace course inspection to take pictures of the crowd. It was sweet to be part of the Schladming scene. I qualified for a second run and finished 22nd – I had to hike to make a gate – but it was great to be immersed in that atmosphere.
When you’re in the crowd, it’s half mosh pit, half mob. Most of the people are pretty sloshed, pushing and jostling. It’s a crazy party atmosphere.
When you’re on the course, you’re surrounded by endless crowds of people on both sides. You’re like, whoa, I can’t believe I’m actually taking part in a sporting event that is this huge.
