Danger is racing in Kitzbühel and Wengen

“If someone, in the meantime, frees themselves from skiing,” Rainhard Fendrich wrote in 1982: “And it sticks him into the landscape that everyone puts their ears back.” Alpine ski racing has always thrived on the desire for fear, the thrill of the racer when testing human possibilities, the thrill of the spectator when experiencing daring ski runs on the steepest, icy ramps. The fact that someone can fall is part of the sport. The Austrian songwriter’s mocking conclusion: “If he survives, then he will be interviewed later.” Being insulting is part of skiing, especially in Austria.

Just before the highlight of the season, the World Cup weekend in Kitzbühel with the mythical descent on the legendary “Streif” – during which athletes have often been thrown off the track and spectators shocked – a heated safety discussion shook up the scene.