Every winter ski season I look forward to catching some of the very best skiers competing in various disciplines throughout the racing calendar. These include the world cup events that run through the winter to the bi-annual world championships and of the course the winter Olympic Games.

Since I can remember, I’ve been watching ski racing on TV and growing up in the UK that meant ‘Ski Sunday’, one hour of high speed action from the slopes. On a damp and grey day in England, this exciting and exotic spectacle helped to influence my desire to get out on the snow myself.

I have thought about some of the highlights over the years that mean something to me. I could go on and on about so many ski racers over the years including some greats like, Hermann Maier, Bode Millar, Picaboo Street and Lindsay Vonn to name but a few, but here are a few moments that stick in my mind, even if some do have a slightly British stance to them:

1.    Franz Klammer, 1984 Kitzbuhel World Cup Downhill, first place

Everyone has heard of Franz Klammer, at least if they are over 35 years old. The world famous Austrian sport-star is probably most famous for his gold medal in the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympic Games downhill event, but my favourite memory (and one that I can just about remember!) is when he won the 1984 world cup Hahnenkamn race in Kitzbuhel. Klammer was aged 30 years old and his form had been wavering for the past couple of years. He stormed down the toughest and steepest course on the race circuit and took victory. I always remember the coverage of his entire run as he fought with the technical sections and glided through the flatter parts of the course. He is a true legend and I was lucky enough to ski with him several years after this event where his passion for the sport was still clear to see.

2.    Maria Walliser, 1987 World Championships Downhill, Crans Montana, first place

Maybe not an obvious one, but for me, this race always sticks in my memory. The TV coverage on the BBC was fantastic as David Vine presented an extended series of Ski Sunday programs to cover the world champs. Crans Montana seemed such an exotic resort, nestled in the Swiss Valais region. The filming included the first time I’d seen a full ‘skiers view’ of the downhill course, which now seems like standard practice, but then, it was just spectacular. The Swiss skier, Maria Walliser won the women’s downhill race and the whole event was dominated by Switzerland, taking eight gold medals in total. But Walliser was the one I remember, probably because I was a 16 year old boy.

3.    Konrad Bartelski, 1981 Val Gardena World Cup Downhill, second place

British ski racers have always had a say in the world of alpine skiing, but none have ever managed to quite dominate the sport and compete with the major ski nations. Konrad Bartelski has come the closest and in December 1981 in the Italian resort of Val Gardena, he very nearly pulled off what most would have thought impossible. In fact, his second place was a fantastic feat considering who he was up against and it still stands as the best downhill result of any British skier. He certainly helped to raise the profile of British skiing and paved the way for other successful world cup and Olympic downhillers like Martin and Graham Bell.

4.    Alain Baxter, 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Salt Lake City, Slalom, third place

There is not exactly a long list of champion British alpine ski racers that win medals in major competitions, in fact, in the modern era, make that none. In the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, that was all about to change. The Scotsman Alain Baxter had been getting some good results on the world cup stage in his specialist discipline, slalom, but no-one expected him to actually win anything. I was watching the men’s slalom final in The Pub Mt Fort in Verbier and as Alain made his run, the resident Brits, me included, were cheering him on. When he crossed the line in second place, everyone went crazy, wherever they were from. After Bode Miller blew out of the course, Alain’s medal was guaranteed, and he ended up finishing third with a bronze. Celebrations were huge and all the nationalities in the pub in Verbier were congratulating the Brits on the win. Alain’s home town of Aviemore threw on a celebration on his return and British skiing looked stronger than ever. Shortly after, news came in that Alain had taken a banned drug that was linked to a nasal in-haler. His medal was removed, and although his name was eventually cleared of any wrong doing, the medal was never returned. A sorry moment in Olympic history and one that the organisers should be ashamed of, but to GB fans, he will always be the bronze medal holder of the 2002 men’s Olympic Slalom.

5.    Anja Paerson, 2007 Alpine World Championships, Are Sweden, multiple events, first place

I could not write this article without including Anja Paerson, the Swedish multiple medal winner and master of all alpine disciplines. Anja’s career has spanned three decades and she is one of the most successful women’s skiers of all time. On her home snow in 2007, during the bi-annual world championships, being held in Are, she managed a triple crown of gold medals in a season that generally was not up to her usual standards. With wins in the Super G, Super Combined and Downhill events, Anja proved to the world that she was still up there with the best.

6.    Jean-Luc Brassard, 1994 Winter Olympic Games, Lillehammer Norway, Moguls, first place

This entry is totally unique because it’s the only freestyle event included. The 1994 Winter Olympic Games were held in Lillehammer, Norway. A spectacular success, the games were well attended and preparation had been excellent. The discipline of Mogul Skiing had been included in the previous two Olympic Games and was now reaching maturity as a respected and highly regarded event. Two years before in Albertville (somehow the Olympics had to re-adjust 2 years), the Frenchman, Edgar Grospiron, had taken the gold medal. Now he wanted it back but the Canadian, Jean-Luc Brassard, had other ideas. I was settled into a mountain restaurant in the ski area of Bruson, just across from Verbier, to watch the whole event. After the second run, Brassard was in first place and Grospiron in second, the Russian, Sergei Shupletsov, was in third. As they completed their runs, Sergei managed to secure the silver and pushed Edgar back into third place, but Jean-Luc’s final run was perfection with 2 perfect jumps included. I remember at the time thinking it was the best bumps event I’d ever seen.

Photo credit: Jon Wick

Let me know what your favourites, are?