This winter Switzerland’s beautiful car-free village of Mürren will host the 100th anniversary celebrations for the world’s oldest alpine ski racing club, the Kandahar, which was founded by the British in Mürren on 30 January 1924 and still has its HQ there.
by Matthew Lumb
As part of a series of events to celebrate the centenary of the Ladies’ Ski Club, members and guests were invited to take part in a fun costumed slalom race in Mürren, Switzerland. The race was held on 23 January 2023, the 100th anniversary, to the day, of the founding of the club.
Mürren’s status as the birthplace of Alpine ski racing in the years following the first world war is reflected in a succession of centenary celebrations in the car-free village at the heart of Switzerland’s beautiful Jungfrau Region.
After finishing his World Cup racing season in the French resort of Méribel last Sunday (20 march), British slalom skier Dave Ryding didn’t let the snow melt beneath his feet.
Dave inspects the Kandahar trophies with former club president Cleeves Palmer
He jumped in the car and sped through the Alps to the Bernese Oberland at the invitation of the Swiss resort of Mürren and its British ski racing club, the Kandahar, which counts Dave among its members.
The Swiss resort of Mürren, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first slalom race held there on 21 January 1922.
As part of the celebrations, a host of famous names from the world of skiing will participate in a ceremonial race down the original slalom piste on 17 January 2022.
The popular Inferno Downhill and Cross Country ski races in Switzerland, which are open to all comers and attracts entrants from all over the world, have been cancelled this season because of Covid.
The 78th International Inferno Races in Murren were to take place from 20 – 23 January 2021 but the restrictions on major events put in place by the authorities due to the pandemic means the races cannot be held.