So firstly let us introduce the SnowSkool Bucket list 2012. In case you were wondering what a bucket list is, it is simply a list of things you want to do before you, erm,....kick the bucket, before you get old, before you can't control your own bodily, before youhead up to the great chair lift in the sky. Over the next 10 weeks we'll show you our top 10 Bucket List items, so here goes…number 10 on our countdown; the St. Anton Chinese Downhill.
So once a year St. Anton holds a ski race like no other on Earth, the Chinese Downhill, so called because its crowded and you are skiing / snowboarding so close to your competitors that you can't afford to turn as you will hit the racers to your left and right, you can't slow down as someone would hit you form behind and the only way out is to complete the course quicker than anyone else.
St. Anton in Austria, close to Switzerland and Italy is one of Europe's premier ski and snowboard resorts and with 260km of groomed runs, 184km of deep-snow runs, along with access to 120 lifts that can accommodate 123,000 people with one lift pass, it is easy to see why!
Spectacular Skiing and Snowboarding are not the only reasons to visit St. Anton however, the resort has some of the best Apre-Ski on offer with 15 cafes, 8 ice bars, 3 discos and 7 bars there is always something to do, day or night.
So now we come to the 'meaty' reason why St. Anton is on our Bucket list, The Chinese Downhill. Little is known of how this incredible spectacle came to be, but one thing is for sure, it provides a thrill like nothing else! The basic premise is simple, racers start at the top of the run, wait for the starting pistol and BANG, off they go as fast as possible to the finish line. Sounds like any other race, right? Well not when everyone entered in the race goes at once! So with upwards of 100 people competing for space on a narrowing slope on the side of a mountain, the possibility of getting to the finish without falling is slim to none and for once the object of the race isn't winning, its surviving!
The Chinese Downhill is something that gets right to point for every adrenaline junkie; its fast, its scary and the main reason that its on the bucket list: its completely mental! The race at St. Anton isn't the only around, but it seems to be the biggest, what more could you want?
Next week: Number 9 – The Hardest Ski Runs in the World!
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