15/01/2012 Ski Sunday

Welcome to Ski Sunday. We're here in Wengen, on top of the mountain.

This is the most exhausting downhill in the world. Every turn

reveals a story. Every section is steeped in legend.

He's got the wind under his skis. This is the start. Four-and-a-half

kilometres from the finish line. This is one of the most spectacular

jumps of any of the downhill courses. The racers liken it to

falling down an Ella vaiter sharp. This is where Joseph Minch crashed

in 1995. This section is named after the crazy ones who first went

into the nets here, as Canadian Corner.

Bruno crashed here in 1997. This is the Wasserstation, where

the train grinds its way over the top of the racecourse.

This is the Haneggschuss - the fastest part of the course,

touching 90 miles per hour. He's a gliding machine! Nicely down

on the Silberhorn. After two-and-a-half miles your

heart is pumping and your legs are burning.

The noise at the finish is astonishing! This is the finish-

line. A place where 51 winners have etched their name into downhill

Later on in the show we will catch one one of the few men that Graham

has ever feared. I remember you when you were a

little boy like that. You had a noty nose and so on. Now this is

one of the longest courses in the course, Lauberhorn. Where are the

tight sections. There is the tight turns which are followed by a long

gliding section. To make a mistake on those turns and it is multiplied.

Who will it suit? It is a bit of both. You need to have everything

here. Bearing that in mind, who do you think will do well on the form

guide? Didier Cuche, he will want a good result here. He will be fired

up. Last year's winner, Klaus Kroell, is a great glider. He can

carry enough speed from the corners last year. Bode Miller, au pesh on

this course. On his -- superb on On a course like this, you need

some experience. A there are sections on it which are not like

any other downhill. Janu did it a few years ago.

think this course suits the older, more mature skier? I think so

decided to ask the racer-goers. It's only if Cuche is the only one

skiing. You must not ski too aggressive. Sure, the guy who makes

less mistakes will win. Here it is very difficult not to do mistakes

on the start and finish because it's so long. You need experience

to make a winnings. Find your lines, then have enough power for a race.

That's the key I think. You need a lot of experience.

Well, if downhill is an old man's game, perhaps Graham should

consider coming out of retirement. I know he has the courage and the

commitment. The question now is whether he has the stamina to tame

this mammoth. This is Graham's course run. Well, it is a beautiful

day for ski racing. Let's have a look at this Lauberhorn course.

At the start, first section is mostly gliding. Tuck in nice and

low. Fixed sweeping right-hander.

It brings you round up over a little Russi jump. You get a

beautiful view of the Eiger, the Moench. You have this sharp S. It

is icy. You have to fight. Tight it around. Set up high and over the

Hundschopf. Then to the Minsch- Kante. Then on to the Canadian

Corner. It is really bumpy here. You have to make sure you don't

float too low, because here comes the Kernen-S. Hard on the left ski.

Hard on the right ski. Run up the Hard on the right ski. Run up the

bank. Now time for a breather. You head

Hundschopf, these tight turns are designed to slow you down before

the fastest part of the course. You cross over a little bridge. Then

just point them straight down here. Just absolutely flying. There's a

little compression in the bottom. You come through. Now we are

heading towards the Silberhorn jump. It is so named because there's a

mountain right behind me. Now I have to concentrate through the

Austrian hole. My legs are burning here. I have to set up close to the

net, hard on the right ski. Then fly down. Now to the finish.

That is... It is like the same as always, a really good rush. Because

there's so much to know, some of the terrain has been taken out of

the course. I tell you, they put water on it and some sections are

icy. Legs, lungs burning? As always. As always!

I mean, it's just such a physical test. Two-and-a-half minutes. That

extra half a minute on that section of the course, that makes the

difference here. I will let you get your breath back. The racers are

chomping at the bit to get this race underway.

This is Wengen, 2012. It is a fantastic day in the Swiss

Alps. Not a cloud in the sky. Tens of thousands have come to watch

this race. Reichelt is the first man to tackle the Lauberhorn in

2012. As he powered out of the start there's a roar on either side

of the hill. Look at them, they are crammed in at every decent vantage

point. Thousands here. It's big this year.

A solid start from the Austrian. He's nice and high on the Canadian

curve. To the flat section before the Kernen-S. We will check on his

speed in and out of this part. In at 101, out at 75. That is fast

compared to training. Reichelt was quickest in the second of the two

training runs, held over the full- length course on Thursday. Down the

Hundschopf, the fastest part of the track.

Terrific run so far from Hannes Reichelt, who has really come on

making giant strides in his downhill racing so far this season.

The first man on the hill with a clean run so far. He hasn't put a

foot wrong. Reichelt - has he got the stamina to keep the skis

calming on the final section? Stamina is at an all-time low. He

leads the way, 2.35.75. Reichelt has set a very good time.

A good clean run from Reichelt. He is a good glider. He is relaxed on

his skis. He will hope the course breaks up. It is warm here today.

If the course does soften up, then that time could prove hard to beat.

of a second behind the team. List on the the noise as he comes to the

Hundschopf. A beautiful jump. A lovely flight from Carlo Janka

now. He'll absorb the Hundschopf. He turns on the green light. A

third of a second up. Janka finds time in one of the most technically

demanding parts of the course. Now, a chance to re-fuel as he comes

across the flats to the Kernen-S. Has to be fast on the entrance and

he is. He is still quick at the exit. 78.2km per hour. Just

slightly wide, approaching the Haneggschuss. This is the fastest

part of the track. Janka dived down the Haneggschuss. He's right there.

Just 200th of a second behind. 143 through the gun. Janka is really

travelling. Off the Silberhorn jump. A quarter of a second behind. He

can find that difference if he keeps it high and clean on the last

few turns. Most downhills are finished long before this section.

Janka is close. Janka is second. It's very tight, but it's Reichelt

the Hundschopf to the Minsch-Kante brilliantly. He came in with a lot

of direction, so he landed above the blue line, which gave him a lot

of speed as he went around the Canadian Corner. He seemed to run

out of speed towards the end of his run, didn't look like he's

physically 100%. Christof Innerhofer in the start

gate for Italy wearing number 13 today, a big aggressive start.

Innerhofer looks for speed at the top of the Lauberhorn. Swedeing in

through this S turn coming towards the Hundschopf - he's wider than he

might have liked, and he is winding down the windows in flight - 103

dead for Reichelt, and Innerhofer is faster, a more direct line, an

unusual line chosen by the Italian, and he's got the reward. Now into

the Kernen-S as close as he dares to the safety netting to the

skier's left, 102.3 on the way in. On the way out 78.4, doesn't lose

any time - through the tunnel. Now we follow him from the helicopter

with an advantage of nearly half a second, coming towards the

Haneggschuss. Innerhofer's legs will be burning underneath him now.

He's still got the fastest part of the course and the final few turns

to come. Maximum speed - 143.2 on the Haneggschuss for Christof

Innerhofer, but 16/100 of a second adrift of the leading time. The

leader is still the Austrian Reichelt. Innerhofer opens his arms

up off the Silberhorn jump. The chance that he would just slow down

very slightly standing taller - and he's skidding the skis sideways.

Innerhofer appears to be spent here - 2.35.75 is safe - that's close,

close enough for second. Innerhofer just misses it.

A great run from Innerhofer. He skied the Kernen-S clean through

there. He was really, really fast and made up a lot of time, just

lost on the glide just after the Haneggschuss. He was a little bit

scrappy over the Silberhorn jump. That's where the 5/100 went.

Feuz rose to prominence with a win last March and followed this up

with a second place in Lake Louise and Beaver Creek in December. He

came second in a super-combined here on Friday.

24-year-old Beat Feuz, 24, wearing number 16, very strong, very

ambitious, and very quick. Two runners-up spots in downhills this

season. This is the one that really matters to him. If he can pull this

one off, he will become overnight a national hero in Switzerland, and

he's got a terrific speed at the top of the course as we watch him

from the chopper hovering alongside the gliding section where it's

deceptively simple. Now he has to start working hard with this

section of bends before he flies over that ridge to the right of

your screen, the Hundschopf. Look at them gathered there! Beat Feuz

gets a warm reception at the Hundschopf. Now he takes off! He

flaps with his arms slightly, but a clean landing, and at Minsch-Kante,

he's ahead by half a second, a fantastic top section from Beat

Feuz,. 54 up. Look at the Swiss flags waving. They have seen that

on the scoreboard. Drifting way over beyond the blue line

underneath his left ski and into the Kernen-S. He's got 100 and 1.4

on the way in and huge 81.2 at the exit.

Half a second up, 106.6, the latest reading through the second speed

trap for Beat Feuz into the sunshine for a moment. He's barely

moved from the tuck. Look at him - solid, really strong legs, keeping

his body over his skis, low and air row dynamic -- air row dynamic. Now

he needs to harn Tess speed as he Klatters that control gate diving

down the Haneggschuss. Reichelt, 203.91 at this split. He's dead

level. They can't split them! 142.7 through the gun - nothing to choose

between our leader, Hannes Reichelt of Austria and the young Swiss star,

Beat Feuz. Now he's ahead again, 7/100 of a second up. The last

couple of turns. He's all out of gas - nearly home. He's done it!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Nearly half a second quicker. We

have a new leader, and it's a Swiss racer in first. What an impressive

run from Beat Feuz. What I particularly liked was the way he

really attacked over the Hundschopf down towards the Minsch-Kante. He

was absolutely flying, but then it was the S that really gave him the

advantage, took a tight line, took a lot of risk, and he deserves the

lead. Didier Cuche matched the great

Frances Barber with his fourth victory in Kitzbuehel last year to

place him among greats of downhill skiing but his record in his home

country is less impressive. Can he perform in front of his adoring

fans? The noise level reaches a new level for Didier Cuche. Such

strength at the start. Into the tuck position, trying to glide

across the snow early on, pick up some speed. He's got to nail the

Hundschopf and the Minsch-Kante, and he's also got to find 19/100 of

a second. Here comes Didier Cuche at the Hundschopf. Perfect jump, as

good as anyone we've seen, barely moved from his tuck position, and

right close to the gate on the Minsch-Kante as well, but the red

light is growing worryingly distant for him, 66/100 of a second away

from his team-mate. 101.1 into the Kernen-S and only 74.4 at the exit.

That's about six kilometres per hour slower than Feuz was. It looks

as though another year will slip by without him winning in Wengen.

Three times he's finished in runner-up position on the

Lauberhorn. This is the one that matters most to him as a proud

Swiss racer, but it's getting worse and worse. Now we'll follow him

from above - Cuche doesn't look as solid as we have come to expect.

Normally, there is no-one quicker on the flats, and down the steep he

would expect to find a little bit of time, but it's going the other

way, and Cuche now trails by more than a second. Well, the neutrals

would love to see him do well - very popular, a hugely likeable man,

a funny man, 1.22 seconds off the pace, though. He'll look to

Kitzbuehel next weekend to add to his impressive tally there, but

it's not happening for him in Wengen. He's a long way behind,

ninth, 1.5 seconds almost behind Beat Feuz.

A bit of a sigh from the crowd as he came down, lots of little

mistakes like into the Minsch-Kante into the corner, where he was in

tuck on a good line, Didier Cuche was getting thrown out of position.

It was almost as though the mistakes added up and added up. At

31, Klaus Kroell could be described as a late starter. He won his first

downhill in 2009, then last year he took Wengen by storm. He has been a

regular on the podium since and will be amongst the favourites

today. Klaus Kroell next to go for Austria,

number 19, the defending champion on the Lauberhorn downhill course.

And the Kroell family keeping it real. His nephew won two Europa Cup

downhill races on back-to-back days in Val Gardena -- de zer. Klaus

Kroell Klatters the control gate on the Hundschopf, sets up for the

Minsch-Kante, and slightly low in the Canadian curve. That wasn't the

ideal line. Half a second down now. He edges towards the safety nets on

the left - 100.7 on the entrance to the Kernen-S, and on the way out,

only 76.5, so work to be done on the lower half of the course for

Klaus Kroell of Austria. The next split, 203.1 for Beat Feuz, and

Kroell is carrying good speed but is more than half a second behind

still, .59 back, and there is no doubting his stamina. He'll handle

the bottom part of the course with no problems at all. He's .67 behind,

and the Swiss beginning to sense that a win could be on the cards

today - Kroell, a little lower than ideal. And he's lost more speed and

.89 behind. Last year's champion is only fifth in 2012.

Well, that was a good one from Klaus Kroell, no major mistakes but

just didn't generate the same acceleration out of the turns,

particularly in the Kernen-S, then again on the Finnish S, couldn't

match what he did last year. Bode Miller was made to race this

mountain. He won the downhill here in '07 and '08, one of the greatest

skiers of his generation, he's burned hot and cold in his years.

Victory in Beaver Creek last month gave us a glimpse of what he is

capable of, and he was impressive in the super-combined this week.

Bode Miller, always exciting to watch. And he's after it already

with a hugely powerful start - Miller with a really high line

there. Look at his fists planted in front of his face, a new

aerodynamic touch position for Bode. He's got the reward, 1/10 of a

second up as he comes to the Hundschopf, a massive jump from

Miller, Minsch-Kante, big again. And a decent line on the Canadian

Kerr. Now the S - how is his speed? 103.7 on the way in - goodness me,

it's quick - 75.7 on the way out - not so fast at the exit. Now, the

bottom part of the course, Miller knows better than anybody. He went

well in training. He's won here twice in the past, but look at this,

2/100 of a second off. This is winnable for Bode Miller. We have

seen him fall across the finish line in the past too -- to clinch

the victory. He's going to have to do more to take the lead off Beat

Feuz. Half a second has brought cheers from the crowd. The last

section of the Lauberhorn - Miller's tired. He's giving it

everything. He skis into fifth, and Feuz knows how important that is.

A very unusual place for Bode to throw away that race. It was after

the Haneggschuss. They call it the - when he came over the Silberhorn,

he took no air and lost half a second. It was dead flat and dead

easy, but that was where his race was last.

Marc Gisin in the start for Switzerland wearing number 25,

sister Dominique going well on the women's World Cup circuit this

season, and Ma rc going well at the Wengen - look at this, half a

second quicker than anybody else coming towards the Hundschopf -

clean jump. Now, the Minsch-Kante - he's got to get this bit right -

wasn't pretty, but still ahead, 8/100 of a second up. This would be

a shock for Marc Gisin, who has never really achieved anything in

downhill in the past - oh, and he's lost it completely! Did the splits

twice. His heart would have been in his mouth - caught his edge once,

then caught it again. Two rapid recoveries from Marc Gisin, and

he's still in the hunt here - 7/100 of a second behind despite a couple

of huge mistakes on the flats. Now back into the shade, and down the

Haneggschuss. It's Gisen about to cause a huge upset here. Still,

very close to the target, just 16/100 of a second off team-mate

Beat Feuz, chance of a Swiss 1-2 in Wengen. He's kept the crowd

entertained, and he'll remember this run, last couple of turns. He

still looks pretty strong. And Marc Gisin is 11th - 1.3 seconds away, a

couple of close moments - Marc Gisin must have had rockets on his

feet because he was so fast on the top part of the course, then that

mistake, that double-edged catch. That would have given him a big

scare, but lost the speed lower down. The time slipped away. So

Swiss sensation Beat Feuz claims his first Wengen downhill victory

beating Hannes Reichelt by nearly half a second with Christof

Innerhofer taking his first ever podium in this race in third.

Didier Cuche's quest for an elusive victory on the Lauberhorn goes on.

He finished 15th. Now, if the downhill races whet your skiing

appetite, there is plenty more on Katie summerhaze finished fifth in

the women's competition. Britain's Shelley Rudman won her first

skeleton World Cup in nearly a year when she triumphed in Germany on

Friday. She was fastest on both runs to

beat home favourite Marien by half a second. Congratulations, a new

star, the Lauberhorn winner. Any trip to Wengen would not be

complete without mentioning a train cut to the Eiger. It is an

incredible piece of engineering, which celebrates its 100th

anniversary this year. You can imagine the pitch on Dragons' Den,

I want to build a railway through the face of the Eiger which peaks

out between the Moench and Jungfrau. I don't think it would have been

picked up. This idea was came up with in 1983.

Out walking his daughter in the mountains he realised this could be

a reality. Construction started in 1896, despite every engineer saying

it couldn't be done. Just 16 years later it was finished. Just 100

years after the Jungfrau was conquered on foot, they had a

railway. Each year 650,000 tourists use this train to explore the

Jungfrau. On race day there'll be 35,000 Swiss fans relying on this

train to get them to the best positions.

We cannot finish the show about trains without having a horn.

This has to be the most rewarding train ride in the world. Not only

does it give you access to an year that was previously the preserve of

professional mountaineers, the return journey, if you fancy it, is

D We've had a fantastic start to the season. A huge amount of snow

has fallen. That means there'll be a lot of people heading off pist

looking for powder. The good news is the huge amount of

snow which fell in the last storm fell at relatively warm

temperatures, which means it has settled nicely and the snow pack is

nice and stable. The bad news is it has warmed up and already we are

starting to see a crusty layer here on top of the powder. Here we go.

Any more snow falls on top of that, it's going to break away and be at

risk of avalanche. If you are thinking of heading off pist, there

are three pieces of equipment you must have. Transceiver.

Shovel. And probe.

These are the basics. In fact, in some parts of the Alps you can get

fined for riding off pist without one. Just having these three pieces

of equipment in a back-pack is not enough. You need to know how to use

them. I will go and bury this transceiver. You go and find it.

will track this signal down. I am down to 3 3.6 metres. Two metres,

1.6. That has lengthened there. The signal is weaker. I will come back

across here. I will drop a line here. Somewhere in the middle here.

Let's go across and I am walking on the other plain now. So, what I

have created is a cross N the middle of that should be our

victim.Vy Never been buried in an avalanche. Being poked by one of

these must be the nicest thing ever. When you come across a body, leave

the probe in there. You start to dig, depending on how deep the

probe is two metres from the downhill side. I am come from the

side and hopefully not going to put a shovel blade through someone's

head. There we go, one transceiver. Here are a few of the golden rules,

never snow off-piste on your own. Check the avalanche warnings. Ski

patrollers are a good source of information.

Stay away from south-facing slopes later in the day. They get the sun

most of the day. They are more likely to slip. Never, ever follow

someone else's tracks. It could be that you follow a glider could skis

with a parachute. Get yourself a guide. You will get to ride the

most incredible terrain of your life - guaranteed. Well the Alps

are at their best. Thousands of British holidaymakers will make

their way out here this winter. A lot of people don't realise there

is an alternative destination closer to home. It is one

particularly close to Graham's heart.

The drive towards any mountain range never fails to give me goose

bumps. The horizon suddenly becomes more

dramatic. The temperature drops a few degrees.

There's an excitement, an tispaigs of taking on what they --

anticipation of taking on what nature throws at you. This drive is

different to me. The Cairngorm mountains in the Scottish Highlands

was once a home from home. It was the first place I set foot on snow

and learnt to ski. This brings back memories. This was the caravan site

we used to park our caravan for the whole winter. There's only one in

there right now. There used to be tonnes of people used to caravan.

We would go up Friday evening. It would be really, really cold. You

would scrape the ice off the inside of the windows and go skiing

Saturday, Sunday and drive back down the road on a Sunday evening.

When the snow was really bad, you couldn't get up the mountain, we

would come to this spot here and build jumps and stuff. Some

It was down there when I was five and my brother was six that we

first put skis on. We had lace-up boots. I cannot really remember too

much about it, but this is it. This is where we started skiing. If it

was not for skiing in Scotland we would never have made it as World

Cup ski racers. We would go to the Alps as well, but the weekends

training here is what gave us the mileage on snow.

I've come across a man who used to instil fear into me when I was a

child. My first dooch from when I was ten or 11 -- coach, from when I

was ten or 11. I remember you as a little boy like that, you know,

with a noty nose and so on. Do you remember Martin. He was older than

me. I don't want to be unfair to you, but mar tain was technically

bet -- Martin was technically better than you. I don't think he

had quite this - it didn't matter how you skied, you wanted to be

down there and be the first one. remember some of the punishments,

there was 100 shot swings was probably the most common thing when

I misbehaved. What did it teach you? It taught me to not misbehave

and do them very well. They taught you cone trol, body position, stick

control -- control, body position, stick control, everything. We did

that a lot with you lot. Remember? That is why you won the race?

Martin only won it once. I won it twice.

Did Martin had a World Cup? Let's not go into World Cup. Martin

placed way back than I did in the World Cup.

It's a credit to both of you. I think it's a tremendous credit to

you, Graham. You are still going down with the camera.

Doesn't it give you the Willies? It's very scary.

I love this course. The toughest challenge in downhill racing.

OK it's not as high as the Alps. It is 1200 metres, where as the town

is 18,50. If you catch it on a good day it can be incredible. The peeks

have been rounded, flat. When you look off the backside of the

Cairngorm here you get a sense of wilderness. On a bad day it can be

wild. The top of Cairngorm mountain has recorded the highest winds in

the UK. It can vary between sheet ice and slush.

Cheap flights to Europe, to the Alps, it is cheaper to come here to

Scotland, but now we find that people, because of the economy,

they are choosing to come to Scotland and not do their European

holidays. People started to come back skiing. Our season ticket

sales are right up. We are 2,500 season tickets. People have the

confidence to buy a season ticket now. Mid-week numbers are getting

better. People will travel from Glasgow and Edinburgh. Scottish

skiing is being promoted as a genuine alternative to travelling

to the Alps. On the competitive side it is less about ski racing

and more about free-style skiing and snowboarding. Events like this

in the heart of Edinburgh city centre point a new direction for

When I grew up here it was about ski racing and having the numbers

of people doing it, once you reach that Critical Mass then you can

start to develop and get really good athletes coming through. Do

you think you are there yet? We can always do with more numbers. I

think that we have the programmes in place just now that we are

putting in athletes into positions where they can compete and hold

their own, not just in the UK, but against the rest of the European

and international market. The free- style scenes are progressing here,

with the dry ski slopes as well. It is looking good for the future.

You must have people come along and say, "Where can I go skiing?"

to raise snow sports, not just free-style. Hopefully we will get

people interested. Back in the Highlands, Scotland's next

generation of ski racers train for a potential future in the sport.

The ambition is to unearth an Olympic or World Cup star. There

has been shortfalls in funding and membership. We normally have 40

kids. We have 17 training in the programme all together. Some are

off on British children's teams. They come and go into the programme.

On an average year, 40. How many kids were there when I was

training? There must have been 150 in the club race pg and training. -

- racing and training. There are not enough kids to push.

The good ones to the top. Get your race-heads on. Think about

the technical aspects you are working on. Let's go. A nice, high

early line. Off you go. With the group of kids you've got, what is

the prosecution and where you do hope to get -- what is the

progression and where do you hope to get them to? My programme

coaches them from eight to 18. The aspiration for them is to get into

the British children's team, Scottish team, Olympic team.

It's 30-odd years since Martin and I honed our skills before

progressing on to the world scene. If you can straight-line this, this

is good preparation for racing the Highland Cup.

First Hanz insists Martin was better than you, then Ucatt

gorycally told me he was too young and inexperienced to win this race.

Some you win, some you lose. have highlights from the youth

Winter Olympics games at 7pm tonight on the red button, plus

every night this week. More medal chances for Team GB. Good luck to