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Exploring a skier's paradise
ST. ANTON, Austria -- Greetings from Ski Heaven. This hamlet, where the Alpine Ski World Championships are being held, is a working home to 320 ski instructors and has an hourly ski-lift usage on peak days of over 100,000. Its population is just 2,400. There isn't really a U.S. equivalent to the way sport and culture intermingle in such a charming way here. The prancing feet and waft of sports rub at the Boston Marathon? The vroom, vroom of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May? The stables at Churchill Downs? Yes, those can be fun, stately and addicting, but they aren't set in towns that are eight centuries old, with guesthouses and inns whose proprietors are 10th-generation owners. We're at the Tyrolean foothills, from every vantage point you can see majestic, snow-capped fir trees. In certain areas of this region you can travel from town to town by gondola or find houses so engulfed by snow that inhabitants must strap on cross-country skis or snowshoes just to get to a side road. There are two ski schools here and a separate ski kindergarten, open to all tots who are no longer in diapers. Eighty-four cable cars run on 260 kilometers of groomed tracks -- or, if you prefer, "prepared pistes." The normal population of the Arlberg village in which St. Anton is nestled has tripled to 7,500 during the championships, leaving even some official visitors with a corner room at a local gasthaus. The stadium holds 10,000 spectators. At four times the local populace, that would be like sticking 40 million people in Yankee Stadium. There are 1,500 accredited journalists helping to bring the championships to a worldwide audience of 500 million. Locals insist that this is the cradle of modern skiing. A century ago this month an explorer named Carl Schuler climbed from St. Anton to a hospital in St. Christoph at the Arlberg pass. There he declared the creation of the world's first ski club (and probably asked for a mug of hot chocolate). School children are out in force at the championships because school is on break. Many have painted faces and carry either red and white balloons, the national colors, or purple, the official color of the event's chocolate sponsor. During the previous two days you could listen to live coverage of downhill training on Radio Tirol or watch the action on two television stations. Including the après-ski interviews, the coverage lasted about five hours each day. National teams are staying at different hotels and guesthouses that line the narrow, snow-covered main street, also known as the "pedestrian precinct," which is closed to vehicles not sanctioned by event organizers. Each morning I share breakfast sittings (oeufs et café) with the French. Bon appetit. Many teams, excluding the rather solitary skier from Grenada, have their own bars or restaurants dedicated to them. Some arrangements are permanent; others will last only through the end of the championships on Feb. 10. At the Norwegian house, the gentleman manning the door when we arrived was former world and Olympic champ Kjetil Andre Aamont. The Swiss team could be found at Restaurant Greiswirt, home of a scrumptious cheese fondue. The Finns gathered at the Lap Haus, a place where the Suomi could sample the elk. Bobo's Restaurant, which doubles as the U.S. House, is home to Tex-Mex and cold Budweiser. Daron Rahlves tended bar there the night after he won the Super G title. Don't even try to get into the Austrians' hangout, which is manned by three guards and spied upon from beyond red ropes by hundreds of screaming locals. I hear the schnitzel and strudel are as good as can be there. The kiosks near the stadium include the Hermann Maier booth, where fans can buy a T-shirt, a watch, a scarf, even a pink piggy bank with Maier's personal logo emblazoned on it. Two kiosks over is the betting stand, where a Rahlves supporter could have gotten 25 schillings to 1 for his victory; Rahlves is only a 10-1 shot in Saturday's downhill. Bands and groups in the colors of national teams line the streets. The locals provided an enthusiastic, letter-shaping complement to the Village People's Y.M.C.A. on opening night, though Anton the Ski Bunny, the event mascot, took a bad fall attempting an M. Not to worry. If he's a local resident, he's probably much better on skis. Sports Illustrated staff writer Brian Cazeneuve covers Olympic sports for the magazine and is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com. Look for periodic reports from St. Anton during the championships.
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