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You might remember this event from last season. The challenge today is to get from the bottom of the men’s downhill course to the top as quickly as possible. There are no rules concerning how you go about this as long as you don’t use anything motorised, but most people use running shoes fitted with crampons 

Competitors congregate in the village.

Today however we have a problem. There’s a big storm up the hill and no trains are going up the mountain, nor are any ski lifts running. The big cloud over the Jungfrau gives a clue to the severity of the storm.

Nevertheless the race goes ahead on a shortened course to ensure the safety of the racers. We walk to the stadium to see the start.

Our next-door neighbour Jana is doing the race with her friend, as are Hayley and Nuala. A gun fires and they’re off.

The race today will end at the top of Bumps; this is an ascent of about 500 metres vertical. A stiff climb for sure, but some way off the 1100 vertical metres that the full course measures.