The legendary Corviglia Run. St. Moritz

St. Moritz is more than just a holiday resort. It was also the birthplace of Aline winter tourism (in 1864) and has twice hosted the Winter Olympics. Nevertheless, St. Moritz first became famous thanks to its mineral springs, which were discovered 3,000 years ago and established the town as a summer spa resort early on.

The Free Fall is the steepest starting ramp in ski racing. Marc Berthod discovered this for himself in 2014 when he accelerated from 0 to 140 kilometres an hour in six seconds.

Being a native of St. Moritz, Marc Berthod has a lot of associations with this slope. His father too. Martin Berthod has been committed to ski racing in St. Moritz since 1981. During this time he has had to overcome the odd problem, one of which was dealing with an unusual energy field.

Race manager Martin Berthod was anxious. “I was warned of a ‘bad energy vein around mast number 13’. I’ll never forget these words.”

He kept this to himself for the duration of his years spent as race manager because he didn’t want to give his staff cause for worry. Now he is airing his secret. Strange things happened around mast number 13.

Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister nearly collided with a piste worker in 2006 while skiing at almost 100km/h. It was the result of a communication breakdown. Martin Berthod was also amazed when he watched World Cup favourite Beat Feuz take off in 2017 and sail some 90m during training. “Unimaginable. What would have happened if the later World Champion had been injured here... how would I have looked?” explained Martin Berthod, almost embarrassed. He and his son Marc once again illustrate how far Beat Feuz had flown, and he sent Marc to the place where he had landed. Everything turned out all right. But what influence did this ominous energy vein have?

There’s no end to his drive. Martin Berthod is assuming the job of President of the Alpine Ski World Cup Organisation Committee. Why is the 64-year-old taking on yet another new job? “I want to draw on my contacts to build up a young team that can take on the organisation of the St. Moritz Alpine Ski World Cup races in a few years from now.”