Murren Celebrates 100 Years Of The Kandahar Ski Racing Club

This winter Switzerland’s beautiful car-free village of Mürren will host the 100th anniversary celebrations for the world’s oldest alpine ski racing club, the Kandahar, which was founded by the British in Mürren on 30 January 1924 and still has its HQ there. The Club took its name from the Victorian military hero Lord Roberts of Kandahar, donor of a prestigious Downhill race trophy. Kandahar members include the first women’s World Champion Esmé Mackinnon, the first British skier to win a World Cup race, Dave Ryding, who triumphed in the Slalom at Kitzbühel in January 2022, and Jasmin Taylor winner of 35 World Cup and World Championship medals for Telemark.

The Kandahar’s founding father Arnold Lunn made Mürren the cradle of Alpine ski racing. His campaign for recognition of ‘British rules’ Downhill and Slalom racing bore fruit when the International Ski Federation (FIS) invited the British to organise alpine skiing’s first World Championship at Mürren in February 1931.

Mürren’s 2023-24 season will open in November, underpinned by high altitude and snow farming. The village is a gateway to 213km of piste throughout the Jungfrau region, and the spectacular black run from the Schilthorn features on every keen skier’s must-do list. One highlight of its winter season will be the 80th Inferno on 27 January. The world’s largest and longest mass-participation Downhill, first contested by 17 Kandahar members in 1928, sees 1800 amateur racers tackle a gruelling 15km course from Schilthorn to Lauterbrunnen.

Long famous for the beauty of its clifftop setting and iconic view of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, Mürren gained worldwide celebrity for its leading role in the 1969 Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, featuring the most exciting ski chase in cinema history.

Its place in sports history assured, Mürren is no less proud of its status as a leader in cutting edge technology and eco-tourism. It was an early adopter of green energy and a commitment to sustainability. The Schilthorn’s famous revolving restaurant and summit building Piz Gloria (2970m), originally completed for the Bond film, has been refurbished resulting in a 75% reduction in energy consumption. Today’s building is powered entirely by water; even Piz Gloria’s award-winning toilets – a sightseeing attraction in themselves – operate entirely on rainwater. The entire Lauterbrunnen Valley area is powered 100% by water. Most ingredients used for dining at Piz Gloria and in restaurants throughout the village are sourced from local producers.

A major construction project to upgrade Mürren’s cable car system is underway and on schedule to launch in 2026. Schilthornbahn 20XX will use the latest hybrid safe-power regenerative system to feed batteries off discreetly located solar panels and the cable car’s own braking power. The new system will double transportation capacity, reduce travel time and cut energy costs by 10%. Energy storage will allow the cable car to run even in the event of power failure at a reduced speed. 

• Existing 4-section ride reduced to 3 sections: Stechelberg-Mürren-Schilthorn:
• Stechelberg-Mürren will be the world’s steepest conventional cable car, the other two sections will be single track Funifor cable cars operating independently of each other
• Total travel time reduced from 32 to 22 minutes
• Capacity doubled from around 400 to 800 passengers per hour
• Schilthorn will be accessible 365 days a year
• Incline length reduced by 18% from 6935m to 5685m
• Greater high wind resilience
• Aesthetics enhanced by bigger windows and low-rise terminal buildings

Mürren’s snow-farming began in the 2020-21 winter season starting with 110,000 cubic metres of snow. Two depots in the Engetal area of the slopes, covered and camouflaged with white membranes, now store 150,000m² of compacted snow. At the end of October the snow is recycled to piste no.11 ensuring an early start to the resort’s season in November, which continues right through to May.

Winter Highlights include:

• 24-27 January: 80th International Inferno Ski Races – world’s largest amateur downhill race (1800 competitors)
• 9-10 March: Whitestyle Open Weekend – Big Air Event and slopestyle contest
• 2-5 May: Telemark Only Festival – Schilthorn open exclusively for telemarkers