There’s nowhere like home - Peter Fill

12 ALPE | Summer

2016 has been a phenomenal year for Peter Fill. He gathers his energy at home in Castelrotto.

There’s nowhere like home This year, Peter Fill has not only triumphed in the Kitzbühel Streif, the most challenging ski race in the world, but has also won the overall title in the downhill World Cup. He finds the peace and mental strength for his extraordinary achievements at home, training in the mountains that he loves.

Peter Fill with his two skiing trophies: the Crystal Globe and the Kitzbühel Chamois.

P Peter Fill doesn’t get the chance to spend much time at home; that’s maybe why he spends the time that he does have here so intensively. In 1999, Peter Fill, not 18 years old at the time, took the gold in all 4 skiing disciplines at the Italian Junior Championships. His World Cup debut followed in 2002, and since then the skier from Castelrotto has been travelling the length and breadth of the globe. Two years ago his son Leon was born, he got

married, built a house in his hometown, and went on to have the season of his life. Time and again he reached top ranks, closing with a coup on the legendary Streif. As the wild conditions on the Hahnenkamm slope threw out the other top favourites, Peter Fill hurtled to the lead in a breakneck race towards victory. An enormous triumph which he went on to top in March, as the first Italian to win the crystal globe in the downhill World Cup. »

Text: Rosa Maria Erlacher Photo: Helmuth Rier

Summer | ALPE 13

Tips from Peter Fill Mountain bike

Racing bike

Running

Hiking

Laurin Hut: Castelrotto > Tiosels > Passo Pinei > Bulla > Monte Piz > Panorama > Laurin Hut > Spitzbühl > San Valentino > Castelrotto

San Valentino > Castelrotto > Passo Pinei > Roncadizza > Ponte Gardena > Chiusa > Val Gardena > Passo Pinei > Castelrotto > San Valentino

Laranza Loop Route: Telfen > Laranza Forest > King’s Vantage Point > Telfen

Sciliar Tour: Compaccio > Panorama > Forcella dei Denti di Terrarossa > Alpe di Tires > Sciliar > Monte Petz > Tourist trail > Saltner Hut Tschapit > Compaccio

The Milk Roas: Compaccio > Panorama > Rosa Alpina Hut > Molignon Hut > Saltria > Rauch Hut > Hotel Ritsch > Gostner Hut > Compaccio

Laghetto di Fiè Lake Trail: Alpe di Siusi Aerial Cableway valley station > Tschurtsch Meadows > Laghetto di Fiè Lake > Alpe di Siusi Aerial Cableway Alpe di Siusi Half-Marathon: Compaccio > Hotel Icaro > Ortisei Cable Car mountain station > Hotel Ritsch > Rauch Hut > Rosa Alpina Hut > Panorama > Laurin Hut > Compaccio

Home again. I meet Peter at his home. He’s just back from South Korea, and the jetlag has yet to wear off. He’s glowing with joy, nonetheless, and it’s not hard to see how happy he is to be home with his family. He shows me the wonderful views over the Dolomite Mountains, the Sciliar with the jagged

14 ALPE | Summer

pinnacles of the Santner and the Euringer, and the snow-blanketed peaks of the Denti di Terra Rossa with the Spitzbühl beyond, at the outer reaches, the Alpe di Siusi at their foot. “When I’m not racing or training with the team, I follow my daily workout training program at home,” says Peter, showing

The successful ski racer hones his physical and mental energy in the countryside.

me a fully-equipped training studio with strengthtraining machines of all and every kind. He begins every day with intensive strength training exercises under the guidance of his personal trainer.

nearby Laranza Forest and runs a loop-route in the shade of the pines, where the uneven wood trails provide perfect coordination and balance training conditions.

Daily Training Regime. Peter draws his inner peace, his steady serenity, his mental strength, his reflexes and stamina from the nature and the countryside around him, in a land which seems to have been created with endurance training in mind. The Alpe di Siusi lies at an elevation of between 1,800 and 2,300m, optimal for high-altitude training; in winter, men’s cross-country teams from all over the world come here to train, while in summer, the plateau, which offers 180km of running trails distributed over 20 trails in a variety of lengths and difficulties, is a favoured destination for international long-distance runners.

Rest and Relaxation. The 33 year-old athlete is a bit of an all-rounder, and counts football, golf, motorcycling, hiking and climbing amongst his hobbies. “I can just switch off and have fun when I play a game of football with my friends or a round of golf with my dad,” he says. With the 18-hole San Vigilio golf course situated just under Siusi, the location also fits in perfectly with his training sessions.

But Peter is never more enthusiastic than when he talks of his climbing expeditions and hiking tours.

He’s conquered all the classic climbing tours and ascents in the area: the Punta Santner, the Monte Castello Ridge, the Sasso Piatto Via Ferrata routes, the Santner Pass. And he loves heading out in the early morning darkness to enjoy the first rays of the morning sun at the summit cross of the Sciliar.

“I love having this Running Park right on my doorstep”, adds Peter. Here, he can enjoy some down-

time with his family, and then head out of the door on a cycling trip to Gardena and the Isarco Valley, tackling narrow passes and country roads on a series of ups and downs that would bring out a sweat in the best of athletes. Or, alternatively, he takes to his feet across the sweetly scented hayfields to the

“Hiking and climbing; that’s what real fun and relaxation is all about,” he enthuses. That’s when he clears his mind, and revels in the stillness of the mountains, the challenges and the power of nature. And that’s when he draws renewed energy, in body and in soul. «

Peter Fill and his cousin Denise Karbon are both World Champions: She triumphed in the 2007/2008 Giant Slalom, while he is the 2015/2016 Downhill World Cup champion.

Summer | ALPE 15