P H O T O CO U R T E S Y O F D PA P I C T U R E A L L I A N C E / A L A M Y S T O C K P H O T O
SNOW KINGS
THE
KAISER Retired downhiller Franz Klammer enjoys life as ruler of Austrian ski racing. by ROB STORY Franz Klammer at the Olympics, Innsbruck, 1976.
W
hen it comes to performing one of the Alps’ best-known outdoor activities, Franz Klammer really stinks. He’s so awful, in fact, that both new acquaintances and old friends cringe with pity. No, Franz Klammer couldn’t yodel his way out of a paper bag. His attempts register only sad, whiny bleats. Fortunately, Klammer performs significantly better at another, more vital alpine tradition: ski racing. His pathetic yodel occurred in Telluride, Colorado, last December, while giving an interview in the Fairmont Hotel named after him: Franz Klammer Lodge. At age 64, his is a fascinating story. Following his World Cup debut at the age of 19 in 1972, Klammer won 25 World Cup downhills over the next 13 seasons — a record that stood till broken recently by Lindsey Vonn. He won Kitzbühel’s treacherous Hahnenkamm race four times. The Austrian remains famous to this day for his electrifying downhill blitz to Olympic gold at Innsbruck in 1976 — a breathtaking series of hairball recoveries that inspired more people to take up skiing than any single event before or since. Thanks to Franz Klammer, skiing became a sport for the masses, not just silver spooners. Klammer’s journey began in the Austrian village of Mooswald, Carinthia, where chairlifts did not exist. Klammer would 88
occasionally hike up the surrounding hills and ski down, but spent more time on his family’s farm, mowing hay and milking cows by hand. (One of the first things his family purchased once “Franzi” attained affluence was a milking machine.) Carinthia, a southern state bordering Italy and Slovenia, almost never put skiers on the Austrian national ski team. Coaches told 14-year-old Klammer he would only survive by keeping his mouth shut and whipping more advantaged teammates from Tirol and Salzburg. So he did. Slalom, where Klammer began his career, held limited appeal. “You need to wake up too early for slalom!” he jokes. “Downhill races, on the other hand, take place at midday. Also, there are too many gates in slalom. I prefer the freedom of downhill, where there are big risks and big rewards. Turns out that downhill is my natural discipline.” Ya think!? Klammer won the World Cup’s overall downhill (DH) title four consecutive times from 1975-78, and added another in 1983. In addition to Olympic glory, he took two golds in the World Championships. He spent his 13-year career standing atop podiums everywhere from Jackson Hole to Val Gardena. Yet no competition can compare to conquering Innsbruck’s Patscherkofel course in 1976. Klammer came into the Olympic Winter Games on an overwhelming hot streak — he’d won every
