The Olympic and world downhill skiing champion Bernhard Russi from Switzerland is now engaged in designing slopes and trails in addition to his work as a counselor for the International Ski Federation (FIS).
The Sochi Olympic Organizing Committee of the Russian city of Sochi offered him to take over the design and development of alpine trails in Krasnaya Polyana. In an interview for the magazine Business Mir, Bernhard Russi came back on his work in Sochi, the environmental situation in the Caucasus and his encounter with Vladimir Putin.
How were you appointed to design alpine trails in Sochi? I was directly approached by the representatives of the Sochi bid committee. In return, I forwarded the enquiry to the FIS.
As a counselor, it is very important for me to adopt a neutral attitude. It may so happen that I’ll have to work for two candidates.
The primary aim of FIS is to provide all the necessary conditions for the FIS disciplines by setting the right tone for all the candidates. My job consists in assisting a nation seeking to build a new winter sports center. In particular, I am to help them avoid design defects.
How would you describe the technical know-how of your Russian colleagues? They’re still considerably lagging behind in this aspect. This doesn’t mean, however, that there is nothing at Krasnaya Polyana, which is a small but rather nice ski resort.
Facilities under construction are only to develop and emphasize the existing environmental setting. While the existing infrastructure is out of date, we must keep in mind that the top priority is the quality of the snow. There is a lot to do in terms of logistics and organization. It’s a long a way from designing trails to hosting the Olympic Games. We’ll have to start training local specialists in running small competitions first. Then, we will host World Cup competitions, and only after that will it be possible to host the Olympics
You once said that the Caucasus Mountains closely resemble the Alps. Can this give any advantage to Swiss skiers? When people think of Russia, they often imagine morose mountain scenery.
On arriving at Krasnaya Polyana, I was surprised by the view and the many ideal sites for skiing. Although I can’t really say if it will benefit Swiss skiers. I think it is more important to evaluate the potential of a particular slope. Even at this point, it is safe to say that all the necessary foundations to build good trails have been laid in Krasnaya Polyana. The mountains and the environment made it easy for me to design world-class trails there.
Is it necessary for FIS ranking representatives to take part in arranging skiing events form the very beginning? I don’t think so. On this particular aspect, Sochi is just ideal. On the other hand, countries like Switzerland and Austria already have Olympic-level slopes. Our work is for the uninitiated who enter this sphere lacking experience.
In other words, your Olympic trails for Sochi are custom made… You could put it this way. The design was decided before I stepped in and it was reasonably good. The main frame had already been outlined and it was just a matter of drawing a perfect line for future trails along the sketch.
What level of autonomy did you have when designing the trails? I was given free scope for my activities and I took advantage of this opportunity.
I visited the venue many times, both in the summer and in the winter. The most difficult part was not finding an appropriate trail but picking one out of the many available.
What method did you apply? First of all, I looked out for places that guarantee excellent trails from a sports standpoint. A trail shouldn’t be uniform or too easy. It is also essential to include nature and blend new trails into the existing landscape. It is therefore important to figure out how to construct a good trail while interfere as less as possible in the environment.
Personally, I am in favor of making only minimal changes in the landscape, not in turning up all the slopes with bulldozers. The former approach has both ecological and technical advantages. A natural trail is always more changeable and unstable, serving as an additional obstacle for athletes. Krasnaya Polyana is notable for its abundance of snow and high snow mobility, as well as ample precipitation levels. It’s imperative to route trails around localities with particular avalanche hazard otherwise a good deal of financing will have to be spent on safety measures.
How did you get along with your Russian colleagues? Their determination to do their best for the sake of sports is real. It is safe to say that Sochi had a true will to accomplish a lot in the name of sports, whether it would be designated to host the Olympics or not.
I’m going to Sochi in September to monitor the work progress and to make some final modifications.
What do you think of the personal contacts you have? I’ve known Leonid Tyagachev, President of the Russian Olympic committee for quite a long time. He is a good friend of mine and was head coach of the Russian ski team during my career. He then left the world of skiing to start a career in politics. It’s very important to know someone like him personally, who you can turn to in case of need.
What did you like about Russia? I only had an opportunity to get to visit Moscow and Sochi, which can’t be really compared to the rest of Russia. I was especially impressed by Moscow and its fast pace of living. I hadn’t expected the capital of Russia to be cosmopolitan. Sochi has made considerable progress in tourist development and deserves its reputation of being the “Russian El Dorado”. As far as tourism is concerned, present-day Russia resembles Switzerland in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Europe criticized Russia for constructing a winter sports centre inside a National park. The mayor of Sochi was right to discard such criticism as shortsighted, as in Europe such ski resorts already exist.
Is it possible to avoid ecological mistakes, like those made in Switzerland in the 1970’s and 1980’s? In this sphere, it is essential to consider the big picture. The construction work is going to cover an area of 500 hectares, which is negligible in comparision to the size of the Caucasus. Nevertheless, scrupulous design work is necessary to thoughtfully develop this space. There will obviously be some terrain changes, for you can’t build a new alpine ski site without a minimum of intervention. My role is to take charge of this transformation.
When I flew over Krasnaya Polyana by helicopter, I tried to make out some special features of the mountain terrain and to correlate open-space areas with localities prone to avalanche hazards.
One should be sensible when cutting down trees. The fact is that broad clearings won’t make slopes attractive, whether it be for vacationers or professional skiers.
I also usually try to clear a space a little larger than it should, to later be able to rebuild the natural boundary of the forest fringe. Moreover cooperation with ecological organizations matters a lot. In every project I set up, I always first make inquiries about the potential involvement of environmental groups.
President Putin granted you a personal audience… The meeting between us should not be overestimated. It was a coincidence that I happened to be in Krasnaya Polyana when Putin visited Sochi. Then Tyagachev invited me to Sochi, but not to discuss the Olympic bid. Putin is a great skier and it was very interesting for me to meet him in person. I was very impressed by his being really frank and in shape. He also speaks German very well. Our meeting made me realize that one of the most powerful politicians in the world is, after all, an ordinary person like me, who dreams of having more time for his family and for skiing.
On the other hand, he must often feel lonely. The president has an enormous responsibility to bear for it. It certainly isn’t easy to govern a country such as Russia.
We hear quite often that the selection of an Olympic city is above all a political decision. What is the president’s role in promoting Sochi’s bid? The Olympic Games rank among the most popular events and it would be naive to think that sheer love of sport and nothing else is at the heart of it. Hosting the Olympics has an important economic influence on a host country, making it possible to implement projects that wouldn’t be carried out otherwise. The economical and political weights of countries such as Russia, the United States or France is undoubtedly bigger than, say that of Austria or Switzerland. That being said, it would be unsound to only take into account the political heft of a nation in making a decision.
There were three perfect candidates competing to host the 2014 Olympic Games. It made sense to elect Sochi.
Despite the fact that Russia traditionally excels in winter sports, it’s still lagging in some disciplines such as alpine skiing. A major event like the upcoming Olympics will give a chance to concentrate efforts on solving those problems. Political support is essential in any Olympic bid.
What will the Olympics bring to Russia? First of all, the games will boost the development of alpine skiing in Russia.
I’m positive that skiing has been developing rapidly in Russia for the last five years.
Many Russian tourists spend their holidays in ski resorts in Chamonix, Zermatt, St Moritz or Gstaadt, and not just the rich ones. Rosa Khutor in Krasnaya Polyana will become a state-of-the-art sport center, soon able to compete with Swiss resorts.
There’s no doubt that the winter Games, where a greater number of sports available to all are featured, boost the tourism industry much more that the summer Olympics.
And what can Russia bring to the Olympic Games? The idea behind the Olympics is to popularize sports. This will surely be achieved in Russia. It seems to me that the Olympic Games have a greater impact on the local population in places like Sochi or Korea than in Austria, for example. The upcoming Olympics in Russia are going to be really great for that reason.
As you just said, skiing is booming in Russia and Zermatt and Saint-Moritz have become very popular for Russians. How do you explain that? There is no doubt that people like Potanin and other Russians who broke ground in terms of skiing holidays contributed to giving a prestigious image of Swiss ski resorts in Russia. A lot of Russians want to go there, including those who can’t afford it. This may sound a little bit conceited, but I think our resorts are the best in terms of snow and facilities. And the Swiss mountains are certainly the most beautiful.
When asked where to go for the winter holidays, I often reply that although you can go skiing and have fun anywhere, the mountains in Zermatt and Saint-Moritz are really unique.
