[Culturechat] Winter in the Heartland

[Vance Roy]

A lot of Heartland Idyllers have made it up to Engelberg in the summer
months. Engelberg lies at the foot of Mount Titlis and really comes
alive more in the winter than in the summer. It is a winter sports
mecca, and each year I try to go to the World Cup ski jumping held
there. This weekend was the occasion for the two day event.

Despite a daytime high of only 8 degrees F., it was a cloudless day.
There was enough snow to make it fun, and the newly renovated ski jump
was ready for its inauguration. Most Americans probably only see ski
jumping during an olympic event, but the World Cup is a regular tour
every winter with most of the events in Europe, Canada, and Japan.
Practically every weekend there is an event somewhere in Europe that is
televised. Those events and the internet is how I educated myself
regarding this sport. Engelberg is a regular stop for the tour. This
year, the Americans were represented by two young men as olympic hopefuls.

After training up to Engelberg from Sachseln along with a lot of fans,
we stopped at a friend's home to deposit some gear and headed over to
the jump. There were grandstands set up with every nation competing
represented by flags, music, and banners. The sun had just settled
behind the mountain ridge at 2 PM when the first round began. When the
sun goes, the temperature really gets cold, but since we were dressed so
that looked like two
Pillsbury Dough Boys in all our clothes, it wasn't too bad. Being in
such a crowd had a warming effect.

The cold is forgotten as these young men start hurtling down the ramp to
reach about 55 MPH before leaping into space and flying down to the
landing area. When one looks up to the start at 120 meters above, one
wonders what possesses them to do it. There were two runs, the first
with 51 contestants which is whittled to 31 after the run is over. The
second run was for the prize. Allen Alborn, an American from Alaska, set
a new jump record, and by doing so, moved up to a final sixth place in
the standings for Saturday and a Sunday finish of fourth place. You can
tell the Americans are gearing up for the Olympics.

Afterwards, we had a nice dinner with our Engelberg friends while the
feeling returned to our toes and fingers. Then it was back on a late
train to home. I tried some pictures and got a few before my batteries
got too cold to function.

The web site follows in another message.

Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.