THE MUERREN INFERNO RETURNS FOR ITS 78TH EDITION
Ed on his way to earning Double Diamond Devil status
Ski Club Member and Council Member Ed Killwick returns to Mürren for his 30th crack at the legendary Inferno
Following the cancellation of last year’s Inferno, it was fantastic to be back in Mürren for my30th Inferno. The camaraderie during race week is fantastic: experienced racers show newbies the best way to tackle the langlauf and downhill courses, advise on the best wax to use (the Swiss will tell you cheese fondue and the British marmalade), and how to drink flaming Sambucas without setting yourself alight. The night before the downhill a procession passes through the village with a parade of a huge devil effigy, afasnacht (carnival) band all dressed in outlandish fancy dress, flaming torch bearers wearing devil masks and lots of cowbell ringers. Like something out of an ancient pagan festival, the devil is ceremonially burnt at a stake to give good luck to all racers for the following day. It certainly adds to the pre-race atmosphere! Nerves kick in as race day dawns but they disappear quickly with sheer adrenaline and speed as you accelerate away from the start gate, trying to ignore the fallen racers that litter the course.
If all has gone well, the euphoria crossing the finish is fantastic; a real sense of achievement and a natural high. You can’t help but puff your chest out (though it’s still heaving from exertion) and enjoy lots of back slapping from fellow racers and friends. After a short recovery, it’s off to the Woodcutter’s Path to encourage the guys and girls struggling up. It helps that race bibs have people’s names on and all nationalities support everyone else, whether it’s Ernst, Luca or Sally. This year I managed a Kandahar silver medal (second in my age category), an Inferno silver (being within30% of the winner’s time) and was presented with my Double Diamond Devil for completing at least 24 races and accruing the required number of points. Read more about the Inferno on page 42 in our feature, If the Devil could ski.