Germany’s first ski tunnel in Oberhof

Tue, Sep  23, 2008 - By FIS

The new Tour de Ski venue Oberhof (GER) will receive a new attraction and top-class training facility for the top athletes. The groundbreaking for the first ski tunnel in Germany, situated next to the Ski Arena at the Grenzadler, took place at the end of May in presence of famous politicians and sports persons. The construction should be ready to enable the German athletes to prepare themselves for the Olympic Winter Games next summer. Use of the facility for other athletes and tourists is also planned.

The tunnel will have a width of 8 m and be 4 m high. In total, a track of 1.9km length is planned and the profile will adapted to the terrain of the Thuringian woods, which means that challenging up- and downhills with 12 % incline will be included. According to official information the project will cost 13.5 million Euros (excl. taxes) and will be financed half by the state and half by the national government.

Ski tunnels are since several years a well-known alternative for the summer training of the top athletes in Cross-Country, Nordic Combined and Biathlon. The first ski tunnel was built in Finland in Vuokatti ten years ago, and this tunnel is still one of the most famous and attractive ski centers of our World Cup athletes together with the more recently built Swedish ski tunnel in Torsby.

See http://www.skitunnel.com for more information about the Oberhof tunne (but be prepared to translate German!)