The only ski resort to produce two Overall World Cup winners in 1969 (Gertrud Gabl and Karl Schranz) is one of the most famous areas for ski racing and ski instruction since the late 1920's. It happened because of its most famous skiers and one big ski pioneer. What is considered as the first modern ski race took place there in 1928 - the Arlberg Kandahar created by Great Britain's Arnold Lunn with the support of the local champion Hannes Schneider. In 2001 the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Ski Klub Arlberg will be held during the first FIS World Championships of the 21st Century. The ski-methods from Arlberg had been the standard for years all over the world. Above St Anton, at St Christoph, the Austrian Ski School has its headquarters where ski instructors come improve their teaching technique.
St Anton is also very popular among thousands of Scandinavian, British and North-American visitors who consider it one of the best resorts in the world. In fact the lodging facilities and the restaurants are excellent - Including the "Old Post" or the "Schwarzer Adler".
The old "Kapall" downhill held all the races until recently and was a very demanding run with difficult turns and great jumps. New courses have been designed for the 2001 World Championships which are tested this winter. All the runs will end in the same finish area located above to the center of the town, near the old train station. Before becoming a famous international resort, St Anton was only known as a small village at the foot of the Arlberg pass, a crucial communication road from East to West. Its destiny was dramatically changed when a tunnel was built for the trains going through what was the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The fact that the famous Orient-Express from London to Istanbul cruised through St Anton may explain why the resort became so popular in Great Britain. After St Anton got the 2001 Worlds, organizers moved the entire railway system on the opposite side of the valley, giving more room to the resort.