Austrian Team, Military Racers Expected for 12th Annual Hannes Schneider Meister Cup

Franconia Notch, NH - Cranmore Mountain Resort and New England Ski Museum will collaborate to honor Austrian skimeister Hannes Schneider at the North Conway resort March 7-9, 2008. It is a year of anniversaries, as Cranmore celebrates its 70th year of skiing, and the Hannes Schneider Ski School, whose home was at Cranmore beginning in 1939, is 100 years old.

Hannes Schneider is known by many as the founding father of ski instruction for having popularized the emerging sport of Alpine skiing in the early decades of the 20th century in his native Arlberg region. Following the German annexation of Austria on March 12, 1938 - a 70th anniversary with darker ramifications - Schneider was jailed and then held under house arrest because of his antipathy to the local Nazi figures who gained power in his region. New York banker and Cranmore founder Harvey Dow Gibson managed to arrange for Schneider's release and emigration to the U.S., and from 1939 to 1955, Schneider ran his ski school from Cranmore. The area became an international center of skiing culture by virtue of his presence there, with many notable figures of the sport making stops in North Conway to pay homage to the great skimeister.

This year a Ski Club Arlberg race team from Lech Austria, on the west side of the Arlberg Pass where Schneider was born and spent his youth, will attend the event and bring an international touch to the competition. Stefan Jochum, vice president of the Ski Club Arlberg and the leader of the group, reports that the director of the ski school in Stuben, the ski team trainer from Lech, and the Chief of Race for World Cup races in St. Anton will be among the group.

The Hannes Schneider race also honors military skiers of the U.S. Army. Schneider himself served in the Austrian mountain troops in World War I, and his son Herbert and several of Schneider's proteges were members of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II. Four teams of military skiers are expected at this year's Schneider race, including one composed of still-stalwart World War II 10th veterans. Joining them will be a team from the active-duty 10th Mountain Division of Fort Drum, a team from the Army Mountain Warfare School, and one from the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

This year soldiers of the recently re-activated 3rd Battalion, 85th Infantry Regiment will represent the 10th Mountain Division of Ft. Drum, NY. The battalion functions as a transition unit for 10th soldiers who are recovering from wounds or injuries. At least one member of the original 3rd Battalion 85th, Newc Eldredge, is expected to be at the event.

Apart from the race competition, the Hannes Schneider Meister Cup Race offers a variety of events and action throughout the day on Saturday. An Opening Ceremony kicks off the day at 9:15 AM, with military Color Guard and the introduction of the Schneider Family. An ice-carving competition, all-day silent auction with unique signed skiing memorabilia and other items, and the vintage clothing worn by many in attendance will keep spectators entertained all day.

Teams can still register for the race up until March 5. The entry fee for a team of five is $375, or $75 for an individual. Race entry includes lift privileges and all social events from Friday evening through Sunday morning.

On Sunday morning at the Eastern Slope Inn, ski museum Board member Jeremy Davis will present a slide show on the 'lost' ski areas of New England. Davis is one of three creators of the website www.nelsap.org that documents the closed ski areas of the region, a topic that has struck a chord with many and was recently the subject of a story in the New York Times.

More information about the Hannes Schneider Race can be found online at www.skimuseum.org or by calling the Museum at 800-639-4181.

About the New England Ski Museum
Located in Franconia Notch next to the Cannon Mountain Tramway, NH, the New England Ski Museum is a non-profit, member-supported museum dedicated to collecting, preserving and exhibiting aspects of ski history. The Museum is open from 10 AM to 5 PM seven days a week from Memorial Day through the end of March. Admission is free.

Media Contact: Jeff Leich
New England Ski Museum
(800) 639-4181
jeff@skimuseum.org