Stairway to heaven: Skiers scale 223 steps to downhill start

Italian veteran Christof Innerhofer ascended at “the pace of a retiree.” Teammate Dominik Paris acted as if he had won a medal, raising his huge arms in celebration and letting out a scream when he reached the top.

The 223 steps required to get to the start house of the new men’s downhill course at the skiing world championships gave athletes who are more accustomed to descending mountains at breakneck speeds a new challenge.

“We train in summer normally just for going down but here it’s also for going up,” Germany’s Thomas Dreßen said after Sunday's race, which was won by Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria.

The start of the men's downhill course, at the alpine ski World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. To reach the start of the new men's downhill course in Cortina, skiers have to climb 223 steps at an altitude of 2,400 meters (8,000 feet). The course's name, Vertigine, translates to "vertigo." (AP PhotoGabriele Facciotti)

After riding the chairlift to the hospitality tent, the trek to the top starts with a narrow goat path cut into rock. After another 150 meters (yards) of uphill walking through the snow, the steps start in earnest.

It’s mostly a straight shot all the way up on the endless set of stairs set up on scaffolding. The final 15 steps are cut into the snow -- with no railing.

Organizers have shied away from installing a new chairlift to protect the environment so close to the mountain peaks.

Italy's Christof Innerhofer starts a men's downhill training, at the alpine ski World Championships, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. (AP PhotoGabriele Facciotti)

“I love climbing and being in the mountains and ski touring. It has that similar vibe. But hiking in race boots when it’s minus 20 degrees is really tough,” American downhiller Travis Ganong said.

While some racers swapped their ski boots for regular shoes, Ganong was not one of them.

“If I take my boots off when it’s this cold I can’t get them back on. They get too stiff,” he said. “So I don’t know how those guys were doing that.”

Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr waits to start a men's downhill training, at the alpine ski World Championships, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. (AP PhotoGabriele Facciotti)

Technicians had the worst of it, having to carry up multiple pairs of skis and other equipment for their racers.

Photographers carrying backpacks with 15 kilograms (more than 30 pounds) of equipment had a rough time, too.

The altitude at the top of the aptly named Vertigine course, which translates as “vertigo,” is 2,400 meters (nearly 8,000 feet).

Canada's Broderick Thompson speeds down the course during the men's downhill, at the alpine ski World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb.14, 2021. (AP PhotoGabriele Facciotti)

“It’s like you’re actually part of the mountain. You got to work for it a little bit,” said Bryce Bennett, another American competitor. “I kind of like that. And then you’re at the base of that super cliffed-out mountain. It’s just an incredible place.”

Known as the “Queen” of the Italian Dolomites, Cortina has rock outcroppings, scenery and spectacular panoramas.

The women’s downhill that runs next to the men’s course is famous for the Tofana Schuss, a chute between two cliffs.

Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami starts a women's downhill training, at the alpine ski World Championships, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. (AP PhotoGabriele Facciotti)

Nearby there's also the Cinque Torri, a small formation featuring five towers of rock.

“It’s probably top three of the most beautiful places I’ve ever skied,” said Norwegian veteran Kjetil Jansrud, a five-time Olympic medalist. “It’s an amazing mountain.”

The Vertigine course could be used for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. While the men are currently slated to race in Bormio during the games, the International Ski Federation would like to have both men and women compete in Cortina.

The start of the men's downhill course, at the alpine ski World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. To reach the start of the new men's downhill course in Cortina, skiers have to climb 223 steps at an altitude of 2,400 meters (8,000 feet). The course's name, Vertigine, translates to "vertigo." (AP PhotoGabriele Facciotti)

Racers had to plan ahead to give themselves enough time to complete the hike.

“The race in a way starts from there,” Innerhofer said. “Yesterday I left hospitality one hour before my start and I reached the top 17 minutes before I started. So I had the pace of a retiree.”

“It’s definitely nicer to go down,” added the 36-year-old Innerhofer, who lives an hour away from Cortina. “I like climbing mountains but I don’t walk much because I’ve got a bad back and bad knees. I prefer using a bike.”

Jets of the "Frecce Tricolori" (Tri-Color Arrows) aerobatics team of the Italian Air Force fly over Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, prior to the men's downhill, at the alpine ski World Championships, Sunday, Feb.14, 2021. (AP PhotoGabriele Facciotti)

The 6-foot-7 Bennett took a rest every 30 steps.

“If you’re speeding it up you get a little bit of extra training,” Jansrud said. “So something in between without getting that lactic acid up too much.”

There was a similar setup for the start of the men’s downhill at the 2017 worlds in St. Moritz, Switzerland, but “this one is a much, much longer climb,” said Ganong.

The start of the men's downhill course, at the alpine ski World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. To reach the start of the new men's downhill course in Cortina, skiers have to climb 223 steps at an altitude of 2,400 meters (8,000 feet). The course's name, Vertigine, translates to "vertigo." (AP PhotoGabriele Facciotti)

The tight space at the top of the stairs made for a lot of people close together, which created some concern amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re all athletes. It’s fine to hike a little bit. They just need to build a big platform up there,” Ganong said. “They kind of threw all the caution to the wind.”

Associated Press writer Eric Willemsen contributed.

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MUMBAI, India (AP) — Shreyas Iyer was provisionally named in India’s squad on Saturday for the home one-day international series against New Zealand starting Jan. 11.

India will host the Black Caps in a white-ball engagement — three ODIs and five T20s — in the build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Iyer returns to the international fold after sustaining a spleen injury during an ODI against Australia in Sydney last October.

His selection is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI’s medical team and he will return as India’s vice-captain for the three-match series.

Skipper Shubman Gill also returns, after he missed the ODI series against South Africa in December. He had a neck spasm in the test series earlier, and subsequently played in the T20s against the Proteas.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Verma missed out. Gaikwad had scored a maiden ODI hundred against South Africa in Visakhapatnam.

Rishabh Pant is retained as second keeper-batter behind Lokesh Rahul, who had stood in as captain against the Proteas.

Star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had both participated in the domestic List A tournament — Vijay Hazare Trophy — and return to the international stage for the ODIs.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya is fit, but not sufficiently enough to bowl 10 overs in an ODI. Thus, he has been rested further ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup (in India and Sri Lanka) starting Feb. 7. Nitish Kumar Reddy is included in the squad.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj returns to lead the bowling lineup with Jasprit Bumrah rested again. Siraj had missed the South Africa series because of workload management.

The three ODIs will be played in Vadodara (Jan. 11), Rajkot (Jan. 14) and Indore (Jan. 18), with the five-match T20 series starting Jan. 21.

Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

FILE - Captain of Punjab Kings Shreyas Iyer addresses a news conference on the eve of the final match of Indian Premier League at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, India, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)