Vinschgau winter sports history was written here

It was exactly 120 years ago that the Haid Ski Club was founded. The Upper Vinschgau skiers were pioneers in South Tyrolean ski racing. To mark the anniversary, we're serving our readers some highlights from the club's historical annals.

16 April 2025

By: Christof Thöny

In several regions of South Tyrol, the history of skiing dates back to the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when the Scandinavian sport began to spread from urban centers to the Alpine regions. This also applies to the Vinschgau Valley, where one of the first ski clubs in the area of historic Tyrol was founded 120 years ago. This is the Haid Ski Club, which was originally known as the "SC Obervinschgau."

The founding members gathered on July 1, 1905, at the Gasthof zur Post in St. Valentin auf der Haide. The building burned down in 1924 and was subsequently rebuilt. The driving force there was Cassian Baldauf, who was elected the first chairman and sent the statutes of the new association, consisting of thirty members, to the Imperial and Royal Governor's Office in Innsbruck.

In 1908, the first ski jumping competition was held in the Upper Vinschgau. © Skiclub Haid

As was common with many ski clubs founded before the First World War, the first members included not only locals but also tourists from places like Ulm or Merano. Furthermore, the young club in the Upper Vinschgau region received support from the Austrian customs authorities, as skis were of great value to customs officers in their winter work.

A contemporary witness remembers

In a commemorative publication of the ski club on its 80th anniversary, contemporary witness Anton Habicher (who was three years older than the club) recalled the beginnings:

"As early as 1905, the Upper Vinschgau Ski Club organized its first races for its 30 members on the Pawenn meadows. Several sports-loving women were already there, competing in long skirts. Depending on the terrain or the desired direction of the turn, the ski pole (approx. 2 m long) was gripped in both hands and pushed into the snow alternately to the right or left. On steeper descents, it served as a braking device. As can be seen from the photos taken by Mr. Baehrendt from Merano, the ski equipment around 1908 consisted of skis (220-230 cm long) with a very long nose, which had been imported from Norway at the time."

The historical records of the Upper Vinschgau Ski Club are now housed in the archives of the Haid Ski Club. Over the decades, the club has provided important impetus to skiing in the region and hosted important races.