If Hannes Schneider was the father of modern skiing then Mathias Zdarsky should be regarded as the grandfather of our sport. The skiing technique developed by Mathias Zdarsky (known as Lilienfeld ski technique) and his path breaking binding system were instrumental for the propagation of skiing in alpine terrain. As early as 1905 he initiated the first alpine skiing competition in Lilienfeld using 24 poles (gates) to mark the run (which would equate to a giant slalom today).
Mathias Zdarsky was born in 1856 in Kozichowitz in Moravia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Hapsburg Empire (Czech Republic today). After finishing his studies in Brno (Moravia, Czech Republic) as school teacher he went to Vienna (1874) and eventually to Lilienfeld (1889), an industrial town in Lower Austria just south of St. Pölten. In Lilienfeld he developed his skiing technique using the steep slopes of the Muckenkogel (1258m) and the Spitzgraben just in the vicinity of the town as training grounds. In 1896/97 Zdarsky published his first book on his skiing technique: “Lilienfelder Ski-Technik” which totalled 17 editions until 1926.
Lilienfeld and the Muckenkogel in the background, ca. 1905
An important milestone for alpine skiing was the year 1905 when Mathias Zdarsky invited Ing. Hassa Horn, a famous Holmenkolm winner from Norway, to join a skiing competition which should prove that the Lilienfeld ski technique was superior to the Norwegian Telemark technique. Zdarsky chose the steep slopes of the Breite Ries, a huge alpine bowl at the Schneeberg, as test bed for this competition. The result was that Hassa Horn admitted defeat and declared Mathias Zdarsky as victorious (rumours say that Horn refused to ski the steeper part of the bowl) and the Lilienfeld ski technique proved to be as indeed superior for steep, alpine terrain. The Breite Ries is still a favorite ski descent among many skiers in the Vienna region. Zdarsky and Horn did not ski the steep and narrow couloir-like entrance which is about 36 degrees steep but did only ski the open bowl below the entrance which is about 32 degrees steep. However, given the equipment skiing the Breite Ries was definitely a prove about the usability of the new ski technique in ‘real’ alpine terrain.
Skiing in the Breite Ries bowl at the Schneeberg (Lower Austria) near Vienna
Already 60 years old, Mathias Zdarsky served as an alpine instructor during World War 1 (1914-1918) and taught about the dangers of avalanches which proved to be extremely hazardous in the mountain war at the Italian front. During a rescue operation in 1916 he was buried by an avalanche. He survived wounded with dozens of broken bones and severe vertebra injuries leaving him handicapped for the rest of his life.
Mathias Zdarsky died in 1940 and was buried at his mansion in Habernreith in Lilienfeld, Lower Austria. Today an entire section of the Bezirksheimatmuseum in Lilienfeld is devoted to Mathias Zdarsky. The Muckenkogel near Lilienfeld is still a popular ski area. A single chairlift (open at weekends, around Christmas and during the public school holidays in the first week of February) provides access to the historic ski slopes.
