Vikings and beetles take to Flims/Laax ski slopes
The Flims/Laax ski region is ending the season with a ski race that defies description. The "Kiss the glacier (Gletscherkuss) Open" will attract the oddest collection of racers in the strangest of vehicles on April 14 and 15.
The only thing in common among the bathtubs, Viking ships, go-carts and Volkswagen beetles entered into the race will be the skis attached to their undersides.
It will be the seventh time the resort in canton Graubünden has held the race. It has become more popular every year, drawing on the imagination of about 30 teams from across Europe.
The organisers of the event ask only that the vehicles entered into the competition can be steered, brake well and that they fit on the cable car for the trip to the starting line on the mountain top.
More than SFr7,000 ($4,000) in prize money is being awarded. The jury rates the vehicles on originality, the effort put in to build them, their handling on the course and last, and least as well, the time it takes to finish the 400 metre-long run.
The action gets underway on April 14 when the vehicles are put through their paces. The competition begins at midday a day later below the Nagens mountain restaurant.
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