Opening in Kandersteg and the Ore Mountains are buzzing with excitement

RASCHAU/KANDERSTEG – Punctually for Switzerland's National Day, the Nordic Arena in Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland will be opened. After eleven years of planning and a one-year construction phase, on two festival days July 31 and August 1, three ski jumps - HS106m, HS72m and HS27m - will be inaugurated, which will be open year-round – a novelty and unique in Switzerland.

The largest of the jumps, HS106m, is equipped with the modern twin spur system from Peter Riedel GmbH. Especially the past winters with partly spring-like weather had made the modern and weather-resistant solution from Raschau the favorite in the 2014 bidding. 

Boss Peter Riedel was involved in the project with heart, as his family has connected with the Bernese Oberland since 1961: Back then his father Eberhard Riedel won the giant slalom at Chuenisbärgli in Adelboden – the first German to achieve this. Riedel's record held until 2014, only then could a German win again with Felix Neureuther after 53 years of pause.

“The regional linking with the canton of Bern was so special to us given the connection to Adelboden that my entire family considered Kandersteg a true heartfelt matter,” says Peter Riedel. “All the more I regret not being able to attend the opening. We are in the midst of implementing two international World Cup mega-projects and preparing for the home Summer Grand Prix of Nordic Combined, which simply makes travel to Switzerland impossible in terms of timing. I still wish the entire team in Kandersteg, the organizers and the athletes a wonderful opening. Because one thing is certain: ski sport and the Bernese Oberland – even for someone from the Erzgebirge, it simply goes together!”