Inferno giant slalom on a fast, grippy slope

After a successful cross-country skiing start the evening before, the second day of Inferno was all about giant slalom. A total of 327 skiers took part in a thrilling race in perfect conditions. Both familiar and new faces graced the winners' podium.

In sunny conditions, the first racers set off in the Inferno Giant Slalom at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning, 22^nd January 2026. The racecourse was grippy, fast and remained smooth right to the finish, allowing all participants to benefit from ideal conditions. For a long time, it looked like the women's podium would be a repeat of last year's: Michelle Hurni from Unterseen, Lara Stern from Därligen and Arianne Wenger from Niedersimmental stood on the podium in the same order. Hurni won the race with a time of 1 minute and 20 seconds, beating second-placed Stern by a full 2.3 seconds. However, in a surprise result, Elena Exenberger, who lives in Austria, moved up from a high start number to take third place ahead of Wenger. The American thus prevented a triple victory for the Bernese Oberland.

Athletes from Bernese Oberland also dominate in the men's competition

In the men's event, last year's winner Marius Buhl from Germany took third place, just behind Ramon Gfeller from Unterseen and winner Michel Stähli. The Gstaad native took the lead with a time of 1:14,8.

The decisive Inferno descent on Saturday

This coming Saturday, 24^th January 2026, the cards will be reshuffled once again in the Inferno Combination. The participants will then battle it out for the top spots in the overall standings, which are determined by the results of the three Inferno competitions: cross-country skiing, giant slalom and downhill. In addition to the more than 300 Inferno Combination participants who will compete in all three competitions, there will be over 1,500 additional skiers competing for victory in the downhill event.