is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

located on Mount Karamatsu in

Hakuba is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of April 1, 2019, the village had an estimated population of 9,007 in 4267 households, and a population density of 48 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . Hakuba is located i ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. For the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

in Nagano, it hosted the

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

downhill, super giant slalom, and combined slalom events. Happoone receives an average snowfall of 11 metres per season. Happoone is higher than all other ski resorts resulting in quality snow but leaves you exposed to the climate and weather conditions. The resort was constructed in 1958. In the lead-up to the 1998 Games, a test event was held in February 1996 that led to complaints by skiers to the

International Ski Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

(FIS) that the course for men's downhill was too short. This led to a controversy between the Nagano Organizing Committee (NAOC) and the FIS over lengthening the course by or 15 seconds at most. NAOC refused on its promise of environmental stewardship despite the fact that FIS pointed out that 600,000 recreational skiers a year competed in that special zone and asked why elite skiers could not compete in the same area. In November 1997, the issue was resolved between the FIS and NAOC by adding an extra to the run. This was in follow-up to the FIS threatening not to run the event for the Games if the course length issue was not resolved. Course designer

Bernhard Russi Bernhard Russi (born 20 August 1948) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. Born in Andermatt in the canton of Uri, he is an Olympic, World Cup, and World champion in the downhill event.Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, the 1972 Winter Olympic champion in the alpine skiing downhill event, agreed to this.

References

1998 Winter Olympics official report.
Volume 2. pp. 186–90. *Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Locuky (2009). "Alpine Skiing, Men: Downhill". In ''The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 189–90.

External links

* Venues of the 1998 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiing venues Ski areas and resorts in Japan Sports venues in Nagano Prefecture Hakuba, Nagano {{Winter-Olympic-venue-stub