Rettenbach Place: Sölden, TyrolMountain: Wildspitze, Ötztal AlpsOpened: 1993 Giant slalom Start: (AA) Finish: Vertical drop: Level: expert Max. incline: 34.3 degrees (68.2%) Most wins (M): Ted Ligety (4x) Most wins (L): Tina Maze (3x)
Rettenbach () is a World Cup giant slalom ski course in Austria on Rettenbach glacier above Sölden, Tyrol. Located on Wildspitze mountain in the Ötztal Alps, the race course debuted in 1993.
This course hosted total of 21 World Cup events for men (19th of all-time) and total 24 World Cup events for women (19th of all-time).
World Cup Since 2000, it is the traditional opener for the World Cup season, with a giant slalom for both genders in late October; previously, it had alternated with Tignes, France, from 1993 on.
The women's race in October 2002 was one of only two triple wins in World Cup history, as Andrine Flemmen (NOR), Nicole Hosp (AUT), and Tina Maze (SLO) shared first place.
The races start at an elevation of above the Adriatic (sea level) and finish at , yielding a vertical drop of .
This slope is widely regarded as the most difficult giant slalom on the women's circuit, with a maximum gradient of 68.2 percent (34.3 degrees) at "Eisfall".
Course sections
"Rettenbachjoch" "Gletschertisch" (Glacier table) "Gletscherkante" (Glacier abreuvoir) "Eisfall" (Icefall) – the steepest part (68.2%) "Gletscherzunge" (Glacier tongue) "Elefantentränke" (Elephant potions)
Rettenbach courseRettenbach courseFinish areaMidsection
Men's giant slalom DateWinnerSecondThird794 30 October 1993 Franck Piccard Fredrik Nyberg Kjetil André Aamodt 896 27 October 1996 Steve Locher Michael von Grünigen Kjetil André Aamodt970 25 October 1998 Hermann Maier Stephan Eberharter Heinz Schilchegger1045 29 October 2000 Hermann Maier Stephan Eberharter Fredrik Nyberg1078 28 October 2001 Frédéric Covili Stephan Eberharter Michael von Grünigen Fredrik Nyberg1113 27 October 2002 Stephan Eberharter Frédéric Covili Michael von Grünigen1150 26 October 2003 Bode Miller Frédéric Covili Joël Chenal1189 24 October 2004 Bode Miller Massimiliano Blardone Kalle Palander1225 23 October 2005 Hermann Maier Bode Miller Rainer Schönfelder 29 October 2006 cancelled1298 28 October 2007 Aksel Lund Svindal Ted Ligety Kalle Palander1338 26 October 2008 Daniel Albrecht Didier Cuche Ted Ligety1374 25 October 2009 Didier Cuche Ted Ligety Carlo Janka 24 October 2010 cancelled after 1st run due to fog and wind1444 23 October 2011 Ted Ligety Alexis Pinturault Philipp Schörghofer1488 28 October 2012 Ted Ligety Manfred Mölgg Marcel Hirscher1522 27 October 2013 Ted Ligety Alexis Pinturault Marcel Hirscher1556 26 October 2014 Marcel Hirscher Fritz Dopfer Alexis Pinturault1593 25 October 2015 Ted Ligety Thomas Fanara Marcel Hirscher1637 23 October 2016 Alexis Pinturault Marcel Hirscher Felix Neureuther 29 October 2017 cancelled due to excessive high winds28 October 2018 heavy snowfall and excessive high winds; rescheduled to Saalbach-Hinterglemm1749 27 October 2019 Alexis Pinturault Mathieu Faivre Žan Kranjec1783 18 October 2020 Lucas Braathen Marco Odermatt Gino Caviezel1818 24 October 2021 Marco Odermatt Roland Leitinger Žan Kranjec1855 23 October 2022 Marco Odermatt Žan Kranjec Henrik Kristoffersen 29 October 2023 cancelled due to strong winds after 47 skiers had run1928 27 October 2024 Alexander Steen Olsen Henrik Kristoffersen Atle Lie McGrath1965 26 October 2025 Marco Odermatt Marco Schwarz Atle Lie McGrath
Women's giant slalom DateWinnerSecondThird736 31 October 1993 Anita Wachter Sophie Lefranc Carole Merle836 26 October 1996 Katja Seizinger Deborah Compagnoni Hilde Gerg901 24 October 1998 Andrine Flemmen Alexandra Meissnitzer Deborah Compagnoni977 28 October 2000 Martina Ertl Andrine Flemmen Anja Pärson1011 27 October 2001 Michaela Dorfmeister Sonja Nef Régine Cavagnoud1045 26 October 2002 Andrine Flemmen Nicole Hosp Tina Maze 1078 25 October 2003 Martina Ertl Anja Pärson M. J. Rienda Contreras1113 23 October 2004 Anja Pärson Tanja Poutiainen M. J. Rienda Contreras1146 22 October 2005 Tina Maze Janica Kostelić Anja Pärson 28 October 2006 cancelled1217 27 October 2007 Denise Karbon Julia Mancuso Kathrin Zettel1252 25 October 2008 Kathrin Zettel Tanja Poutiainen Andrea Fischbacher1286 24 October 2009 Tanja Poutiainen Kathrin Zettel Denise Karbon1318 23 October 2010 Viktoria Rebensburg Kathrin Hölzl Manuela Mölgg1351 22 October 2011 Lindsey Vonn Viktoria Rebensburg Elisabeth Görgl1388 27 October 2012 Tina Maze Kathrin Zettel Stefanie Köhle 1423 26 October 2013 Lara Gut Kathrin Zettel Viktoria Rebensburg1455 25 October 2014 Anna Fenninger Mikaela Shiffrin Eva-Maria Brem1487 24 October 2015 Federica Brignone Mikaela Shiffrin Tina Weirather1527 22 October 2016 Lara Gut Mikaela Shiffrin Marta Bassino1564 28 October 2017 Viktoria Rebensburg Tessa Worley Manuela Mölgg 1602 27 October 2018 Tessa Worley Federica Brignone Mikaela Shiffrin1637 26 October 2019 Alice Robinson Mikaela Shiffrin Tessa Worley1667 17 October 2020 Marta Bassino Federica Brignone Petra Vlhová 1698 23 October 2021 Mikaela Shiffrin Lara Gut-Behrami Petra Vlhová 22 October 2022 snowfall and poor visibility1773 28 October 2023 Lara Gut-Behrami Federica Brignone Petra Vlhová1812 26 October 2024 Federica Brignone Alice Robinson Julia Scheib1846 25 October 2025 Julia Scheib Paula Moltzan Lara Gut-Behrami
Fatal accidents On January 5, 2015, two prospects of the United States Ski Team, Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle, were killed by an avalanche they triggered near Rettenbach glacier.
On 17 November 2015, Slovenian ex skier Drago Grubelnik died in a car accident on the seventh curve (elevation ) on the road descending to Sölden, not far below the World Cup finish area.
References
External links FIS Alpine Ski World Cup – Soelden, Austria Ski-db.com - Soelden men's races