Red Bull Skydive Team fly the Streif Downhill

High-speed low-level flight down the fearsome Hahnenkamm ski run

The Streif downhill run in Austria is considered the world’s most fearsome alpine skiing challenge – the Red Bull Skydive Team wanted a taste!

The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is visiting Kitzbühel this week with the men facing two Hahnenkamm downhill races down the famous Streif run on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 January. The Mausefalle, Hausbergkante and Steilhang are the iconic sections feared even by the most hardened pros in alpine skiing.

Marco Waltenspiel of the Red Bull Skydive Team flies the famous Streif at Kitzbuehel, Austria on January 15, 2021 – Photo by Philip Platzer, Red Bull Content Pool

To get a sense of what the world’s fastest skiers will face, the Red Bull Skydive Team made a high-speed fly-through, two with wingsuits and two under canopy. Max Manow, Felix Seifert, Marco Fürst and Marco Waltenspiel watched the race as children and have now made a world first flight over the track. The video (end of article) really highlights the scary, steep turns and terrifying jumps.

Austrian skydiver Marco Fürst, 29, said: “The fact that we were able to fly past the Mausefalle and Hausbergkante with the wingsuit shows how steep it must be there. That must be just brutal to ski down. It’s not the hardest race in the world for nothing!”

Another angle on Marco Waltenspiel’s flight – Photo by Philip Platzer, Red Bull Content Pool

The Red Bull Skydive Team jumped from a helicopter 8,000 feet above Kitzbühelm, passing the Streif start house at 5,500 feet and the finish at 2,500 feet AGL. The wingsuit pilots flew through steep canyons, including Mausefalle, Steilhang and Hausbergkante, while the canopy pilots flew on the sweeping tracks of Brückenschuss, Geschöss and Alte Schneise as well as shooting over the Seidlalm.

The top speed the team recorded, flying over the Mausefalle, was 155 mph km/h – unsurprisingly faster than the ski speed record of 95 mph, set by Austrian Michael Walchhofer back in 2006.

Happy Red Bull Skydive Team: Marco Waltenspiel, Max Manow, Felix Seifert & Macro Fuerst
Photo by Philip Platzer, Red Bull Content Pool

Marco Waltenspiel, 36, said: “The challenge was huge. With the wingsuit the jump point and angle have to fit exactly. We’ve had this project in the back of our minds for four years now and thought it would be a real burner!”