# Rettenbach (ski slope)

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 3,040 metres (9,974 ft) above the Adriatic (sea level) and finish at 2,670 m (8,760 ft), yielding a vertical drop of 370 m (1,214 ft).
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 course | Rettenbach course |
| 300x | 300x |
| Finish area | Midsection |

### Men's giant slalom

| No. | Date | Winner | Second | Third |
| 794 | 30 October 1993 | Franck Piccard | Fredrik Nyberg | Kjetil André Aamodt |
| 896 | 27 October 1996 | Steve Locher | Michael von Grünigen | Kjetil André Aamodt |
| 970 | 25 October 1998 | Hermann Maier | Stephan Eberharter | Heinz Schilchegger |
| 1045 | 29 October 2000 | Hermann Maier | Stephan Eberharter | Fredrik Nyberg |
| 1078 | 28 October 2001 | Frédéric Covili | Stephan Eberharter | Michael von Grünigen Fredrik Nyberg |
| 1113 | 27 October 2002 | Stephan Eberharter | Frédéric Covili | Michael von Grünigen |
| 1150 | 26 October 2003 | Bode Miller | Frédéric Covili | Joël Chenal |
| 1189 | 24 October 2004 | Bode Miller | Massimiliano Blardone | Kalle Palander |
| 1225 | 23 October 2005 | Hermann Maier | Bode Miller | Rainer Schönfelder |
| | 29 October 2006 | cancelled | cancelled | cancelled |
| 1298 | 28 October 2007 | Aksel Lund Svindal | Ted Ligety | Kalle Palander |
| 1338 | 26 October 2008 | Daniel Albrecht | Didier Cuche | Ted Ligety |
| 1374 | 25 October 2009 | Didier Cuche | Ted Ligety | Carlo Janka |
| | 24 October 2010 | cancelled after 1st run due to fog and wind | cancelled after 1st run due to fog and wind | cancelled after 1st run due to fog and wind |
| 1444 | 23 October 2011 | Ted Ligety | Alexis Pinturault | Philipp Schörghofer |
| 1488 | 28 October 2012 | Ted Ligety | Manfred Mölgg | Marcel Hirscher |
| 1522 | 27 October 2013 | Ted Ligety | Alexis Pinturault | Marcel Hirscher |
| 1556 | 26 October 2014 | Marcel Hirscher | Fritz Dopfer | Alexis Pinturault |
| 1593 | 25 October 2015 | Ted Ligety | Thomas Fanara | Marcel Hirscher |
| 1637 | 23 October 2016 | Alexis Pinturault | Marcel Hirscher | Felix Neureuther |
| | 29 October 2017 | cancelled due to excessive high winds | cancelled due to excessive high winds | cancelled due to excessive high winds |
| | 28 October 2018 | heavy snowfall and excessive high winds; rescheduled to Saalbach-Hinterglemm | heavy snowfall and excessive high winds; rescheduled to Saalbach-Hinterglemm | heavy snowfall and excessive high winds; rescheduled to Saalbach-Hinterglemm | heavy snowfall and excessive high winds; rescheduled to Saalbach-Hinterglemm |
| 1749 | 27 October 2019 | Alexis Pinturault | Mathieu Faivre | Žan Kranjec |
| 1783 | 18 October 2020 | Lucas Braathen | Marco Odermatt | Gino Caviezel |
| 1818 | 24 October 2021 | Marco Odermatt | Roland Leitinger | Žan Kranjec |
| 1855 | 23 October 2022 | Marco Odermatt | Žan Kranjec | Henrik Kristoffersen |
| | 29 October 2023 | cancelled due to strong winds after 47 skiers had run | cancelled due to strong winds after 47 skiers had run | cancelled due to strong winds after 47 skiers had run |
| 1928 | 27 October 2024 | Alexander Steen Olsen | Henrik Kristoffersen | Atle Lie McGrath |

### Women's giant slalom

| No. | Date | Winner | Second | Third |
| 736 | 31 October 1993 | Anita Wachter | Sophie Lefranc | Carole Merle |
| 836 | 26 October 1996 | Katja Seizinger | Deborah Compagnoni | Hilde Gerg |
| 901 | 24 October 1998 | Andrine Flemmen | Alexandra Meissnitzer | Deborah Compagnoni |
| 977 | 28 October 2000 | Martina Ertl | Andrine Flemmen | Anja Pärson |
| 1011 | 27 October 2001 | Michaela Dorfmeister | Sonja Nef | Régine Cavagnoud |
| 1045 | 26 October 2002 | Andrine Flemmen Nicole Hosp Tina Maze | | |
| 1078 | 25 October 2003 | Martina Ertl | Anja Pärson | María José Rienda Contreras |
| 1113 | 23 October 2004 | Anja Pärson | Tanja Poutiainen | María José Rienda Contreras |
| 1146 | 22 October 2005 | Tina Maze | Janica Kostelić | Anja Pärson |
| | 28 October 2006 | cancelled | cancelled | cancelled |
| 1217 | 27 October 2007 | Denise Karbon | Julia Mancuso | Kathrin Zettel |
| 1252 | 25 October 2008 | Kathrin Zettel | Tanja Poutiainen | Andrea Fischbacher |
| 1286 | 24 October 2009 | Tanja Poutiainen | Kathrin Zettel | Denise Karbon |
| 1318 | 23 October 2010 | Viktoria Rebensburg | Kathrin Hölzl | Manuela Mölgg |
| 1351 | 22 October 2011 | Lindsey Vonn | Viktoria Rebensburg | Elisabeth Görgl |
| 1388 | 27 October 2012 | Tina Maze | Kathrin Zettel | Stefanie Köhle |
| 1423 | 26 October 2013 | Lara Gut | Kathrin Zettel | Viktoria Rebensburg |
| 1455 | 25 October 2014 | Anna Fenninger Mikaela Shiffrin | | Eva-Maria Brem |
| 1487 | 24 October 2015 | Federica Brignone | Mikaela Shiffrin | Tina Weirather |
| 1527 | 22 October 2016 | Lara Gut | Mikaela Shiffrin | Marta Bassino |
| 1564 | 28 October 2017 | Viktoria Rebensburg | Tessa Worley | Manuela Mölgg |
| 1602 | 27 October 2018 | Tessa Worley | Federica Brignone | Mikaela Shiffrin |
| 1637 | 26 October 2019 | Alice Robinson | Mikaela Shiffrin | Tessa Worley |
| 1667 | 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 visibility | snowfall and poor visibility | snowfall and poor visibility |
| 1773 | 28 October 2023 | Lara Gut-Behrami | Federica Brignone | Petra Vlhová |
| 1812 | 26 October 2024 | Federica Brignone | Alice Robinson | Julia Scheib |

## 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 2,455 m (8,054 ft)) on the road descending to Sölden, not far below the World Cup finish area.