Slalom racing with bamboo ski poles

By Fabian RimforsPole talk
Slalom skier Leo Rimfors train with SL poles made of Calcutta bamboo with punch guards/pole protectors.

Can you race and smash slalom gates with bamboo ski poles? Do they hold up for that? A hundred years ago, people competed in slalom using both bamboo ski poles and hinged gates, the so-called Kandahar flags. They were 120 cm “long” wooden sticks with a flag at the top and a spring by the foot, sparsely scattered over the race course (see below). At that time the gates were hardly attacked with the ski poles. Nowadays, however, racing is tight and tough, and it hits hard. So, will a pair of bamboo ski poles work for slalom racing today? Do they withstand the blows from the gates?

Last winter I built a pair of “race poles” with gate guards for my oldest son. He had outgrown his black Komperdells, which were also deformed like overcooked spaghetti. In my quest to offer ski poles in all colors, Tehnomat had manufactured bright neon yellow grips for me. And along with their cone-shaped speed baskets, that also match Leki’s gate guards, and a pair of near-solid bamboo canes, I had everything we needed.

Finally testing bamboo racing poles

Unfortunately, the training season in Vångabacken (our local ski slope) ended before my son had the chance to test his new poles. This winter, however, the season started early. And even though it also ended early, we managed to squeeze in a few weeks of evening training at our local slope, plus a camp at Valfjället. So, finally the SL poles made of Calcutta bamboo with fluorescent yellow punch guards could be put to the test.

After the camp the training season was over, unfortunately. We were out of snow. But for about twenty hours in total, the bamboo batons battled the red and blue poles on the courses when summing up the short season. The poles, or perhaps rather the bamboo, braved the bangs. A full season to test would of course be optimal. But YES, it works fine to race slalom and hit the gates with bamboo ski poles!

/Fabian Rimfors

SL bamboo poles and historic photos

Alpine bamboo ski pole for SL-racing with fluorescent yellow grip and punch guard for slalom.
Alpine bamboo ski pole for SL-racing with fluorescent yellow grip and punch guard for slalom.
Alpine bamboo ski pole with fluorescent yellow racing basket for slalom.
The fluorescent yellow racing basket is primarily for speed disciplines and GS, but works perfectly fine for slalom too.
Alpine SL bamboo ski poles for racing, with matching fluorescent yellow grips, baskets and punch guards for slalom gates.
My first alpine SL bamboo ski poles for racing, with matching fluorescent yellow grips, baskets and punch guards for slalom gates.
Alpine bamboo ski pole for SL-racing with fluorescent yellow grip and matching punch guard for slalom.
I used blue and red non-slip heatshrink tubing as extra protection for the bamboo underneath the grips and gate guards.
Alpine bamboo ski pole for SL racing, with fluorescent yellow grip, basket and punch guard for slalom.
An alpine racing ski pole of bamboo will stay straight.
Alpine ski poles for racing, one new made of bamboo (Rimfors) and one kinked made of aluminum (Komperdell).
My oldest son’s new and old SL poles: Rimfors’ straight and Komperdell’s kinked.
The Kandahar flag was an early spring hinged pole used in the first slalom races, called the “Kandahar-rennen”, which alternated between St Anton am Arlberg and Mürren during the 1920s and 1930s.
The Kandahar flag was an early spring hinged pole. It was used in the first slalom races, called the “Kandahar-rennen”, which alternated between St Anton am Arlberg and Mürren during the 1920s and 1930s. They were also used at the FIS Alpine World Championship in St Moritz in 1934, where my great-grandfather Olle Rimfors competed. More information can be found in his book Slalom och störtlopp (Slalom and downhill), that he published with Sigge Bergman in 1935.
The mens' slalom race course at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championship in St Moritz 1934. Most gates consisted of the hinged Kandahar flags.
The mens’ slalom race course at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championship in St Moritz 1934. Most gates consisted of the hinged gates, the Kandahar flags. Course setter was Sir Arnold Lunn, who wrote the rules for slalom and downhill. He also decided to use the Norwegian word “slalåm” for the discipline. More info in Olle Rimfors’ and Sigge Bergman’s book På skidor i Alperna (On skis in the Alps) from 1934.
Spanish prince Álvaro de Orléans-Borbón has just passed the ravine and is pushing himself through the last “Kandahar gate” before the finish during the mens' slalom at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships 1934.
Spanish prince Álvaro de Orléans-Borbón has just passed the ravine. And now he is pushing himself through the last “Kandahar gate” before the finish during the mens’ slalom at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships 1934.
Also for the ladies' slalom at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championship in St Moritz they used the hinged Kandahar gates. Here you can also see some of the bigger and more robust gates introduced by the ski pioneer Hannes Schneider, to rule out doubts as to whether a competitor really passed the gate properly or just ran over it.
Also for the ladies’ slalom at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championship in St Moritz they used the hinged Kandahar gates. Here you can also see some of the bigger and more robust gates introduced by the ski pioneer Hannes Schneider. Robust poles ruled out doubts as to whether a competitor really passed the gate properly or just ran over it.