The Kandahar Ski Club in the Swiss resort of Murren has a new competition open to all ages and abilities

The format is a three-day event designed to test all-round skiing: a conventional giant slalom, an off-piste competition and an intriguingly named 'ski combi' race

Murren Kandahar Races (image provided by writer Adam Ruck)

History creeps up on us and must often pass unnoticed by those who make it.

Pheidippides could hardly have imagined the hordes running a marathon through central London in fancy dress, and the Wimbledon croquet club secretary who staged a tennis tournament to fund repairs to the lawn mower might also be surprised by the oak tree that grew from his acorn.

My son George, on the other hand, and his fellow competitors in the inaugural Mürren Kandahar Races in Switzerland last December were in no doubt about their place in history, because the organiser kept reminding them.

“Listen up!” Julia Lunn announced to 20 not very attentive skiers who were throwing snowballs and enjoying the view of the Eiger from the top of a slalom course on a sunny morning. “You are the first to take part in this new event, the MKR! No one can take that away from you! History will remember your names. Take a moment to think about what that means.”

What did it mean, exactly? For George it meant being on snow a few days after the end of term instead of being hassled about A-level revision and tidying his room; and the chance to meet and compete with his peers, instead of skiing at a snail’s pace with the family. For former World Cup downhiller Malcolm Erskine, who now runs the British Ski Academy over the French border in Chamonix, it meant the chance to bring a posse of his young hopefuls to Mürren. “Snow’s a bit scratchy in Chamonix at the moment,” he said, “so it’s great to be able to come here, do some training and competing, and have the mountain to ourselves.”

Mürren wasn’t a coincidental choice for the new racing festival; this small Swiss village is no stranger to ski history. Julia Lunn’s grandfather-in-law, Arnold, set the first modern-style slalom at Mürren in 1922 and, two years later, he founded a club to promote Alpine racing, naming it after Lord Roberts of Kandahar who had presented the cup for a Lunn-sponsored downhill race in 1911.

In January 1928, Arnold Lunn and a few other members hiked up the mountain for what can only be called a marathon downhill race. The Inferno is now part of ski history and was won, so the chronicles tell us, by Harold Mitchell in one hour 12 minutes (the 15km course was completed in 13 minutes and 20 seconds by the 2013 winner).

When the International Ski Federation finally agreed to recognise alpine (downhill) skiing, Lunn staged the first world championships at Mürren in 1931. After that the sport rapidly outgrew its formative village.

Now the Kandahar and Mürren want to relaunch themselves as innovators in the field of competitive skiing. The format is a three-day event designed to test all-round skiing: a conventional giant slalom, an off-piste competition and an intriguingly named “ski combi” race, the format of which would be revealed later. Skiers of all ages, abilities and persuasions – including boarders and telemarkers – are welcome at this family friendly ski festival, with prizes for different age categories. Lined up at the starting gate, MKR’s history-makers were a motley crew aged from seven to 64. In go-faster Lycra, the Chamonix gang brought racing credibility. A couple of families had signed up on spec, a few locals came along out of curiosity, and Lunns of all ages bulked up the numbers.

A Kandahar trainer had the challenging task of setting courses suitable for everyone: small children, creaking grandparents, racers, rabbits, skiers, telemarkers and snowboarders, all in the same race. “My son will be faster than me on his skis,” a long-haired American snowboarder told me on the chairlift. “I’m cool with that.”

Murren Kandahar Races (image provided by writer Adam Ruck)

Other parents, including George’s, chose a support role, cheering and cajoling their offspring from the sideline, picking up fallers and keeping the inexperienced on track through the maze of red and blue poles. “Not that side of the gate, Daisy! Climb back up and go the other way.”

“At least both my girls were disqualified,” one father said afterwards. “If it had been just one of them, I don’t know how we’d have kept the peace.” George missed a gate too, and set his sights on the next day’s off-piste race, officially known as the Peter Lunn All Terrain Challenge, after Arnold Lunn’s son who captained the British team at the 1936 Winter Olympics and skied with a passion at Mürren from the age of two to 96, usually off-piste.

An off-piste competition before Christmas is an act of faith and last December, after a spell of mild weather marked by the kind of precipitation known in the trade as liquid snow, conditions were as sticky as toffee pudding. It takes more than that to keep Lunns off the slopes, and a zone of safe, skiable snow was identified and inspected. Julia’s husband, Bernie, the family’s soft snow specialist, took charge. “This is not a race, but a test of safe, controlled skiing,” he announced.

A jury of three experts – two local worthies from the ski school and Malcolm Erskine – sat at the bottom with binoculars and numbered cards; marks out of 10 to be awarded for control, fluidity and technique. “Strictly Come Powder Skiing”: could it catch on?

A skier with a parachute trailing the Swiss and UK flags took off down the steep slope to open the event in style. “100 Years of Anglo-Swiss co-operation!” yelled Bernie Lunn, to remind us and YouTube of the historical context. The Union flag snagged on a bush and nearly brought the brave ski-flier down to earth with a bang.

George’s chances took a dive when two local hotshots turned up at the start, too late for the lecture about control before speed. After watching them rip up the course on their enormous skis, touching the ground briefly between spells of airtime, my son decided that a share of third place – with a Lunn, no less – was nothing to be ashamed of. No one can take that away from him, nor was he sharing the prize, an Alp-sized ice cream pudding in the mountain restaurant.

No one knew what to expect of the ski combi event, and the course inspection took place in thick fog. “A cross between a slalom and a snow park,” was George’s report: gates, ramps, a “fairly chunky” jump and a long banked curve known as a berm.

Matthew Heginbotham, of the British Ski Academy, followed up his triumph in the junior section of the off-piste event with a fine winning run. The following morning, the local newspaper pictured him flying around the berm in great style. “Excellent,” remarked MKR co-organiser Kurt Huggler, formerly of the Swiss national ski team. “Local skiers will see that and want to enter next year.”

The news report described it as “ein typische Britische” event. If you ask us, it was typical Kandahar fun: exciting races, and a brilliant way to start the winter. Long may the Mürren-Kandahar Races flourish. Ice cream puddings will not be so easily won, but George hopes to be back this December for second helpings of chunky jumps and sticky toffee powder.

Getting there

Mürren is three hours from Zurich airport by train. Zurich is served from the UK by Swiss (0845 601 0956; swiss.com), British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) and easyJet (0843 104 5000; easyjet.com).

Swiss offers returns from £187 in December including a checked bag.

A Swiss Transfer Ticket, valid for a return train journey through Switzerland, costs from £92 (myswitzerland.com). Children up to 16, travelling with a parent, go free with a family card.

Skiing there

The Mürren Kandahar Snowsport Festival takes place from 15-21 December. Entry costs £24 per race (discounts for multiple races and team entries). No previous racing experience required (murrenkandaharrace.com).

Staying there

Three nights’ B&B with a four-day lift pass at the three-star Hotel Bellevue cost £350 (£175 for children aged seven to 15); six nights with a six-day lift pass cost £614 (00 41 33 854 12 50; mymuerren.ch).

Travel essentials

‘A Kandahar trainer was tasked to set courses suitable for everyone’