Patscherkofel is a mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 and ski area in Tyrol in western Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, 7 km (4 mi.) south of Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

. The peak rises to a summit elevation of 7639 feet (2246 m) above sea level

During the 1964

Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Innsbruck, Austria, from January 30 to February 7, 1964.The men's downhill was held on Patscherkofel , the other five events at Axamer Lizum....

 and 1976 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Innsbruck, Austria, from February 5–13, 1976.Similar to the 1964 games, the men's downhill was held on Patscherkofel , the other five events at Axamer Lizum....

, the mountain was the venue of the men's downhill

Downhill

Downhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....

 race, along with the bobsleigh

Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....

 and luge

Luge

A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...

 competitions in neighboring Igls

Igls bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

The Olympic Sliding Centre Innsburck is a venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton located in Igls, Austria . The most recent version of the track was completed in 1975 and is the first permanent, combination artificially refrigerated bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track, serving as a model for other...

. The other five alpine skiing events were held at Axamer Lizum.

Ski legend Franz Klammer

Franz Klammer

Franz Klammer is a former champion alpine ski racer. Klammer overwhelmingly dominated the downhill event for four consecutive World Cup seasons . He was the gold medalist at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, winning the downhill at Patscherkofel in dramatic fashion...

 of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, then age 22, won his Olympic gold medal at Patscherkofel, dramatically edging out defending Olympic champion Bernhard Russi

Bernhard Russi

Bernhard Russi is a former alpine ski racer. He was an Olympic, World Cup, and World champion in the downhill event....

 of Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 by 0.33 seconds in the 1976

Alpine skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Innsbruck, Austria, from February 5–13, 1976.Similar to the 1964 games, the men's downhill was held on Patscherkofel , the other five events at Axamer Lizum....

 Downhill

Downhill

Downhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....

. Klammer finished the 1.88 mile (3.020 km) course in 1:45.73, descending the 2854 vertical feet (870 m) at an average speed of 63.9 mph (102.8 km/h), an average vertical descent of 27.0 ft/sec (8.2 m/s).

Egon Zimmermann

Egon Zimmermann

Egon Zimmermann , often referred to as Egon Zimmermann II, is a former alpine skier from Austria...

, also of Austria, took the gold medal in the 1964 Olympic downhill

Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics consisted of six events, held near Innsbruck, Austria, from January 30 to February 7, 1964.The men's downhill was held on Patscherkofel , the other five events at Axamer Lizum....

.

External links

• Patscherkofel.com - official site
• Sports Illustrated - cover - 16-Feb-1976 - Franz Klammer at Patscherkofel
• Alpine Ski Maps.com - winter map of Innsbruck area
• Alpine Ski Maps.com - summer map of Innsbruck area