Alpine Skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Most of the Alpine events in 1964 were held on Axamer Lizum, with the men’s downhill held on the Patscherkofel course in Igls. There was one difference in the program in 1964, with the men’s slalom starting with a qualifying round, the top 25 skiiers on each of two runs advancing to the final round. The biggest story in Alpine skiing in 1964 prior to the start of the Winter Olympics was snow, or the lack of it. The Austrian Organizers were so concerned that they enlisted the Austrian army to bring in truckloads of snow, this in the days before snowmaking equipment. Tragedy also struck the Alpine events during the training runs for the men’s downhill, as Australian Ross Milne, brother of Malcolm Milne, was killed when he crashed into a tree.