From Press Release – Commencement exercises were held for the fastest growing winter snow sports on March 22-28, 1971 at Mt. Rose, Reno, Nevada. The Third World Skibob Championships with 11 nations represented showed skibobbing had truly graduated into a major competitive activity worthy of Olympic sanction.

The downhill event in particular was the greatest challenge ever in the world skibob competition. Although the course was short by previous standards—only a mile and a half—it made up for its length by steepness and a 500 ft. headwall so steep, that skiers would not venture down it. The one skier who did, an Austrian skibob coach on skis, the morning of the race ended up with a broken leg. But among the skibob competitors, there were no injuries and only four fell on the steep schuss. The Swiss team coach, predicting ten racers would be killed, refused to allow his racers to run the downhill.

At the bottom of this steep wall, skibobbers hit speeds of more than 70 m.p.h. Top individual honors went to Germany’s Josef Estner with the first place in both the giant slalom and downhill and the combined championship as number one in the world. However, the Austrians dominated most events and handily retained the team title “World Champions”.

FISB President Gfaeller commented that the Austrians had always complained about how easy every race course was in previous championships. “But they did not say that about the Mt. Rose downhill course.”

19 Mar 1971, Fri Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno, Nevada) Newspapers.com