Ski shared apartment with Gino Caviezel and Justin Murisier: this is how Odermatt lives during his trip to North America

Marcel W. Perren And Sven Thomann

The heart of men’s skiing currently beats in the American Copper Mountain. Almost all top athletes in the Alps prepare for the World Cup competitions in neighboring Vail/Beaver Creek at the American federation’s training center.

The most prominent shared apartment for drivers in Switzerland has moved to an apartment opposite the finish area. We are talking about Marco Odermatt (26), Gino Caviezel (31) and Justin Murisier (31).

The friendship ends with Brändi Dog

The residents of Nidwalden, the residents of Graubünden and the residents of Valais treat each other like brothers. The only source of conflict is the board game Brändi Dog, which is on the table in the living room. “This game is not conducive to our friendship,” Odermatt admits. And Murisier and Caviezel confirm: “Because we are all ambitious athletes, logically none of us wants to lose at Brändi Dog.”

If you train a lot, you also need to recharge your batteries. Here, an Obwalden resident in particular is responsible for the well-being of the Nidwalden athlete of the century. Severin Portmann from Alpnach is a full-time chef at the Alpstübli on Lake Trübsee above Engelberg. Swiss-Ski hired him as chef for the North American tour. This time he serves an Asian rice pan to athletes and coaches. The unanimous WG verdict: “Severin cooks really well!”

“We’ll have a lot of fun with them this winter.”

For dessert, Odermatt prepares coffee and tea for his comrades. After a hearty sip, he sings the praises of Caviezel and Murisier: “Gino and Justin performed very well during the training sessions. We will have a lot of fun with both of them this winter.” Caviezel and Murisier have long been considered giant slalom specialists, but over the past two seasons they have also demonstrated their enormous speed potential: Gino placed twice in the top 4 in the Super-G, Murisier can do well in the downhill and super-G has eight top 10 rankings.

However, these amazing achievements were barely noticed in the media due to her housemate’s remarkable success. “Fourth place in the Super-G in Beaver Creek was a great success for me last year because it happened in the first race after my brother Mauro’s heavy fall,” recalls Gino Caviezel. “But because Odi won brilliantly, no TV channel asked me for an interview.”

Unlike the Brändi Dog, such incidents do not affect the mood in the strongest Swiss racing community. Odermatt, Caviezel and Murisier are pretty much best friends.