Camille Rast: Between slalom poles and wide turns

Camille Rast can no longer be reduced to slalom ahead of the 2026/27 season. The Swiss athlete became slalom world champion in 2025, but also finished second in the giant slalom World Cup the following winter. If you follow her races, it is worth switching between the closely spaced poles and the more widely set gates. That is where the sporting tension of this profile lies.

Rast is part of the Swiss national team for 2026/27. She finished the past overall World Cup in third place. This puts her among the leading athletes in this field. For your winter, the races in both technical disciplines are particularly interesting.

Rast was born in Vétroz in Valais and competes for the local ski club. The connection between her home town and her club is clear in her sporting biography. For later travel planning, however, a second distinction is helpful: her club’s location should not be confused with just any Swiss World Cup venue.

In 2016, she contested her first World Cup giant slalom in Sölden. At the 2017 World Junior Championships, she won slalom gold, followed by team gold a year later. In 2019, she added a silver medal in the junior giant slalom. These achievements already show that both technical disciplines form part of her development.

You can view the early medals as stages along the way without treating them as a complete explanation for her later career. There is a separate sporting challenge between a junior title and a World Cup victory. In a profile such as this, it is worth keeping these stages distinct rather than merging them into one continuous line of success.

Rast claimed her first World Cup victory in late 2024 in the Killington slalom. At the 2025 World Championships in Saalbach, she followed it with gold in the same discipline. At the 2026 Olympics, she won slalom silver. This gives the profile a clear focus: her major individual medals have come from racing between closely spaced poles.

The 2025/26 winter broadened the picture. Rast finished second in the World Cup standings in both technical disciplines and third in the overall standings. As at 22 October 2026, her four World Cup victories comprise three slaloms and one giant slalom. The breakdown says more than a number without a discipline.

For you, this creates an interesting choice when watching. In slalom, you follow short sequences of turns. In giant slalom, you can watch how a racer links longer curves with changes in terrain. This is a suggestion for what to look for on the slope, not a remote diagnosis of Rast’s skiing. A single section of a race can only partly reflect her versatility.

In Flachau, the women’s giant slalom and slalom are scheduled for 4 and 5 January 2027. The two days suit Rast’s profile as a pair. If you only want to watch one competition, choose the discipline deliberately.

At Kronplatz, the Erta World Cup slope is located near St Vigil in Enneberg. The organiser has announced the race for 19 January 2027. This is another reference point for giant slalom.

The schedule sources were checked on 22 October 2026. Rast’s actual starts will depend on the later Swiss team selections. Before travelling, also check the current organiser’s programme and access rules. Choose your trip based on the discipline, then add the current day plan.

The home World Championships in Crans-Montana are another focal point: the organiser gives the dates as 1 to 14 February 2027. Rast’s 2025 slalom title gives the competition particular relevance, while her recent giant slalom record broadens the perspective. The nomination remains a separate decision. Schedule status: 22 October 2026.

In slalom and giant slalom, it is worth choosing a spectator position from which you can follow both runs. We recommend selecting a clearly recognisable section and watching it across several athletes. The second run then becomes more interesting too. You recognise the challenge even when the sequence of gates has been reset.

For Flachau, the operator describes the Hermann Maier race course as the venue. Follow the official spectator plan and the access arrangements for your ticket. A position in the finish area makes it easier to connect the final phase with the times. A position on the slope may bring you closer to the turns, but it limits your overall view.

At Kronplatz, planning starts with St Vigil and the Erta side. Check the entrance specified by the organiser. Taking a lift to the large summit plateau is not automatically the direct route to the race. For a mixed group, it also matters whether the planned route is possible without skis and how everyone will return together.

Compare accommodation based on the actual routes to the cable car and spectator access. A stay covering both Flachau race days requires a different rhythm from a short visit to Erta. Keep a separate morning free for your own days on the skis. That way, at the next giant slalom, you can return to the same small observation: where does one turn end, and how early does preparation for the next one begin?