Adolf Rubi

Adolf Rubi’s first national achievement came in 1926 when he won the 18 km cross-country title at the Swiss Championships and was runner-up in Nordic combined. In the same year, he also made his first mark in Alpine skiing by winning the Golden Ski of Adelboden. At the 1927 World Championships, he finished fourth in Nordic combined, although the Scandinavian skiers were missing from this competition. After the St. Moritz Winter Olympics, Rubi was Nordic combined Swiss Champion in 1928 and 1929. In his last major international appearance at the 1930 World Nordic Championships he finished 28th. He then focused more on Alpine skiing, winning the downhill, slalom and the combination of the legendary Lauberhorn race in 1934. His last Swiss Alpine Championship was in the downhill in 1938. Rubi also succeeded in competitions combining Nordic and Alpine skiing. Originally from Grindelwald he later moved to Wengen and continued to compete into the mid-1940s. He was the uncle of Alpine skier and 1952 Winter Olympian Fred Rubi.

Besides skiing, Adolf was a well-known mountain guide, obtaining his license in 1926. He accomplished a number of first ascents mainly in the Bernese Highland including for instance, the first continuous crossing of the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau massif in 1935. In 1936, he was part of the rescue team for the rope team of the fatal attempt to climb the notorious north face of the Eiger. In 1949, he was a member of a Swiss Himalaya expedition, he climbed the Kilimandjaro in 1959 and went to Mount Elbrus in 1971.