Hannes Schneider

Who was Hannes Schneider?

Johann "Hannes" Schneider was an Austrian Ski instructor of the first half of the twentieth century.

He was born in the town of Stuben am Arlberg in Austria as a son of a cheese maker.

He first observed skiing in 1900, and in 1903 obtained an authentic pair of skis and some instruction from Viktor Sohm. In 1907 he became a ski guide at the Hotel Post in St. Anton, Austria where he began work on what became known as the Arlberg technique. After serving as a ski instructor for the Austrian army during the First World War, he returned to the Hotel Post. In 1920 he appeared in a documentary film based on the Arlberg technique; he formed a semi-independent ski school where by 1924 he had formalized his method of instruction. In 1928 he helped organize the international Arlberg-Kandahar alpine race at St. Anton.

In the inter war period he also appeared in several more of Dr. Arnold Fanck's ski films. Der weiße Rausch, which helped make skiing popular, was filmed at the Arlberg in the winter of 1930/1931. He also co-wrote a best-selling instruction book, named Die Wunder des Schneeschuhs which became translated to English as The Wonders of Skiing in 1931.