First Tracks!! Online Ski Magazine

Chinese Student Injured in Ski Accident at Vermont’s Middlebury Snow Bowl

First Tracks!! Online Media — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:10:11 +0000

Middlebury, VT - A St. Johnsbury Academy student and ski team member from China is in a Burlington, Vt. hospital in critical condition with a head injury following a ski accident this past weekend. Chen Lin, whose age is not yet clear, was taking a training run at Middlebury when the crash occurred. Further details surrounding the incident are not yet available. The ski area is owned by Middlebury College, a renowned liberal arts school in central Vermont's Lake Champlain Valley. The...

Vail Resorts Buys Kirkwood

First Tracks!! Online Media — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:49:57 +0000

Kirkwood, CA - Vail Resorts continues to snatch up ski resorts surrounding Lake Tahoe, and this time it's Kirkwood Mountain Resort 35 miles southwest of the lake. Vail Resorts, based in the Denver suburb of Broomfield, Colo., announced this morning that the company is purchasing the ski resort as well as the undeveloped sites at the center of the base area which are zoned for residential and commercial development for a purchase price of approximately $18.0 million. Kirkwood’s...

The Alta Chamber & Visitors Bureau Presents “Alta in April”

First Tracks!! Online Media — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:00:29 +0000

Alta, UT - The Alta Chamber & Visitors Bureau and the community of Alta, Utah, is kicking off a first-ever week of fun in April for skiers and lodge guests called Alta in April. From April 6 - 13, 2012, Alta, Utah locals and visitors will enjoy lodging specials, après-ski events, live music, an on-mountain ski scavenger hunt, a free demo day with next year's skis, spring sunshine and more. "Many skiers started skiing at Alta as kids, or in college or on a ski trip, resulting in...

Keystone Resort Pioneer Bill Bergman to be Inducted Into Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame

First Tracks!! Online Media — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:30:37 +0000

Keystone, CO - Bill Bergman will be inducted to the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame this October as a true pioneer of the ski industry and one of the founders of Colorado's Keystone Resort over 40 years ago. Keystone Resort’s history began in a cabin called the Alhambra, named after a nearby mine. In this cabin, 10th Mountain Division veteran Larry Jump and Max Dercum founded neighboring Arapahoe Basin ski area. More than two decades later in the same cabin, Dercum revealed...

Salt Lake City Restaurant and Theater to Host Benefit for Fallen Freeskiing Legend Jamie Pierre

First Tracks!! Online Media — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:54 +0000

Salt Lake City, UT - Earlier this season one of skiing's greats was lost in an avalanche in the Wasatch. Jamie Pierre died last November in a tragic accident at a still-closed Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort that shocked the ski industry. He was one of skiing innovators, a friend to many skiers around the world, and was considered as an all around great person by his many friends. Pierre's friends are offering fans a chance to show their support for the fallen skier and his family this...

TTR Introduces First Ever Universal World Ranking

First Tracks!! Online Media — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:30:41 +0000

Scuol, Switzerland - Ticket To Ride (TTR) is taking another major step to break down barriers in the world of competitive freestyle snowboarding, as the organization has announced the launch of the universal World Snowboarding Points Lists. The new points lists will include available results from all major snowboarding events including the TTR World Snowboard Tour, X Games, Dew Tour and FIS World Cups. They will provide world ranking lists for male and female halfpipe, slopestyle and big...

Zoe Taylor Wins Telemark World Cup in Steamboat

First Tracks!! Online Media — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:19 +0000

Steamboat Springs, CO - Sixteen-year-old Zoe Taylor of the USA skied to first place in the World Cup Parallel Sprint race in Steamboat Springs on Friday, the first U.S. victory on the telemark skiing World Cup since Cody Thompson of Whitefish, Mont., won a Classic race in 2000. Taylor, of Atlanta, Ga., has moved to Steamboat Springs for each of the last three winters to train at the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. She began skiing when she was two years old in Vail, Colo., and was...

Vermont Adaptive Hosts Largest Winter Fundraiser March 10 at Pico

First Tracks!! Online Media — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:30:30 +0000

Killington, VT - Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, the largest year-round disabled sports non-profit organization in the state, will host its annual Ski Challenge fundraising event on Saturday, March 10 at Pico Mountain. A retro '80s is this year's theme. People do not have to participate in the race to attend the family friendly gala after the day's event, as gala-only tickets are available. In addition, Killington Resort and Pico Mountain are providing lift ticket and season pass fundraising...

Cranmore to Host Spring Break “Sun N Snow Fest” March 5-9

First Tracks!! Online Media — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

North Conway, NH - New Hampshire's Cranmore Mountain ski resort in North Conway, in partnership with Pirate! Promotions will offer college students the first ever Sun N Snow Fest next month. The event will feature special deals for college students including $25 lift tickets and live music from popular Boston acts playing outdoors on the deck at the base of Cranmore every day from March 5-9th. Musicians scheduled to play that week include Leo Blais, Bill Cameron, Will Dailey, Mean Creek and...

Finnish Skier Dies After 2.5-Hour Avalanche Burial in Austria

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:24:43 +0000

Neukirchen am Grossvenediger, Austria - A Finnish skier died in an Austrian hospital on Sunday after being buried by an avalanche for two and a half hours. The as-yet-unnamed 29-year-old victim was skiing off-piste in Austria's central Salzburg province near Neukirchen am Grossvenediger with his brother and friend when the avalanche occurred. He was wearing an avalanche beacon. News reports indicate that the man was twice resuscitated en route to the hospital in Zell am See, where he was...

Guldemond Takes Slopestyle Crown at World Snowboarding Championships

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:13:48 +0000

Oslo, Norway - Reno, Nev.'s Chas Guldemond won men’s slopestyle finals and the overall Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Champion title on Sunday in Oslo. Jamie Anderson, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., took second place for the women, while Canadian Spencer O’Brien took the top spot. The weather improved from Saturday’s pipe finals in Oslo, but temperatures dropped making the course slick at the TTR 6star event. The riders were greeted with sunshine and a perfectly manicured slopestyle course...

Demong Top 10 in Snowy Germany

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:59:30 +0000

Klingenthal, Germany - Challenging weather conditions in Klingenthal, Germany on Sunday did not claim Billy Demong as the Olympic nordic combined skiing champion from Vermontville, N.Y. finished 10th in an individual Gundersen, making up 10 spots from the jump. High winds and heavy snowfall forced the cancellation of the ski jumping portion of the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup. Results from Saturday's provisional competition round were used, seeding the athletes for the cross country race....

Kasper, Ligety Land 6-7 in Bansko Slalom

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:50:42 +0000

Bansko, Bulgaria - Warren, Vt.'s Nolan Kasper and Ted Ligety, of Park City, Utah, produced strong second runs on Sunday to finish sixth and seventh at an Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom in Bansko that saw Austrian Marcel Hirscher win. Kasper, standing 23rd after the first run, laid down the second fastest final run as Ligety landed in the top-10 for the second straight race. Hirscher was unbeatable in Bansko and climbed within 18 points of World Cup overall leader Ivica Kostelic of Croatia,...

Unstable Snow Claims Sochi Super Combi as Vonn Secures Title

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:38:19 +0000

Sochi, Russia - The Sochi organizing committee made every effort to prepare the 2014 Olympic speed track, but overnight snow and warm temperatures made the surface too unstable to host the third Audi FIS Alpine World Cup super combined on Sunday as scheduled. "After the success we've had this week, we are really excited to get another chance to race on this hill, but the snow was just too soft to host a safe race," explained Alex Hoedlmoser, head women's coach for the U.S. Ski Team. "It was...

Canada’s Robichaud Ends Kearney’s Moguls Win Streak

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:28:47 +0000

Naeba, Japan - Patrick Deneen, of Cle Elum, Wash., defeated Canada's Mikael Kingsbury by a score of 19-16 to win the men’s FIS Freestyle World Cup dual moguls in Naeba on Sunday as Vermonter Hannah Kearney’s historic win streak ended at 16. Kearney had a wobble through a couple turns in her semi final run which allowed the eventual winner, Audrey Robichaud of Canada, to advance to the final. Kearney then broke a pole in the small final and finished fourth behind Miki Ito of...

Ligety Loses Grip on World Cup Giant Slalom Lead

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:09:30 +0000

Bansko, Bulgaria - Park City, Utah's Ted Ligety survived a near crash in his second run in a World Cup giant slalom in Bansko on Saturday, dropping him from first to 27th on the day and out of the lead of the giant slalom standings for the first time this season. Austrian Marcel Hirscher won to jump 81 points in front of Ligety with three giant slalom races remaining in the season. In a stumble Ligety missed a gate that whipped him and cut his face. He hiked uphill to navigate the gate and...

Randall In Career Best Classic Finish in Poland

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:57:19 +0000

Szklarska Poreba, Poland -Anchorage, Alaska's Kikkan Randall skied to a career best classical technique distance event, finishing eighth in a 10k FIS Cross Country World Cup on Saturday in Szklarska Poreba. Thousands of Polish fans turned out to see national hero Justyna Kowalcyk win a day after Randall knocked her out in the quarterfinals of the sprint, and move into the World Cup lead. Johann Olson of Sweden won the men's 15k. "Today was a career best individual start classic race for me....

Snowboarder Kelly Clark Wins 15th Straight

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:49:13 +0000

Oslo, Norway - Kelly Clark, of West Dover, Vt., earned her 15th straight win on Saturday taking the Ticket To Ride title at the World Snowboarding Championships halfpipe finals in Oslo. Steamboat Springs, Colo.’s Matt Ladley had a huge frontside 1260 and a great run that scored him second place in the men's competition while Iouri Podlatchikov of Switzerland took the win and Louie Vito, of Sandy, Utah, took third for the men while Gretchen Bleiler, of Aspen, Colo., was third for the women...

Fletcher Earns Top Result for USA in Klingenthal

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:28:57 +0000

Klingenthal, Germany - Bryan Fletcher, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., led the USA in a World Cup nordic combined skiing competition held on Saturday in Klingenthal, Germany, posting 17th after jumping to 14th and skiing to make up a minute and 50 second deficit. Also breaking the top-20 was Olympic gold medalist Billy Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y., in 19th. Japan's Akito Watabe took the top spot after the jump and was able to hold on to the lead to take the win.Taylor Fletcher, also of...

Vonn Wins Historic Fifth Straight World Cup Downhill Title

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:21:27 +0000

Sochi, Russia - With a month still remaining in the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup calendar, Vail, Colo.'s Lindsey Vonn clinched a record fifth straight downhill title with a third place finish on Saturday in Rosa Khutor on the 2014 Sochi Olympic course behind the season's second place finisher, Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany, who won Saturday's race. Vonn held a 231-point lead over Hoefl-Riesch with just two events remaining and 100 points up for grabs at each. With her 13th career World Cup...

Hannah Kearney’s Sweet 16

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:00:54 +0000

Naeba, Japan - Olympic champion Hannah Kearney of Vermont exhibited her dominance Saturday in Naeba, besting the field by 1.25 points to earn her 16th consecutive World Cup moguls victory as Jeremy Cota, of Carrabassett Valley, Maine led the U.S. men finishing second behind Mikael Kingsbury of Canada. Canada's Audrey Robichaud and Justine Dufour-Lapointe took the women's silver and bronze medals. U.S. women had three athletes in the top 10 and five made the finals. Because of snowy and...

Brandon Reid and Shannan Yates Crowned Winners of The North Face Masters at Crystal

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:42:41 +0000

Crystal Mountain, WA - The North Face Masters of Snowboarding concluded at Crystal Mountain in Washington on Friday with the men's final, wrapping up a thrilling week of big mountain snowboarding. Light snow, passing fog and gusty winds made for an extreme day of competition out in Crystal's sidecountry. After being delayed by lack of visibility following the women's final on Thursday afternoon, 32 male competitors were anxious for their turn on Crystal's Silver King on Friday morning....

Scotty Bahrke Wins First World Cup

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:33:51 +0000

Kreischberg, Austria -Squaw Valley, Calif.'s Scotty Bahrke won his first FIS Freestyle Aerials World Cup on Friday night in Kreischberg. This was Bahrke's first podium of the season and the second of his World Cup career. Laura Peel of Australia was the women's winner as no U.S. of Canadian women competed. It was a strong day for U.S. men's aerialists as Dylan Ferguson, of Amesbury, Mass., finished third, earning his second podium of the season. It was the first U.S. men's double podium...

Randall Survives Crash for Third in Poland

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:16:07 +0000

Szlarska Poreba, Poland - Cross country skiing World Cup sprint leader Kikkan Randall, of Anchorage, Alaska, powered her way back into the race to finish third on Friday after an early crash in the finals. Sweden's Ida Ingemarsdotter took the win - her second of the season - as Randall extended her World Cup lead in the final skating sprint of the season. Canadian Devon Kershaw won for the men. Huge crowds packed the stadium in Szklarska Poreba to watch Polish hero Justyna Kowalczyk, who was...

Snowfall Battles Economy at Western Ski Resorts

First Tracks!! Online Media — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:00:55 +0000

Denver, CO - Despite recent shifts in storm systems that brought much-needed snow to many western U.S. ski resorts, early season momentum continues to slow and actual occupancy declined 3.7 percent among participating destinations in Colorado, Utah, California and Oregon during the month of January according to the most recent data released last week by the Denver-based Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). The booking pace for reservations taken during the month for arrivals in January...