By Jim Stanford on December 29, 2009
Sarah Schleper, pictured earlier this season in Aspen, placed fifth today in a World Cup slalom in Lienz, Austria. At 30, she is a veteran of the U.S. team.
With 45 days to go till the Vancouver Olympics, Snow King Mountain is gearing up to host some of the world’s best skiers.
Opening ceremonies Feb. 12
The U.S. women’s ski team will be among the alpine racers stopping in Jackson to train for the slalom and giant slalom events in British Columbia, Canada. The French men’s and women’s teams also will prepare on Snow King, as well as the Finnish men.
The national ski teams are set to arrive Feb. 6 in advance of the games. Giant slalom and slalom races begin Feb. 21 in Whistler.
At the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, skiers from eight nations won a total of nine medals after training on the King, including slalom gold medalist Jean-Pierre Vidal of France.
“We are very excited and appreciative that Snow King and the Jackson Hole Ski Club are so willing to help us in preparing our American Olympic-bound athletes,” says Seth McCadam, assistant coach for the U.S. Ski Team and a ski club alum. “The Jackson Hole community has a long and rich history in winter sports and supporting such athletic endeavors.”
“Having been a coach for the JHSC for eight years, I know the quality of training will be extremely high with snow conditions and terrain variation,” McCadam says. “Quality training at the World Cup and Olympic levels can be instrumental and have a direct impact in Olympic success.”
Three-time Olympian Sarah Schleper of Vail probably will lead the Americans on the King, accompanied by younger racers like Hailey Duke, Megan McJames and Kaylin Richardson. (The U.S. Olympic Team has not awarded spots yet.) Top skiers Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso will skip Jackson because they will be training for and competing in the speed events, downhill and super-G.
Among the foreigners, French racers Sandrine Aubert and Tessa Worley are likely to be medal contenders. Both are coming off World Cup victories earlier this season. France also has three men in the top-10 World Cup slalom and GS standings: Julien Lizeroux, Jean-Baptiste Grange and Cyprien Richard.
(Aubrine and Worley)
“It’s awesome,” says Carrie Pennington, ski club director. “It’s great for our younger athletes to be around Olympic-caliber athletes and see them train and see them race here on their home hill before they go to the Olympics.”
Adds McCadam, “To be exposed to that level at a young age can be extremely inspirational in shaping the dreams of future Olympians from Jackson Hole.”
The news is bittersweet, of course, with Jackson Hole’s own Olympian, Resi Stiegler, sidelined by a broken leg.
McCadam says the Americans miss Stiegler’s “wonderful spirit.”
“She is an inspiration to our team with her relentless commitment to rehabilitate her body to compete on the world stage in the near future. She is a true talent, and the team is not the same without her. It’s a shame she will not be training with us in her hometown.”
International teams used to train at Snow King regularly when Park City, Utah, hosted a World Cup race. France was the first to visit, in 1996, at the invitation of Jackson Hole resident Yves Desgouttes. Luc Alphand went on to win the World Cup overall and downhill titles later that season.
No one is more thrilled about the Olympic teams’ arrival than Snow King Ski Area Manager Jim Sullivan, himself a racing enthusiast who competes in the Town Downhill. Sullivan has watched over the years as World Cup champions Lasse Kjus, K.A. Aamodt and Bode Miller have trained on the steeps of the Town Hill.
With the racers staying in the hotel, walking distance from the Cougar lift, “It’s really an ideal setup for them,” Sullivan says.
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