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“I Ride For Maison” Charity Event at Mt. Rose on Sunday

John_Hamilton — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:08:51 +0000

Mt. Rose, NV…In memory of Maison T Ortiz, an “I Ride For Maison” event has been scheduled for April 14, 2013. Maison T Ortiz passed away after a snowboarding accident in 2011.

$25 lift tickets will be available to buy online through skirose.com for this special “I Ride For Maison” day, with proceeds going to support the Maison T Ortiz Memorial Fund. Season Pass holders wishing to participate may make a tax deductible gift to the Maison T Ortiz Memorial Fund here: www.nevadafund.org or call 775-333-5499

Don’t miss the US Freestyle Championships this weekend at Heavenly Mountain!

John_Hamilton — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:51:32 +0000

Tahoe South, CA/NV…Don’t miss the US Freestyle Championships this weekend at Heavenly Mountain!

“The events will take place on Gunbarrel and World Cup runs at the California base, which is a great location for spectators to watch the thrills of bumps and aerials.”

Ligety Caps Record Season with SL Title at Squaw

John_Hamilton — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 03:29:04 +0000

SQUAW VALLEY, CA (March 23) – Triple World Champion Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) capped a career best season Saturday with massive 1.48 second wire-to-wire slalom victory to close men’s competition at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships in Squaw Valley. A week ago, Ligety won the final Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom of the season to add to his record season that resulted in a fourth World Cup giant slalom title. It was his seventh U.S. Championship gold and first since 2007 when he won both the giant slalom and combined titles. Will Brandenburg (Spokane, WA) nabbed silver to clinch the combined title with 2011 slalom champion Colby Granstrom (Lake Stevens, WA) in bronze. Robert Cone (Killington, VT) was the top junior in the race and also locked the junior combined title. NBC will broadcast a special Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships program at noon ET on March 24.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) won both runs to secure a massive 1.48 second gold medal victory in the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships slalom.
Earlier in the season Ligety won three gold medals at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships to become the first man since Jean Claude Killy 45 years ago in 1968 to win three or more gold in one World Championships.
A week ago, Ligety capped a record World Cup season with a sixth giant slalom victory to join Ingemar Stenmark as the only man to have six GS wins in a single season.
Will Brandenburg (Spokane, WA) earned silver with 2011 slalom champion Colby Granstrom (Lake Stevens, WA) in bronze.
Top junior slalom honors went to Robert Cone (Killington, VT), who was sixth in the race followed by Bryce Bennett (Olympic Valley, CA) and Alex Leever (Vail, CO).
Brandenburg was also crowned the U.S. combined champion which pairs the fastest combined time from both super G and slalom. Super G podium finisher Mark Engel (Truckee, CA) and Robert Cone (Killington, VT) earned combined silver and bronze respectively.
Cone also nabbed the junior combined title for his fifth podium of the championships followed by Bennett and Dylan Brooks (Mammoth Lakes, CA).
The race was held under perfect California sun with temps in the mid 40s and upwards of 2,000 fans packing the Olympic race arena.
NBC will broadcast the men’s and women’s super G races, plus a highlight package from the Championships at noon ET on March 24.

QUOTES
Ted Ligety
It’s cool to hang out with all the younger kids and it’s cool that they all came out and watched. It’s definitely nice to spend some time with the young fans.

If you’re going to race, you might as well try to win. I’m definitely happy to put together two slalom runs. I haven’t won a slalom race in a long time.

They did a great job with the course prep. The conditions were awesome especially for the temperatures. You can really attack it. I’ve never skied at Squaw before, so this is definitely cool to come someplace new and they seem like they’re doing a great job. They did a great job on the hill. The crowd is pretty into it, so it’s fun to have races in places like this.

Will Brandenburg
I wanted to go for it a little bit more and I just didn’t really have it today. I didn’t have that gear that would be able to win a ski race. So I got to the bottom and was happy. I knew that I had quite a big lead on the fourth place guy and then just sat there hoping Ted or Dave could falter and I could get the win. They were skiing better than me, too bad Dave went out. Ted had a great race.

It is the best snow we’ve had for Nationals in I don’t know how long, especially for Nationals slalom. So it’s fun to be able to come race as hard as you can, have the snow conditions hold up and it be a clean, fair race.

Other than that one rainy day, it’s been beautifully sunny days. All the people are so into it. These autograph sessions have been crazy, the amount of people that have been there. And then we’re skiing into a crowd. It was raining in Kranjska this year, but there’s more people here than at Kranjska Gora World Cup. It’s such an exciting experience to be able to come here at Nationals and have this. I haven’t had this; this is the most people that have been out for Nationals.

Colby Granstrom
The snow couldn’t have been better. They did a great job preparing the hill over the whole week and keeping it in pristine condition.

I was going full gas and I didn’t feel that good first run and then I was able to make up a little bit of time. Ted skied amazing so he was tough to beat today. He’s one of the fastest all-around skiers in the world, if not the fastest. It’s great to have him around, but it’d be nice to get the victory too.

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Ganong Regains U.S. Super G Crown At Home

John_Hamilton — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 03:23:29 +0000

Squaw Valley, CA…Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) carved his home mountain to a .20 second super G victory at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships to regain a title he first held in 2010 and lead a commanding 1-3-4 performance by local skiers. NorAm overall and U.S. downhill champion Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT) was second ahead of Mark Engel (Truckee, CA), who started with bib 16. Bryce Bennett (Olympic Valley, CA), who grew up on the Squaw Valley Ski Team along with Ganong, was the top junior in fourth. NBC will broadcast the super G as part of a special Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships highlights show on March 24 at noon ET.

HIGHLIGHTS

Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) arced his local race hill to a .20 second victory and the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships super G title.
Ganong, who grew up with the Squaw Valley Ski Team, first hoisted the super G gold in 2010, when he was also the downhill champion.
Silver went to NorAm overall and U.S. downhill champion Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT) ahead of another Squaw local Mark Engel (Truckee, CA).
Bryce Bennett (Olympic Valley, CA), who was also on the Squaw Valley Ski Team, was fourth for the top junior spot.
Next on the junior podium was Jack Auty (Durham, NH) and Robert Cone (Killington, VT), his second junior top three of the Championships.
One of the most technically difficult U.S. Championships slopes in recent history, athletes lauded the set and slope preparation at Squaw Valley.
NBC will broadcast the race at noon ET on March 24 along with highlights of the entire Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships.

QUOTES
Travis Ganong
It’s really nice to actually be home and on home snow, sleep in my own bed, and have all my family and the hometown crowd out supporting. I grew up training on this hill every day so it’s really nice to get on a familiar hill. The hometown crowd really motivates me to push it harder and really go for it.

This is more of a World Cup than a Nationals hill. It’s pretty tricky, really steep out of the top with some blind turns. It’s intimidating. The key sections for me were on the flats. There was this little roller where it’s really blind and you have to find your edge really earlier before you even see the gate. I got word from the coaches that you had to do that so I was able to cut offline there and carry more speed onto the next flat part. And then this road on the bottom is always the infamous road. Everyone always has a lot of trouble with that. I’ve never skied super G on it but I knew that it might be smart to give a little there to gain more at the bottom, so that’s what I did.

Squaw stepped it up big time. This is my seventh Nationals and they’ve stepped it up in a big way. We have The Wailers playing a concert tonight for the opening ceremonies with a GoPro Bombsquad flying in on their parachutes and parades for a big end of the season party – celebrating ski racing, celebrating skiing.

Jared Goldberg
The course is really good. This is a lot like what I’m used to. It’s really rolly and there’s blind rollers everywhere. It’s like everything that we’ve always trained and I was super excited to ski it. It’s one of the more fun courses I’ve run.

The expectations were high. I haven’t had a whole lot of super G skiing lately, but I had some pretty good results. I was on the podium up in Nakiska at a NorAm last week. On the second day I knew that “Okay I’m back into it. I can do it here.” Yeah, I was just super confident coming into today.

I’ve been really working on aerodynamics this year and I had my hands up in front as much as I could. I definitely had a little bit of trouble here and there but I know everyone else really did too. It was kind of like whoever can keep their head together the whole way.

Mark Engel
I skied on the Sugarbowl Ski Team from age 11 until I made the team at 19. They’re a great program for the little guys. They have great training, great coaches, really positive vibe. That helped, because I’ve skied this hill probably nine-ten times and I’m more of a tech skier so I was able to handle the turns. Had a little mistake but I told myself to stay in it and it worked.

Coming into the steep pitch, they set some really turny, tight gates and I was able to just set it up and really make clean turns through there. I saw a lot of low lines and I was able to stay on the line and ski clean.

The course report was that the lines were too round, so I was just trying to go as straight as I could stand. If I had been rounder with the same air I would have not finished but since I went straight, I could land and pull it off.

Bryce Bennett
I was just remembering in the start about straightlining that when I was a J4 and how many runs I’ve had down this. I know what to do down it, so it just came.

The road in the middle of the course: you can ski it well or you’re going to end up in the river. You want to go off with a non-loaded ski and carry speed through the bottom, which is a pretty important section. I skied that really well.

There’s a lot of support. It’s cool because when you’re on the road in small races you don’t get that support. But when you’re home and the family, friends and community supports you, it’s a really cool feeling.

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Athletes like Travis Ganong and his U.S. Ski Team teammates rely on the support of the American public. Click here to support the team.

Mancuso Notches Record 16th U.S. Title On Home Turf

John_Hamilton — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 03:12:39 +0000

Squaw Valley, CA…On Thursday, Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) took full advantage of home snow to win the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships giant slalom for a record 16th U.S. title. The Olympic gold medalist from Squaw Valley finished .88 in front of a red-hot Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO), 18, who had just locked the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom title in Switzerland. The race opened the four-day culmination of the alpine ski racing year with over 500 young athletes from across the country converging at the 1960 Olympic mountain to hunt for U.S. titles.

HIGHLIGHTS

Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) mastered her home race hill to win a record (male and female) 16th Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships title.
World Champion and Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) was second by .88 and was also the top junior racer.
2013 NorAm overall champion Megan McJames (Park City, UT) finished third to round out the women’s podium.
U.S. downhill champion Jackie Wiles (Aurora, OR) was sixth and Foreste Peterson (Berkeley, CA) seventh to finish 2-3 among junior women.
The race was shortened from the planned start due to inconsistent snow after heavy snowfall on Wednesday.
A packed crowd was on site for the opening race under Squaw Valley’s bluebird skies.
The Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships continue Friday with men’s and women’s super G.
NBC will broadcast a Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships special program on March 24 at noon ET.

QUOTES
Julia Mancuso
It’s very fun to be at my home mountain and, of course, I want to win here. I think that’s the cool thing about records even if it’s something like U.S. Championships; when you are kind of pushing for something or extending a record. It makes it that much more fun.

It’s really cool. I’ve seen a lot of people I know and all my friends come out to cheer me on. And all the kids, it’s really really fun. It’s even a school day so they’re probably happy they got to miss school.

I knew that it (the short course) was going to be hard and Mikaela ia skiing really great GS through this year, so I just went for it. I was a little conservative on the bottom here, just because it’s still really icy.

Mikaela Shiffrin
It’s another race. It’s another training day. It’s awesome to be here. It’s beautiful today and hopefully this weather keeps up. I love U.S. Championships, it’s such a fun event and there’s so much healthy competition. So I’ll be going for it.

It’s hard to sum up the year like that. I had a pretty good debut into World Cup. I love to train and I love to improve and I try not to lose sight of the fact that I can’t just become complacent. So I’m just trying to ski my fastest and break barriers every day.

Megan McJames
This year’s been tough. I’m not on the U.S. Ski Team, so we’ve been figuring it out as we go along and it’s been pretty rewarding, pretty fun. Just a new challenge, but it’s exciting. I love ski racing so that’s why I’m still out here.

They did an amazing job. It rained all day yesterday and the snow is still awesome. Today was definitely a sprint, but that’s been good for me because I’ve been racing so many days in the last week. It was just ‘punch it as hard as you can’ and that’s ski racing at its finest.

RESULTS
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Athletes like Julia Mancuso and her U.S. Ski Team teammates rely on the support of the American public. Click here to support the team.

Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships Come to Squaw Valley March 20-24

John_Hamilton — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:07:09 +0000

Olympic Valley, CA..The 2013 Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships come to Squaw Valley March 20-24. This year’s Alpine Championships will be the region’s chance to see America’s top skiers compete on U.S. soil as they gear up for next year’s winter games in Sochi, Russia.

The event will also be an opportunity for Squaw’s Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso, Olympian Marco Sullivan and Olympic hopeful Travis Ganong to compete in a world-class event on home-turf. Squaw Valley last hosted the U.S. Alpine Championships in 2002, which proved to be a great success for Squaw athletes. In 2002, Marco Sullivan came in first in the super G and Julia Mancuso came in third in the GS.

“We’re absolutely honored to be hosting the 2013 U.S. Alpine Championships,” said Andy Wirth, Squaw Valley’s president and CEO. “Squaw has a very proud heritage of hosting the Winter Olympics and producing a great number of Olympians and world class athletes. We are excited to offer unique and challenging terrain for the competitions on what are some of the most spectator-friendly courses that the Alpine Championships has ever seen.”

After a successful Audi FIS Alpine World Cup in Europe, the 2013 Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships will welcome World Championship medalists back to America including Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.), and Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.), in addition to fellow Squaw locals Marco Sullivan and Travis Ganong.

“It’s really cool to see all the great stuff happening at Squaw,” said Olympic gold medalist and Squaw local Julia Mancuso. “To have U.S. nationals back just shows the commitment to racing and its roots here in Squaw Valley. It’s nice to be able to stay home and race in my backyard – which I also consider to be the best resort in America – so I am psyched.”

Mancuso upped her already impressive major championship medal total to eight with super G bronze at the Schladming, Austria World Championships on February 5, 2013. Mancuso owns a record of 15 U.S. titles and is the defending giant slalom and super G champion.

Ligety captured gold during the February World Championships in super G, super combined and giant slalom to become the first man to win triple gold at a World Championships since ski legend Jean Claude Killy in 1968.

Teen phenom Mikaela Shiffrin is the defending U.S. slalom champion and became the youngest American World Champion since Diann Roffe in 1985 when she took slalom gold at age 17.

The three champions will compete alongside their teammates and the best young alpine athletes in the nation for U.S. titles in super G, giant slalom, slalom and combined when the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships return to Squaw Valley for the first time since 2002.

“Squaw Valley is an amazing example of how the longtime legacy of ski racing has fostered a culture that continues to motivate great athletes today,” said Bill Marolt, USSA president and CEO. “Our U.S. Ski Team athletes and USSA clubs from around the country will find Squaw Valley to be an amazing host with a world-class venue and depth of experience to produce a great Championships.”

2013 NATURE VALLEY U.S. ALPINE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Media Credential Application and Lodging Information: http://www.squaw.com/us-national-alpine-championship-media-request

Complete Schedule: http://www.squaw.com/us-national-alpine-championship

Wednesday, March 20
Men’s giant slalom
Thursday, March 21
Women’s giant slalom
Audi Ski Challenge

Friday, March 22
Men’s and women’s super G
Opening Ceremonies
U.S. Ski Team Autograph Session

Saturday, March 23
Men’s slalom
U.S. Ski Team Day – Dawn Patrol and ProAm Race

Sunday, March 24
Women’s slalom

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Doug Haney
U.S. Ski Team
Chief Press Officer
dhaney@ussa.org
518.524.4674

Amelia Richmond
Squaw Valley
Public Relations Manager
arichmond@squaw.com
530.452.7111

About Squaw Valley
Host of the 1960 Winter Olympics, Squaw Valley is internationally renowned for legendary terrain that spans 3,600 skiable acres, six peaks and 30 chairlifts, and ranges from an expansive mountaintop beginner area to unrivaled expert steeps, trees and bowls. Off the mountain, families relax in The Village at Squaw Valley around the cozy fire pits or enjoy a host of restaurants, bars, boutiques and art galleries. Guests can stay in one of The Village at Squaw Valley’s one, two or three bedroom suites, each with a fireplace, kitchen and balcony, for the ultimate slopeside lodging experience.

Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows recently joined forces, bringing the two ski resorts under common ownership. Skiers and riders can now access 6,000 skiable acres, 43 lifts and 270+ trails at Squaw and Alpine Meadows on the Tahoe Super Pass or any lift ticket.

# # # #

Buy a Tahoe License Plate and Receive Two Free Lift Tickets

John_Hamilton — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:42:26 +0000

Lake Tahoe, CA/NV…California and Nevada residents can take advantage of the 35 inches of new Tahoe snow with two free lift tickets through the popular “Plates for Powder” program offered through the Tahoe Fund. Purchase a new California or Nevada Tahoe license plate and you are eligible for two free Alpine or Nordic lift tickets. Tickets are available at 11 participating Tahoe resorts.

“With all this great new snow the Tahoe resorts are looking terrific,” said Tahoe Fund’s CEO Amy Berry. “Now is the perfect time to purchase a Tahoe plate and make great use of two free lift tickets while helping improve our extraordinary environment.”

Over 96% of the funds raised through the plate sales go directly to the state agencies, California Tahoe Conservancy and Nevada Division of State Lands, to fund hiking and biking trails and watershed restoration projects. The Tahoe Fund, a basin-wide non-profit dedicated to raising money and support for environmental improvement projects that will improve lake clarity, recreation and stewardship around the Lake, is organizing the program on behalf of the public agencies.

The resorts participating in the promotion include: Alpine Meadows, Heavenly Valley, Homewood, Kirkwood, Mt. Rose, Northstar California, Royal Gorge Cross Country, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Squaw Valley, Sugar Bowl, and Tahoe Cross Country. Current Tahoe license plate holders are also eligible for free tickets through the “Plate Spotter” program. Owners of Tahoe plates can post a photo of their Tahoe plate to the Tahoe Fund Facebook page. A winning photo is chosen weekly to receive two free lift tickets from one of the participating resorts.

Information on how to purchase a plate and redeem free tickets is available at www.tahoeplates.com. The promotion is available through April 15. Some restrictions apply; visit the website for more details.

Spanish Ski with a Ranger offered at Heavenly Mountain Resort

John_Hamilton — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:55:56 +0000

South Lake Tahoe, Calif., –The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin and Heavenly Mountain Resort are offering Ski with a Ranger en Español. Spanish Ski with a Ranger brings awareness of environmental issues to the local and visiting Latino community. Spanish Ski with a Ranger takes place on Wednesday, March 13, Wednesday, March 27 and Wednesday, April 10, weather permitting. Tours are offered twice a day at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.

The tour lasts approximately one hour and is open to Heavenly Mountain Resort guests who are intermediate level and above skiers and snowboarders. The tour begins near the bottom of the stairs at the top of the Heavenly Gondola. No reservations are required.

Participants will learn about the mission and role of the Forest Service in ski area management, improve their understanding of natural resource processes and issues, and learn about environmental literacy and stewardship.

For more information, contact Megan Dee at (530) 543-2618 or email mldee@fs.fed.us or visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/SkiRanger.

Game Day Specials, Senior Games and Retro Party at Mt. Rose

John_Hamilton — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 08:36:45 +0000

Mt. Rose, NV…Make the Big Game the best one ever with sunny skies, great groomers and temps in the low 40s. Since Mt. Rose is only 22 miles away from Reno, you have plenty of time to come skiing in the morning and go to your favorite place to enjoy the Big Game in the afternoon! On top of that, Mt. Rose has crazy special deals available for Feb. 3rd- $49 lift tickets, $49 First Timer Packages and $49 Rosebuds available online only through skirose.com. Can you tell who we’re rooting for?

Feb. 2nd: BBQ at WCL & Saturday in the Park rail jam

There’s a lot going on in the Slide Bowl tomorrow! Enjoy brats on the Winters Creek Lodge deck and a rail jam in Badlands from 11am-1pm. The forecast calls for sunny skies and temps in the mid-40s.

What: Saturday in the Park rail jam

Where: Registration- Winters Creek Lodge

Competition- Badlands Terrain Park

When: Reg- 8am-10am

Comp- 11:30am-1pm
Details: Freestyle skiers & snowboarders of all ages are welcome to enter; helmets are required.

Feb. 6-7th: Reno-Tahoe Senior Games Mt. Rose is hosting the ski events as part of the 2012-13 Reno-Tahoe Senior Games open to people 50 years and better.

Feb. 6-7th individuals 50+ can enjoy a Slalom Race and a Giant Slalom in the Slide Bowl. Register through

http://reno.gov/seniorgames ; participants must have a lift ticket or season pass to gain lift access.

Mt. Rose is inviting skiers and riders to step back into the forgettable era of day glow, stretch pants & rear entry ski boots. Relive this decade of decadence by throwing your post-millennium fashion sense out the door and dressing in your finest ’80s (or anything retro) attire. Anyone decked out in themed attire can compete in the “Fashion…or Fad” contest at noon at Winters Creek Lodge.

Good News – Snowboarder Found Safe! Bad News – $40K Cost and Alcohol

John_Hamilton — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:48:40 +0000

Stateline, NV…On Thursday January 10, 2013 at about 9:00 a.m. the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a member of the Hoffman family and advised that Corey had telephoned his father and advised them he was OK and had spent the night at the Horizon Hotel/Casino.

Deputies contacted Corey at the Stagecoach lodge where he had proceeded to, and according to him he was unaware of the search for him.

After a lengthy interview with Corey and his brother who had reported him missing, we are unable to determine exactly what transpired.

Investigators believe that Corey, who had spent the night with an acquaintance at the Horizon Hotel/Casino, was unaware that his brother believed him to be missing.

Corey reports he and his brother became separated at a bar in the Gondola village. The brother believes they became separated on the mountain, but the details are conflicting, due to the consumption of alcohol.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind all outdoor winter enthusiasts to have a plan, stick to the plan, stay with companions, communicate with your companions, maintain possession of your cell phone, and refrain, or strictly limit the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

The search for Hoffman involved 75 personnel from several jurisdictions and volunteer organizations, two helicopters, and is estimated to cost $40,000. More importantly in needlessly risked the safety of search and rescue personnel who conducted this search in bad weather and hazardous terrain.