ing for in a championship venue, such as experience, the quality
of courses and TV coverage. But some fairness between conti-
nents also comes into play.
“One thing that helped bring it back is that it hadn’t left Europe
since [1999],” Folz says. “For us, we really matured as a regular
World Cup site. Our Birds of Prey has come into its own — it’s
one of the top three on the tour. But for the bidding cycle for ‘09,
it was still pretty new at that time. As a speed venue, we didn’t
know where we’d put the women. It was only in the last three
years that we found the partner course.”
Because of real estate development at the base of the 1999
women’s course in Vail, the finish area is no longer suitable for
speed events. The course planned for the 2015 women’s speed
events runs parallel to the men’s Birds of Prey course, sharing
similar slope angles on black and double black runs and con-
verging with the men’s course for the final Red Tail jump.
“It’s so close to the men’s trail, the feel of the lady’s track will be
similar to the men’s,” says Beaver Creek Director of Mountain Op-
erations and Birds of Prey Chief of Course Greg Johnson, who has
JACK AFFLECK; SHAUNA FARNELL
been instrumental in designing and developing the new women’s
course for 2015 ever since the area began lobbying for another
world championships. “It starts off with a smooth gliding section,
then gets steep just like the men’s trail. It gets very demanding
very quick with a lot of interesting terrain changes … probably the
most fundamental trait for a great downhill. It will require a very
versatile skier with technical skills, strength and power … be-
cause there is a lot of steep skiing without a lot of breaks. There
aren’t going to be any complaints that the course is too easy.”
Though they may have seemed too new in past championship
elections, the now highly regarded Birds of Prey courses cer-
tainly ramped up Vail/Beaver Creek’s offerings for this year’s
voting.
(A final decision on exact venues is expected to be announced
in December of this year, after the Birds of Prey races.)
All of the preparation helped Vail in its 2015 competition against
St. Moritz (which hosted in 2003) and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The
Colorado town won by a large majority, with eight votes to Corti-
na’s four and St. Moritz’s three.
Beaver Creek
“Our nation is deeply honored,” said U.S. Ski and Snowboard
Team CEO Bill Marolt after the 2015 selection was made on
June 4. “It will be a great opportunity to expand participation in
our sport nationwide.”
One of the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for the bid and now
for the 2015 World Champs is, of course, Lindsey Vonn. She
slipped the course in Vail at the ’99 Worlds and said it was inspir-
ing for her as a young racer.
“In a lot of ways, it propelled my love of this sport and I know it
will do the same for kids all over the U.S. and the world,” Vonn
said after the win was announced in June. “I couldn’t be more
excited for the Worlds to come to Vail.”
Spectators can expect big things — literally. “The size and scope
of this event is really what the Vail Valley is all about,” Folz says.
“We love to see things and do them on the biggest, largest scale
that we can. We work hard on our annual World Cup. To have
something that in size and scope is so much larger … everything
about it is multiplied times 10. There are lots of places that don’t
get it once. To have it three times is pretty special.”
