MONDAY, JANUARY 08, 2007

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:ussa.org World Freestyle Champs Postponed PARK CITY, Utah (Jan. 8) - The 2007 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, set to begin in two weeks in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, were postponed six weeks Monday because of the lingering snow drought and unseasonal warm temperatures in much of central Europe. U.S. officials said the delay will allow a longer selection period to choose athletes for the championships. In Europe, FIS officials and Worlds organizers announced new dates of March 8-11 in the Italian resort village. "Because so few events have been held so far, this will enable us to extend our selection window and provide an extra opportunity for athletes to qualify for the World Championships Team," U.S. Program Director Polly-Jo Clark said.

The World Cup tour resumes Thursday with three events schedule at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT, for moguls with aerials Friday night (qualifying during the day) and dual moguls Saturday night (qualifying also during the day) with the Chevrolet Freestyle International and then heads to Lake Placid, NY, for the Nature Valley Freestyle Challenge Jan. 18-20. Originally, the Worlds team was to have been named after the Lake Placid events.

Clark said she, Head Coach Jeff Wintersteen and staff would be finalizing details shortly on the selection period before the World Championships Team is chosen. "Worlds is major, and after losing those earlier events because of no snow, it's good the athletes have additional opportunities to qualify," she said. After three stops on the World Cup schedule this season, U.S. skiers have turned-in three top-3 results, including two victories. Ryan St. Onge (Steamboat Springs, CO) won the opening World Cup aerials event in China last month while Olympic medalist and former World Cup moguls champion Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, UT) won the first moguls event of the season Saturday at Mont Gabriel, Que., outside Montreal. In addition, former World Cup aerials champion Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (Boise, ID) was third Sunday in an aerials meet.

In addition to many lower-level cancellations, poor snow conditions eliminated two World Cup aerials contests over Labor Day Weekend in Australia and two moguls events at different sites last month in France plus skier cross and halfpipe events at two other venues. In addition, organizers in St. Moritz, Switzerland, already have canceled a World Cup aerials contest set for March 9. The last time a World Championships was affected came in 1995 when the Alpine World Ski Championships were postponed a year in Sierra Nevada, Spain, because of a lack of snow. The 1996 championships went off without problems; two future U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame members collected medals for the U.S. Ski Team as Picabo Street won gold in downhill and bronze in super G while Hilary Lindh was bronze medalist in the downhill.

http://www.ussa.org/

Sun Valley -

Honda Ski tour U.S. SKI AND SNOWBOARD ASSOCIATION (USSA) TO SANCTION THE HONDA SKI TOUR SKI CROSS SERIES; OFFICIALS TO OVERSEE RULES AND COURSE APPROVAL The Honda Ski Tour Launches Inaugural Event at Sun Valley, ID, JAN 11-15, 2007, attracting one of the strongest ski cross fields ever assembled

Sun Valley, ID, January 7, 2007—The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, will be officially calendaring The Honda Ski Tour (THST) 2007 as a sanctioned USSA ski cross event. USSA’s sanction requires the event to be run according to USSA rules, which mirror FIS International rules, under the direction of an approved competition jury and officials. THST is North America ’s new elite, four-stop mountain festival and skiing competition that features the world’s best halfpipe and ski cross skiers competing for $500,000. Tour stops are Sun Valley, ID, Breckenridge, CO, Aspen/Snowmass, CO, and Squaw Valley USA , CA.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the addition of ski cross for the 2010 Winter Olympics, in a meeting in Kuwait City on Nov. 28. Snowboardcross made its first Olympic appearance at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino and drew big crowds and excellent television ratings. Ski cross has quickly become popular around the world and is gaining momentum. “The Ski Tour is a very high profile series in the newest Olympic event of ski cross and we applaud Tour organizers for taking steps to manage the series to international standards,” said USSA Chief Operating Officer Dick Coe. “It's important with such a high level series that it follows the same international standards as the World Cup, World Championships and ultimately the Olympics. That standard will be very important for elite athletes as the sport grows in popularity over the next few years.”

USSA sanctions and calendars over 3,000 U.S. competitions each season. Sanctioned events, including The Honda Ski Tour, are required to be run according to USSA rules, which mirror the FIS International Competition Rules (ICR), including homologation or approval of the courses to meet international standards. In addition, USSA will appoint a technical delegate to oversee the competition, as well as a competition jury and other key competition officials. Participating athletes must be current members of USSA. “We are thrilled by the USSA’s decision to sanction our ski cross events,” said THST President Steve Brown. “This essentially makes The Honda Ski Tour the proving ground for our future Olympic ski cross athletes. This is a great development for The Honda Ski Tour.”

Athletes confirmed for THST ski cross competition include X Games gold medalists Enak Gavaggio, Casey Puckett, Shaun Palmer, Lars Lewen, Zach Crist and two-time World Cup ski cross champion Tomas Kraus. Fresh from his World Cup retirement is World Champion and 13-time World Cup winner Daron Rahlves, who also has victories at the famed Hahnenkam at Kitzbuhel and the Lauberhorn in Wengen, making this one of the most impressive competitive ski cross fields ever assembled.

The Honda Ski Tour Schedule

Stop 1: January 11-15, Sun Valley , Idaho
Stop 2: February 1-4, Breckenridge , Colorado
Stop 3: February 22-25, Aspen , Colorado
Stop 4: March 8-11, Squaw Valley USA , California
For details contact Sun Valley Resort / Mountain Sports International

Squaw Valley- Got KT?
26 lifts are on the schedule for today with new lifts opening for the weekend. Don't miss out on Tahoe's best terrain and all the action at Squaw Valley USA. UPCOMING EVENTS Jan 13-19 - National Safety Awareness Week at Squaw DetailsJan 13-15 - Squaw Sessions Teen Freeride Camp DetailsJan 20 - 25th Anniversary Celebration of Hot Dog the Movie. Tickets on sale Jan. 10th..... Debbie Dutton a local favorite !

Squaw Valley Lift Tickets & Lessons http://www.squaw.com/

Avalanche Warnings Colorado,

Snow Alert, Whistler Blackcomb B.C. -Jackson Hole

MORNING Edition

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Big Sky

Weather: Variable clouds with occasional snow showers throughout the day Temperature: 24° to 14° (Fahrenheit) Wind: 10-20 mph from South West New Overnight Snow: Trace Snow Fall past 24hrs: 1 Snow Fall past 48hrs: 2 Base Snow Depth: 38-58 Surface Conditions: Fresh powder and machine groomed Terrain Open: 90% Lifts Scheduled to Open: Lone Peak Tram, Swift Current, Thunder Wolf, Ramcharger, Challenger, Iron Horse, Southern Comfort, Lone Peak Chair, Lone Moose, Explorer, White Otter, Shedhorn, Bear Back Poma, Mitey Magic Carpet, Magic Carpet, Pony Express www.bigskyresort.com

*** FIS News Peterson 3rd as World Cup Aerials Resumes Bahrke eighth, scores first top 10 MONT GABRIEL, Que. (Jan. 7) - Former World Cup champion Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (Boise, ID) was third Sunday in the third World Cup aerials meet of the season with Scott Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) earning his first top-10 result in eighth place. Lacy Schnoor (Draper, UT), the lone U.S. woman competing, finished 12th. The new format this season is to have everyone take one jump and then the top 10 will get two jumps in finals. However, because of the unseasonally warm weather in Quebec, following a steady rain Saturday, the jumps began to deteriorate, so the format was scrapped in favor of one jump, top 10 moving to finals and having one more jump. Canadian Cord Spero won with 120.36 points and teammate Ryan Blais was second. Peterson, who landed his signature five-twist "hurricane" [five twists, three flips], received 118.82. "Speedy missed his takeoff just a bit, but he landed his 'hurricane' - I mean he really nailed it, but he was deducted...and that was too bad," said Aerials Head Coach Matt Christensen. "I'm also really psyched - we all are - for Scotty Bahrke, getting his first top-10. That was huge for us. He jumped like a champ; he hit the best full-full-full [three twists, three flips] that I've ever seen him do." Former world and World Cup champion Jacqui Cooper of Australia won the women's event with 116.64 points. The World Cup tour moves on Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT, for three night competitions as part of the Chevrolet Freestyle International, starting Thursday night. Then it's on to Lake Placid, NY, for the Nature Valley Freestyle Challenge Jan. 18-20 with freestyle World Championships Jan. 23-28 in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy.

FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
Mont Gabriel, QUE - Jan. 7, 2007
Men's Aerials (One round; 10 made finals)
1. Cord Spero, Canada, 120.36 points
2. Ryan Blais, Canada, 119.69
3. Jeret Peterson, Boise, ID, 118.82
4. Thomas Labert, Switzerland, 117.92
5. Steve Omischl, Canada, 117.48
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8. Scott Bahrke, Tahoe City, CA, 96.79
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26. Ryan St. Onge, Steamboat Springs, CO
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Women's Aerials
1. Jacqui Cooper, Australia, 116.64
2. Manuela Mueller, Switzerland, 86.71
3. Veronika Bauer, Canada, 82.83
4. Elizabeth Gardner, Australia, 82.05
5. Nadiya Didenko, Ukraine, 79.84
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12. Lacy Schnoor, Draper, UT

For complete results:
www.fis-ski.com/
Schlopy Working Toward Possible Return
PARK CITY, Utah (Jan. 7) - Three-time Olympian Erik Schlopy (Park City, UT), injured in a training crash in mid-December, says he could miss the next month or so of World Cup racing while he recuperates from his injuries. "I crashed two days before Alta Badia [Italy, where the men raced a giant slalom and slalom Dec. 17-18] and suffered a bone bruise and torn articular cartilage [in his left knee] and other bumps," he said. "The timing couldn't have been worse, two days before two races. ... It was bad timing but, at the same time, it doesn't require surgery.
"I'm a firm believer in taking care of injuries on the front side and then you can gain time on the back side when you don't have problems" because you've taken it conservatively to begin with, he said. "Going to the conservative side, it's really just a waiting game."
U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt hopes Schlopy is back in time for the World Championships Feb. 3-18 in Are, Sweden, "but health always comes first. He's conservative in his head, but Erik's not conservative in his rehab. He's certainly motivated and I've seen him doing some workouts, so I know he's working to get back...when he's healthy. We're hopeful because he's certainly one of our marquee athletes in giant slalom."
Schlopy, 34, giant slalom bronze medalist at the 2003 alpine World Championships and a seven-time U.S. champion, has met with U.S. Ski Team surgeon Dr. Vernon Cooley and will meet with him in late January to review the progress in his rehabilitation. He can do core and upper body workouts to help maintain his conditioning, Schlopy said, but no strength drills because of the pain in his left knee.
www.ussa.org
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Sugarloaf ME

Jami says,...
The snow has been falling all morning and continues here at Sugarloaf. We've got a good 6 inches of fresh snow on the trails and up to 8 inches in places.
Best of all, this snow shows no signs of stopping.

Sugarloaf/USA 1.800.THE.LOAF 5092 Access Road Carrabassett Valley, www.sugarloaf.com/email

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Courchevel France

Columbia Ride Week

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APEX B.C.
Apex Mountain Resort remains one of the hidden gems of Canadian skiing. Located a short 30 minute drive from Penticton, BC, Apex is a full service destination resort with quality snow, great weather, incredible terrain, and friendly people. Apex being located in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, features the perfect mix between large amounts of precipitation and low humidity that makes for the lightest champagne powder snow imaginable. Smiles stretch from ear to ear, as locals and visitors alike hoot and holler amongst the glades & open terrain, leaving clouds of powder snow to lightly settle behind them. With an average temperature of -4º C, Apex receives about 600 cm of dry "Okanagan" powder each season
High Flying at Apex Mountain Resort -- PENTICTON, B.C. – Dmitri Dashinski of Belarus won the season-ending Freestyle FIS World Cup to snatch the season’s overall men’s aerials title from previous leader Kyle Nissen of Calgary.
The Winter/Spring Games are Coming!!!! -- February 24, 2006 -- Everyone is invited to Apex Mountain Resort in the sunny Okanagan from March 17th to 19th to watch the best Freestyle Skiers in the world compete in FIS World Cup action
World’s Best Freestyle Skiers Compete at 2006 Freestyle FIS World Cup Finals at Apex Mountain Resort -- Penticton, BC; Tuesday, March 14, 2006 -- The world’s top freestyle skiers, including 2006 Olympic Champions and 2005 World Champions, have started to arrive in Penticton, BC for this year’s Freestyle FIS World Cup Finals at Apex Mountain Resort
Register for the Freestyle FIS World Cup at Apex -- February 19, 2006 -- The FIS WC Finals for Half Pipe will be held as an Open competition, scheduled Friday March 17th, 2006. Canadian Freestyle Ski Association must register all athletes. Registrations for this event are due by Wednesday February 22nd.
www.freestyleski.com/
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67th. Hahnenkamm Race
From 26 - 28 January 2007
67. HAHNENKAMM RACE


The winner gene drives the world’s best skiers forward throughout the winter season; for them second place is defeat. But there is one big skiing event where that does not apply: the most difficult and most fascinating ski race of all, the famous Downhill on the Streif. Here it is still not whether you win or lose, but simply being part of this ski spectacular on 20 - 22 January 2006, when Kitzbühel stages the 66th Hahnenkamm Race

Three days of excitement! As in past years, the 67th Hahnenkamm Race is a guaranteed combination of top-class sport and entertainment. more >>
Programm:
Tuesday, 17.01.2006
11:30 a.m 1st downhill training
Wednesday, 18.01.2006
11:30 a.m 2nd downhill training
Thursday, 19.01.2006
11:30 a.m 3rd downhill training
Friday, 20.01.2006
11:30 a.m. Hahnenkamm Super-G
06:30 p.m Prize award Hahnenkamm Super-G
and draw for Hahnenkamm Downhill, finish area Timing building

Saturday, 21.01.2006
11:30 a.m Hahnenkamm Downhill Race
followed "Kitz Charity Trophy"
06:30 p.m Prize award Hahnenkamm Downhill and draw for Hahnenkamm Slalom, finish area balcony of Timing building.
Sunday, 22.01.2006
11:30 a.m Hahnenkamm Slalom - 1st heat
01:15 p.m Hahnenkamm Slalom - 2st heat
followed Prize and ceremony for slalom, and combined, finish To Race page: Hahnenkamm
www.kitzbuehel.com
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Stevens Pass, Wa
Stevens Special Events


www.stevenspass.com

www.speedski.com