What was started out as an all-speed event will now get a dash or two of technical skiing.
Beaver Creek, a suburb of Vail, will be the site next week of all four men's World Cup skiing disciplines -- slalom, giant slalom, Super G and downhill.A huge undertaking but one Beaver Creek officials say they'll gladly take. World Cup events don't come around that often.
Originally, the men's Super G and downhill were scheduled for Nov. 27-28. The men's slalom and GS, which were supposed to be at Park City this weekend, were moved to Colorado this week because of the lack of adequate snow in Utah.
Even though Colorado resorts are facing similar conditions, the advantage of having a higher elevation means lower temperatures at night and a greater opportunity to make snow.
The base of ski runs at Beaver Creek is about 1,500 feet higher than Park City's.
"Currently, we have snow over the entire course," said Kelly Ladyga, communications director at Beaver Creek. "The upper section of the downhill has been approved. Now we're working on the lower sections."
Under more normal conditions, the slalom and GS would have been held at neighboring Vail. The move, however, came too late to prepare courses.
Beaver Creek is, in fact, holding expanded early season training camps for World Cup teams. Teams from the United States, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany and Canada -- virtually the entire field of ski racing powers -- are currently training in Colorado. The technical racers would have left the camp to compete in Park City.
The downhill and Super G will be held on a run called "Birds of Prey" that was built and certified only two years ago. It was designed by 1972 Olympic gold medalist Bernhard Russi of Switzerland and finished in the summer of 1997.
Earlier this year, during the World Alpine Championships, some 20,000 spectators stood along the fences and in the finish area to watch the iron man of ski racing, Hermann Maier of Austria, win the downhill. He then tied with defending World Cup champion Lasse Kjus of Norway in the Super G. Kjus went on to win the men's GS and finish second in the slalom behind Kalle Palanders of Finland.
The best finishes by the American men were Chad Fleischer with a sixth in the Super G; Fleischer again with a 23rd in the downhill; Bode Miller with an 18th in the GS; and Miller again with an eighth in the slalom.
All of the above are currently in Beaver Creek training for next week's events.
The two women's events, the slalom and GS, that were given up by Park City will be held at nearby Copper Mountain in Colorado.