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FIS Woman's world cup a Killington

slatham

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Saw on US Ski Team Instagram that the event is locked in for two more years. :flag:
 

drjeff

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Bumping this thread, since ticket sales for grandstand and VIP seating as well as parking passes went live at 9AM this morning.

You don't need to buy tickets (it sure does help IMHO having done it both with and without grandstand seats and parking passes), and it's just an incredibly electric vibe when the best women's alpine racers in the world crest the top of "Preston's Pitch" on Superstar and come into view of the finish area! :flag: :flag:
 

urungus

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Is it possible to ski while the World Cup is going on ? Any recommendations on where to boot up ? And is it possible to ski over to the grandstand and rack your skis somewhere ? Seems like it will be a zoo around the K1 lodge, especially with the new construction going on this year.
 

machski

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Is it possible to ski while the World Cup is going on ? Any recommendations on where to boot up ? And is it possible to ski over to the grandstand and rack your skis somewhere ? Seems like it will be a zoo around the K1 lodge, especially with the new construction going on this year.
You can definitely ski while WC is going on, last year it was North Ridge into the Canyon and Snowden IIRC. Good November last year though, I don't believe there was nearly as much the previous years available. I think a few years they were only skiing up on North Ridge during WC so if that's the case, you wouldn't be able to ski up to the stands in any fashion. Not sure about booting up, likely at your car as there will be limited Trailside or lodge side parking, especially with the K1 lodge construction this year.

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drjeff

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Is it possible to ski while the World Cup is going on ? Any recommendations on where to boot up ? And is it possible to ski over to the grandstand and rack your skis somewhere ? Seems like it will be a zoo around the K1 lodge, especially with the new construction going on this year.

Doable? yes

Personally, and take this from the perspective of a ski racing fan, with 2 kids who are ski racers and have been involved in the pre-race parade of young ski racers that they have, I tried the ski/spectate thing the 1st year of the world cup races at Killington. I haven't wanted to try and do the ski/spectate thing the last 2 years I've been, and don't plan on it this year either. Too much going on, and in the case of my family and our friends who also attend, too much socializing, to want to deal with bringing our gear, and tending to it while the races are on, for skiing on what it typically limited early season terrain and Thanksgiving weekend crowds. That's just my 2 cents on it
 

drjeff

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Except that Pico usually hasn't opened for the season when the World cup is there Thanksgiving weekend.

I suppose if mother nature has been nice and a bunch of natural has fallen, that one could skin Pico, but lift served there during the World Cup weekend isn't likely to be a possibility
 

180

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Has been top to bottom all the years. its great to pull up on Bunny Buster and watch some fast chick ski down. Its easy to remove skis and enter the venue. Its a fantastic time and my family loves it
 

Killingtime

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Been there for all three World Cups. Last year was the best, but it was packed. Crazy packed. I gave up on trying to get a beer at one point because the lines were ridiculous. Heard a bunch of geniuses after the first year saying that attendance will drop as people become jaded to the event. This thing just keeps getting bigger and better. Killington throws a pretty damn good party. Go if you can.
 

p_levert

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If I may offer a dissenting opinion, I am not crazy about the boilerplate that they lay down for the race. This is what you get to ski on in May and it's not a great surface. So it's OK with me if Kmart stops hosting the race.
 

drjeff

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If I may offer a dissenting opinion, I am not crazy about the boilerplate that they lay down for the race. This is what you get to ski on in May and it's not a great surface. So it's OK with me if Kmart stops hosting the race.

Given the absolute success that the races have been in the eyes of the FIS, the USSSA, Killington and the VT and Northeast ski racing community, my hunch is that until attendance numbers fall off dramatically (and with Mikaela Shiffrin with still probably another 10 years or so of racing in her career baring injury that may not happen anytime soon), even once Aspen gets its facilities in line with what the FIS wants, my guess is that Killington has those races as long as they want them.

One has to remember that on the women's worldcup circuit, the crowds that have shown up at Killington, short of maybe the women's "Snow Queen" night slalom race in Schlaming, Austria, are the largest they get anywhere. The Killington worldcup races have qucikly become a major event on the women's world cup tour, and I;m guessing have far exceeded rapidly even the grandest of successful dreams that all parties involved with putting it on and sanctioning the event could have hoped for in such a short time. So that late season, world cup base that has graced Superstar the last few years, is likely to continue beyond the next 2 seasons the current contract is for IMHO
 

Domeskier

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If I may offer a dissenting opinion, I am not crazy about the boilerplate that they lay down for the race. This is what you get to ski on in May and it's not a great surface. So it's OK with me if Kmart stops hosting the race.

I didn't ski there after Mother's Day weekend this year, but the surface was fine up to that point. Maybe it wasn't down to the boilerplate yet. Does it not bump up as well or something? From the videos I saw from the last few weeks of this season, that didn't look like an issue.
 

machski

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I didn't ski there after Mother's Day weekend this year, but the surface was fine up to that point. Maybe it wasn't down to the boilerplate yet. Does it not bump up as well or something? From the videos I saw from the last few weeks of this season, that didn't look like an issue.
It wasn't and it was always boiler plate on some days, especially Preston's in many years prior to WC on SS. Just a natural result of 30+ feet of snow compressing all season on itself.

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skiur

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I've been skiing K for a long time and don't really notice much of a difference on supe late May since the WC, they do groom it every night now which sucks but that's been going on for like 10 years.
 

ss20

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I think the wet base they blow for world cup does play some factor into the sloppy yellow snow on Supe late season, but I also think that's more to do with the crappy low-e guns that blow water and the fact that the trail gets groomed every. Single. Day.

The videos from the late 90s in May on Superstar are great to watch with perfect mogul fields. But with ski technology, snowmaking, and grooming all having undergone so many MAJOR changes it's really a different sport today compared to then, and it's hard to pinpoint why things are different these days.
 

Newpylong

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The largest factor in base conditions for the remainder of the winter, bar none is when the surface is groomed. When snow has not had ample time to leach and it is groomed, it is boiler for the remainder of the year. This is from personal experience making and grooming it.

When you see them winching SS in November with the guns still on, you have your answer.
 
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mister moose

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There's been discernable variations pre and post World Cup, but the bigger base influences clearly are

1) Total build height. Snow on hill.
2) Weather.
3) Grooming, as mentioned.
4) Traffic types.

Post April 15, you see a different Superstar pattern emerging. Skier's right (Until 2nd rollover), least bumps, lots more scraping. Middle well spaced slash crash bumps, noticeable hardpack/ice between bumps. Skier's left tighter bumper's lines, frequently left ungroomed, deeper carved troughs. Skier's right below tower 5 big cliffy whalebacks.

Pre April 15 you have Skier's right groomed plateau, Middle tilted slick pool table, mid Skier's left ski the spine and mounds, far left powder hollow extreme compound fall line.
 
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