RSS
Photo by David O. Williams
Headline RSS FeedBig air at Birds of Prey
November 29, 2007 —
Course conditions have made for a spectator-friendly course today during the first leg of the super combined at the Birds of Prey World Cup weekend. Course features are more pronounced, making for even bigger air off the jumps than we’ve seen here in years past.
The downhill portion of the super combined has shown that courage and self-control will play a big role in this weekend’s speed events. Today’s downhill racers are coming out of the starting gate right into “The Brink,” a very steep segment of the course. I spoke with a few course workers and the report is that the course is rock hard and very, very ice – even more than usual for a World Cup race – so they key is to keep speed under control and avoid a DNF.
Didier Cuche of Switzerland leads going into the slalom after posting a downhill time of 1 minute, 13.5 seconds. American speedster Steve Nyman is second (1:13.7) and Bode Miller, who led the combined here last year after the downhill but skied out in the slalom, is sixth this year, .58 seconds back.
Submit a comment on "Big air at Birds of Prey"
Good morning from Birds of Prey
November 29, 2007 —
RealVail is officially on-site and ready for coverage of the Birds of Prey World Cup skiing weekend here in Beaver Creek. I'll be working with KZYR, 97.7 the Zephyr to bring live coverage of the event, and you can check in here to read up on what's happening at today's races.
On tap for today: An interview with USSA head honcho Bill Marolt plus race previews, race results, and images from the day of racing.
Downhill combined is the event of the day, with a downhill run at 11 a.m. and a slalom run at 2:45. The racer with the fastest combined runs wins the day.
The 2013 bid party is tonight as well, with free drink and gear givaways plus live music from Cracker.
Parking is free, and so is admission.
Submit a comment on "Good morning from Birds of Prey"
Winter takes the stage
November 28, 2007 —
If all the world’s a stage, who’s the guy up in the catwalk dropping snow? That’s the guy I want to talk to, and thank him for his recent delivery of the “snow” cue – right on time.
Ten inches in the past 24 hours are reported at Beaver Creek, where World Cup skiers missed training today because, as David O. points out in his column next door, too much of the fluffy stuff doesn’t bode well for guys like Bode Miller. Ice-rink conditions are better for blasting down the slopes.
For me, and for most of us who love winter, the news is welcome. I walked out this afternoon into the hills behind my house, and in that brief walk I watched my breath smoke, heard the snow crunch under my boots, and felt the welcome winter chill across my face. Christmas carols floated unbidden into my mind, and although I’ll be overstuffed with their saccharine tune a month from now, the carols are savory to me in late November.
During my stroll I could tell that summertime had finally been yanked to the wings, and winter’s had taken her rightful place in the spotlight. Bravo, I say. Cue lights and let’s get this show started.
Submit a comment on "Winter takes the stage"
Behind enemy lines: A CU fan in Nebraska
November 23, 2007 —
As I came into Ashland, Nebraska, I literally witnessed a tumbleweed blowing through the main intersection of town. The tiny crossroads was devoid of any signs of life, and I navigated my Prius between the rows of parked pick-up trucks with ease.
Looking for directions, I pulled into the neighborhood bank. Inside I found the entire staff (of three people) huddled around a television which had been set up for the express purpose of watching the CU/Nebraska game.
Needless to say, I waited until AFTER I received my directions to inform the sweet Nebraska banker, Madaline, that I was a CU fan who, due to marital obligations, was behind enemy lines during this year’s Thanksgiving contest between Big Red (the only pro sports team in Nebraska) and the ol’ Buffs.
Having been in Boston for the ALCS, I’m getting used to being the lone Colorado fan in the land of our sporting foes.
In Boston, however, I was in the midst of a vibrant city, alive with global culture, abounding with sights, sounds, and hundreds of brands of brews which kept me half-drenched throughout my journey.
Here in Nebraska things are a bit different. Monolithic grain silos dominate the view from my window, and every 20 minutes a train, laden with grain from the recent harvest, rumbles through the one-horse town from which I write.
I will resist the typical cracks at Big Red, not only because it’s bad juju to mock your hosts during a Thanksgiving weekend, but because I don’t find Nebraska all that bad – in fact, I’ve been looking forward to coming here almost as much as I’ve been looking forward to opening day at Vail and Beaver Creek.
To the untrained eye, the brown and broken stalks in a corn stubble field, stretching as far as they eye can see under the overcast sky, all this may seem dreary, even depressing. But to me, a bird hunter with a new dog on his first hunt, nothing is more exciting that the prospect of jumping into that field and perusing for game birds.
While hunting hasn’t really won the PR battles of the past 20 or so years, I know many of my friends and readers back in Colorado are bird hunters, too. In the interest of keeping in touch with all of Vail’s “real” parts and pieces, I’m going to cater to the Vail I knew growing up, the part of the town where shotguns are kept in the house and young men crack their first beer soon after their first bird, and I’m going to give us a bit of a bird report over the next few days. Whether you’re a hunter or not, I hope you read, learn a bit from it, and enjoy.
Hunting begins tomorrow. In the meantime, GO CU!
Submit a comment on "Behind enemy lines: A CU fan in Nebraska"
Next
