[sponsored by Copper Mountain]

9,700-feet.  Sub-freezing temperatures.  Massive snowmaking horsepower.  October.  Copper Mountain, CO.

The perfect combination for pushing US Ski Team athletes to the next level.

The perfect combination for reaching the podium at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Copper Mountain could be one of the very first ski resorts open in North America every year.  Instead, Copper uses that time and energy to create an unparalleled ski racing training ground for the US Ski Team.

But Copper doesn’t stop there. 

Copper goes big on the other end of the ski season keeping skiers and riders sliding on snow at Woodward Copper all the way into October.  

Copper Mountain quietly is open for skiing and riding as long or longer than any other ski resort in North America.

While you might think that cold temps, high elevation and snowmaking horsepower alone would be quite enough to create the perfect race training venue, it’s still missing one key ingredient: the enthusiastic support of ski area management.

There’s no problem checking all those boxes at Copper Mountain.

Rather than race to be the first mountain open, Copper has foregone early-season revenue and instead prepped the upper-mountain for training. Copperopolis and Ptarmigan are two perfectly situated tech-venue trails off the Excelerator chair to offer ski teams and academies the chance to conduct early-season race training as early as October 20th.

The Speed Venue, located on Andy’s Encore to Rosi’s Run on the eastern side of the mountain and offers a 2,000-foot vertical drop course over 2 miles complete with netting. This gives downhill racers the chance to reach speeds comparable to any FIS course on the circuit. Teams from Germany, Japan, Italy, Austria and elsewhere all descend, quite literally, on Copper to get in shape for the season ahead.

Pepper in US Ski Team FIS racing December 14th and 15th, USSA NorAm GS racing for both men and women, NASTAR Pacesetting with some of the “old” brass including the likes of Daron Rahlves, U-19 Performance GS and Super G racing for both national and rocky mountain regional, and you’ve seen more racing and training before December 1st than most resorts see in an entire year. It’s no wonder Copper is tagged as the official backup resort for Killington if they’re unable to host this year’s World Cup – the biggest single ski racing event on American soil.

It’s much more than just Ski Team racing that Copper supports.

It’s the progression and the sustainability of the sport itself that Copper is helping to keep alive.

Copper is hosting freestyle events like the Sprint Grand Prix and the Rev Tour, which showcase some of the best freeskiers and snowboarders in the world. When there isn’t an event going on be sure to check out Woodward. Copper’s 20,000sf indoor action sports training facility helps aspiring and accomplished athletes reach their dreams.

Copper Mountain’s Woodward Copper “Pipeline Park” had outdoor snow jumps and rails into October this past season allowing skiers and riders to progress their sport all summer long.

Every summer, Woodward’s “Pipeline Park” is open to campers all week long and it’s open to the public on weekends.  This incredible summer snow experience gives every skier and rider a chance to keep their skills, improve their skills, and learn from some of the best coaching in the game.

Other Events Copper Hosts This Season Include:

• The Grand Prix: (December 3-10) is snowboarding’s premier qualifier for Halfpipe and Big Air and has athletes appreciating Copper’s support as they enjoy riding the first Superpipe in the country to open each season.
• The Rev Tour:  (Dec 14-16) provides a venue for today’s top junior riders to take the competitive stage in halfpipe, slopestyle, ski cross and big air.
• B4BC brings Shred the Love to Copper:  December 30, a rail jam supporting breast cancer awareness and research.
• The Rocky Mountain Series:  descends on Copper for numerous events across the entire season
• The USSA Alpine Master Series:  for Slalom and GS race into Copper January 27 and 28.
• The SIA/OR On-Snow Demo:  sees hundreds of gear and equipment companies in the outdoor sector showing their wares at Copper January 29th and 30th
• The Airblaster / Snowboarder Skolf Championships:  has a unique angle on snowboarding competitions this January 29th and 30th.