Industry News
Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and part of POWDR – an adventure lifestyle company – hosted the women’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup for the seventh time over Thanksgiving Weekend. Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami won the giant slalom under cold and sunny skies on Saturday, with Mikaela Shiffrin rounding out the podium in third. On Sunday, the crowd roared as Mikaela Shiffrin won her sixth slalom title at Killington and the 90th Audi FIS Ski World Cup of her career.
SnowBrains reporters and photographers were on the ground at the event, so keep an eye out for exclusive footage later today.
With cold November temperatures, Killington Resort’s snowmaking team was able to hammer Superstar with as many as 130 snow guns at once, as well as provide a world-class training facility for the competitors on Skyelark, which some said was the best they’d seen since the middle of last season. Following the event, more than 350 skiers from 23 different clubs, academies, and universities will be at The Beast to take advantage of the course for race training through December 8.
The crowds totaling 34,000 over the weekend began arriving on Friday for the athlete bib presentation and fireworks display and filled the Grandstands, vendor village, and Great Gulf LiveKillington.com VIP tent both Saturday and Sunday as 100 of the fastest female alpine ski racers from 20 different countries descended Superstar. Live performances by Young the Giant, Matisyahu, 220 KID, and Mix Master Mike punctuated the weekend.
Earlier this month, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team announced prize money for all domestic Audi FIS Alpine World Cups would be increased in collaboration with Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team title partner Stifel. The 2023 Stifel Killington Cup was the first to feature a 30% increase in prize purses for the winners.
“I have to say thank you so much to Stifel for setting a new precedent in the sport about the worth of the athletes and the work we do. It takes all our time and energy, and my big hope is that other nations and partners will follow suit. To see how much this brings to the sport and to see that the athletes are truly valued. To feel valued for what you do is really incredible.”
– Mikaela Shiffrin
The 2023 Stifel Killington Cup also highlighted “HERoic,” a women’s initiative by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team designed to empower and create opportunities for women in the ski industry. Saturday night featured a sold-out panel discussion and movie premiere of the all-female film “Advice for Girls,” but the prominence of women has been on a constant rise.
“I feel like Mikaela is an icon in our sport and alpine skiing in general, she’s bringing women’s skiing to the next level. Being her teammate, we see it more so with all the coverage of women’s racing. We are lucky to be able to experience it all with Mikaela leading the charge.”
– Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team member Paul Moltzan, who took eighth in the slalom race
Another highlight of the weekend was having visionary developer Great Gulf on hand to unveil renderings for the one-of-a-kind mountain village community framed by the 4,241-foot Killington Peak, bringing the 450-acre development closer to fruition, with sales for the first residences slated to launch in 2024.
“The seventh Stifel Killington Cup was an amazing weekend of ski racing, and I would like to extend our gratitude to the team that has made this weekend possible, the entire POWDR organization, the Killington Resort team, the powerhouse snowmakers and groomers that made that hill possible, the 300 volunteers, the entire Killington community and the state of Vermont.”
– President of Resort Residential for Great Gulf Michael Sneyd
Highlights
The Stifel Killington Cup held an estimated 34,000 spectators across three days (6,000 Friday night for opening ceremonies, 18,000 Saturday for giant slalom, and 10,000 Sunday for slalom).
The Stifel Killington Cup was broadcast in more than 60 countries worldwide and live on NBC, Peacock, and Outside TV in the United States.
100 competitors from 20 countries competed in the Stifel Killington Cup.
Over 300 volunteers took part in the Stifel Killington Cup.
Over 1,000 children from New England ski clubs participated in the opening day parade on Saturday.
1st Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI)
2nd Alice Robinson (NZE)
3rd Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
1st Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
2nd Petra Vlhova (SVK)
3rd Wendy Holdender (SUI)
