Industry News
FAIRFIELD, Idaho (Nov. 13, 2024) — The Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals at Sun Valley Resort in March isn’t the only event drawing U.S. Ski & Snowboard members to Idaho this winter. Nearby Soldier Mountain signed an agreement with the slopestyle teams for the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team and the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team to host the inaugural annual training camps in December and late March.
The Southern Idaho ski area, best known as the resort actor Bruce Willis used to own, will build a training facility for the slopestyle teams to train on as part of the Soldier Mountain Snow Training Center, which serves competitive athletes throughout the Western U.S. Designed by world-renowned terrain park builder Charles Beckinsale, the site will support the slopestyle teams’ needs for large-scale jumps, which are part of competition but not widely available to train on. Beckinsale will personally construct the training facility on the run Canyon underneath the High Trail Express Lift (Chair 1).
The three-year partnership has allowed Soldier Mountain to enhance its snowmaking system, with the resort recently acquiring new state-of-the-art TechnoAlpin TR10 snow guns. The move doubles Soldier Mountain’s snowmaking capacity and will ensure skiers and riders enjoy full top-to-bottom coverage on the runs North Ridge and Canyon.
“This is a huge win for a small, independent ski resort like Soldier Mountain. One of the things that makes Soldier Mountain so attractive is that we’re small enough to be nimble and eager to try new things. And U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s financial and philosophical commitment to a small ski area like Soldier Mountain will ensure we offer a sustainable domestic training venue for the world’s best snowsports athletes for many years to come.”
– GM David Alden
Leadership at U.S. Ski & Snowboard concur.
Teaming up with a small mountain complements U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s affiliation with the Indy Pass, with Soldier Mountain being one of seven Idaho Indy Pass partners. The resort’s proximity to Utah—Soldier Mountain is less than five hours by car from U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s headquarters in Park City—eases logistics and is a good fit with the team’s Easy Green environmental initiative by reducing the carbon footprint of its training.
“Soldier Mountain has presented us with a unique opportunity to build world-class jumps in the USA at a time of year that will give our Slopestyle teams a huge advantage going into the competition season,” Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team Sport Director Rick Bower said.
Stifel U.S. Freeski Team Sport Director Skogen Sprang agreed, adding the teams are “excited to explore a new location that is so passionate about freeskiing and snowboarding and are looking forward to seeing what kind of magic Soldier Mountain can make up there.”
Alden is stoked about the new training facility’s impact on rising stars in the snowboarding and freeski scene.
“U.S. Ski & Snowboard is dedicated to creating training opportunities at the grassroots level,” Alden said. “Bringing a training venue of this magnitude to the western region gives up-and-coming snowboarders and freeskiers looking to compete at a higher level but can’t afford to travel far to train an unprecedented opportunity to hone their big-air skills. It’s like the major leagues building a new stadium for the minor leagues because they realize they need to nurture the next generation of pros.”
