World Cup Ski Racing Returns To Lake Tahoe's Largest Ski Resort

The Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup Returns February 23rd to the 25th.

Olympic Valley, true to its name, has a long alpine ski racing history.

Back when Sq*aw was first being built by Wayne Paulsen and Alex Cushing back in the early 1940s, Cushing heard that Reno, Nevada was in the running to host the 1960 Olympic Games.

Cushing then made a bid for the games to be in Palisades Tahoe. "He proposed the idea that Palisades Tahoe was a blank slate and could be transformed into exactly what the Winter Olympic Games needed within five years."

That is exactly what happened. Even better, in 1958, during the construction of Olympic Village, the Olympic Committee asked Walt Disney—an avid skier himself—to become the Chairman of the Pageantry Committee for the games.

"Walt’s goal for the opening, closing, and awards ceremonies was to be 'full of innovation and firsts'. His vision was carried throughout the games and is now the foundation for all the Olympic ceremonies."

Because of all this incredible work to build the foundation of Palisades Tahoe, to this day, the mountain is an incredible venue capable of hosting the most exciting ski competitions in the world.

Officials at Palisades explain that Palisades Tahoe is "a renowned ski racing venue that has bred champions since the 1960 Winter Olympics."

"Palisades Tahoe's legendary steeps will once again welcome back FIS Alpine Wold Cup Tour World Cup racing this winter. One of only four U.S. resorts featured on the Audi FIS Ski World Cup circuit this season, Palisades Tahoe will host men’s slalom and giant slalom events on Dog Leg and Red Dog Face."

"The course, raced in 2017 for the women’s alpine event, is one Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin has described as 'one of, if not the toughest' course venues on the women’s World Cup circuit."

For women, Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), Federica Brignone (ITA), Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI), Sofia Goggia (ITA), and Petra Vlhova (SVK) will be battling it out. 

For men, the top athletes include Marco Odermatt (SUI), Marco Schwarz (AUT), Filip Zubcic (CRO), Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), and Bryce Bennett (USA).

Special shoutout to Tahoe's own Bryce Bennett! We love you and are so excited to see you compete at your home mountain!

Besides the race, officials at Palisades announce that guests can "catch outdoor concerts, fireworks, sponsor activations and more."

Are you going to make the event? I wouldn't miss it for the world. Getting to watch the best in the biz race on home turf is going to be nothing short of epic.

If the weather cooperates, it could be one of the best days of the season. Getting inspired by top racers, and then dipping off to hit a couple of you own runs... it just doesn't get better than that.

Related: Home Crowd Erupts As GOAT Mikaela Shiffrin Wins At Killington

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