Birds of Prey (ski course)

Birds of Prey
Place: United States Avon, Colorado, U.S.
Mountain: Beaver Creek Mountain
Architect: Bernhard Russi (SUI)
Opened: December 1997
Level: expert
Downhill
Start: 11,427 ft (3,483 m)  AMSL
Finish:   8,957 ft (2,730 m)
Vertical drop:   2,470 ft (753 m)
Max. incline: 32.3 degrees (63%)
Avr. incline:    17 degrees (31%)
Most wins: Norway Aksel Lund Svindal (4x)
Super-G
Start: 11,155 ft (3,400 m)
Finish:   8,957 ft (2,730 m)
Vertical drop:   2,201 ft (671 m)
Max. incline:    34 degrees (68%)
Avr. incline: 19.3 degrees (35%)
Most wins: Austria Hannes Reichelt (4x)
Giant slalom
Start: 10,249 ft (3,124 m)
Finish:   8,937 ft (2,724 m)
Vertical drop:   1,312 ft (400 m)
Max. incline: 26.7 degrees (50%)
Avr. incline:    17 degrees (31%)
Most wins: United States Ted Ligety (6x)

Birds of Prey is a World Cup downhill ski course in the western United States, located at Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, Colorado. The race course made its World Cup debut 27 years ago in December 1997.

Beaver Creek is located in the United States
Beaver Creek
Beaver
Creek

Beaver Creek is a traditional early December stop on the men's World Cup calendar. The course hosted the World Championships in 1999 and 2015, and is also used for super-G and giant slalom races.[1] Prior to 1995, the World Cup speed events in North America were usually held in the latter part of the racing season.

This course has hosted total of 65 men's World Cup events (eighth all-time), and an additional three speed events in March 1988 were on "Centennial", the former speed course at Beaver Creek.

In December 2021, Birds of Prey became the first course in World Cup history to host four speed events on four consecutive days (two downhills, two super-G's).

History

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The Birds of Prey course was developed for the 1999 World Championships, designed by Swiss Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi, a noted constructor of downhill race courses around the world.[2]

The first World Cup race was won by Kristian Ghedina of Italy in December 1997, but the course was then dominated by Austrians, led by the legendary Hermann Maier. He won three consecutive Birds of Prey downhills: the 1999 world title in front of 20,000 spectators, followed by World Cup victories in each of the next two seasons.

All rounder Lasse Kjus won record all five discipline medals at 1999 World Championships (two gold and three silver medals). This outstanding achievement has not yet been repeated.

In December 2004, Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves took first and second place, respectively, in the World Cup downhill race,[3][4] the first ever one-two finish for American men in a downhill, and the first in any event in over two decades, since Phil & Steve Mahre in the 1984 Olympic slalom. The two Americans switched positions on the podium the following year.

Due to a lack of snow in France at Val d'Isère in December 2011, the women's super G was replaced on Birds of Prey course. This is the only World Cup event for ladies held here. Lindsey Vonn took the win.[5]

In November 2018, weather forced a lower start at 11,158 ft (3,401 m), reducing the course length to 1.286 miles (2.070 km) with a vertical drop of 2,201 ft (671 m). With the flat section of the top eliminated, the winning time of 1:13.59 by Beat Feuz yielded an average speed of 62.9 mph (101.2 km/h) and an average vertical descent of 29.9 feet (9.1 m) per second.

Course

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The downhill starting gate is at an elevation of 11,427 ft (3,483 m), Super-G at 11,155 ft (3,400 m) and giant slalom at 10,249 ft (3,124 m) above sea level with the finish line at 8,957 ft (2,730 m).

The course is 1.71 miles (2.752 km) in length,[6] an average gradient of 31 percent (17 degrees), with a maximum gradient of 68 percent (34 degrees) in the middle.

Rahlves' time of 1:39.59 in December 2003 is the fastest in competition for the full course, an average speed of 61.0 miles per hour (98.2 km/h) and an average vertical descent of 24.9 feet (7.6 m) per second.

The course that year had a vertical drop of 2,484 feet (757 m) and a length of 1.687 miles (2.715 km).[7]

The Red Tail Camp finish area is about 800 vertical feet (240 m) above the resort's main village.[8]

Sections

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Downhill course sections from top (start) to the bottom (finish): The Flyaway, The Brink, The Talon, Pete's Arena, Russi's Ride, The Abyss, and The Miller's Revenge.

Jumps

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The jumps of the race course adhere to the birds of prey theme: Peregrine, Goshawk, Screech Owl, Golden Eagle, Harrier, and the concluding Red Tail.

World Championships

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Men's events

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Only three events were held on Birds of Prey at the first championships; GS and SL were held at nearby Vail.

 
Bernhard Russi (SUI);
the course constructor
Event Type Date Gold Silver Bronze
1999 SG 2 February 1999    Lasse Kjus   Hermann Maier   Hans Knauß
DH 6 February 1999     Hermann Maier  Lasse Kjus  Kjetil André Aamodt
KB 8–9 February 1999    Kjetil André Aamodt  Lasse Kjus     Paul Accola
2015 SG 5 February 2015     Hannes Reichelt   Dustin Cook   Adrien Théaux
DH 7 February 2015       Patrick Küng   Travis Ganong     Beat Feuz
KB 8 February 2015     Marcel Hirscher  Kjetil Jansrud   Ted Ligety
GS 13 February 2015     Ted Ligety   Marcel Hirscher   Alexis Pinturault
SL 15 February 2015     Jean-Baptiste Grange   Fritz Dopfer   Felix Neureuther

Women's events

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Only SL was held on Birds of Prey at second championships (none of first); the other women's events were held at nearby Vail.

Event Type Date Gold Silver Bronze
2015 SL 14 February 2015     Mikaela Shiffrin   Frida Hansdotter   Šárka Strachová

World Cup

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Ted Ligety (USA)
won a record 6 giant slaloms
 
Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)
won a record 4 downhills
 
Hannes Reichelt (AUT)
won a record 4 super-G events
DH – Downhill, SL – Slalom, GS – Giant slalom, SG – Super giant slalom, SC – Super combined
No. Type Season Date Winner Second Third
1859 SG 2022/23 4 December 2022     Aleksander Aamodt Kilde     Marco Odermatt   Alexis Pinturault
1858 DH 3 December 2022     Aleksander Aamodt Kilde     Marco Odermatt   James Crawford
DH 2 December 2022   heavy snowfall; moved to Val Gardena/Gröden on 15 December 2022
DH 2021/22 5 December 2021   rescheduled downhill from Lake Louise cancelled due to strong wind
1824 DH 4 December 2021    Aleksander Aamodt Kilde   Matthias Mayer     Beat Feuz
1823 SG 3 December 2021    Aleksander Aamodt Kilde     Marco Odermatt   Travis Ganong
1822 SG 2 December 2021       Marco Odermatt   Matthias Mayer   Broderick Thompson
GS 2020/21 6 December 2020   North American Tour cancelled before the season; due to the COVID-19 pandemic
DH 5 December 2020  
SG 4 December 2020  
1753 GS 2019/20 8 December 2019     Tommy Ford  Henrik Kristoffersen  Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen
1752 DH 7 December 2019       Beat Feuz   Johan Clarey
  Vincent Kriechmayr
1751 SG 6 December 2019       Marco Odermatt  Aleksander Aamodt Kilde   Matthias Mayer
1714 GS 2018/19 2 December 2018     Stefan Luitz   Marcel Hirscher     Thomas Tumler
1713 SG 1 December 2018     Max Franz     Mauro Caviezel  Aleksander Aamodt Kilde
  Dominik Paris
 Aksel Lund Svindal
1712 DH 30 November 2018       Beat Feuz     Mauro Caviezel  Aksel Lund Svindal
1678 GS 2017/18 3 December 2017     Marcel Hirscher  Henrik Kristoffersen   Stefan Luitz
1677 DH 2 December 2017    Aksel Lund Svindal     Beat Feuz   Thomas Dreßen
1676 SG 1 December 2017     Vincent Kriechmayr  Kjetil Jansrud   Hannes Reichelt
GS 2016/17 4 December 2016   warm temperatures in November; replaced in Val d'Isère
DH 3 December 2016  
SG 2 December 2016  
1598 GS 2015/16 6 December 2015     Marcel Hirscher   Victor Muffat-Jeandet  Henrik Kristoffersen
1597 SG 5 December 2015     Marcel Hirscher   Ted Ligety   Andrew Weibrecht
1596 DH 4 December 2015    Aksel Lund Svindal  Kjetil Jansrud   Guillermo Fayed
1562 GS 2014/15 7 December 2014     Ted Ligety   Alexis Pinturault   Marcel Hirscher
1561 SG 6 December 2014     Hannes Reichelt  Kjetil Jansrud   Alexis Pinturault
1560 DH 5 December 2014    Kjetil Jansrud     Beat Feuz   Steven Nyman
1528 GS 2013/14 8 December 2013     Ted Ligety   Bode Miller   Marcel Hirscher
1527 SG 7 December 2013       Patrick Küng   Otmar Striedinger   Peter Fill
  Hannes Reichelt
1526 DH 6 December 2013    Aksel Lund Svindal   Hannes Reichelt   Peter Fill
1494 GS 2012/13 2 December 2012     Ted Ligety   Marcel Hirscher   Davide Simoncelli
1943 SG 1 December 2012     Matteo Marsaglia   Aksel Lund Svindal   Hannes Reichelt
1492 DH 30 November 2012     Christof Innerhofer  Aksel Lund Svindal  Kjetil Jansrud
1451 SL 2011/12 8 December 2011     Ivica Kostelić   Cristian Deville   Marcel Hirscher
1450 GS 6 December 2011     Ted Ligety   Marcel Hirscher  Kjetil Jansrud
1449 GS 4 December 2011     Marcel Hirscher   Ted Ligety   Fritz Dopfer
1448 SG 3 December 2011       Sandro Viletta  Aksel Lund Svindal     Beat Feuz
1447 DH 2 December 2011     Bode Miller     Beat Feuz   Klaus Kröll
1412 GS 2010/11 5 December 2010     Ted Ligety  Kjetil Jansrud   Marcel Hirscher
1411 SG 4 December 2010     Georg Streitberger   Adrien Théaux     Didier Cuche
DH 3 December 2010   strong winds; replaced in Kvitfjell on 11 March 2011[9]
1380 GS 2009/10 6 December 2009       Carlo Janka   Benjamin Raich  Aksel Lund Svindal
1379 DH 5 December 2009       Carlo Janka     Didier Cuche  Aksel Lund Svindal
1378 SC 4 December 2009       Carlo Janka     Didier Défago   Natko Zrnčić-Dim
1344 GS 2008/09 6 December 2008     Benjamin Raich   Ted Ligety  Aksel Lund Svindal
1443 SG 5 December 2008    Aksel Lund Svindal   Hermann Maier   Michael Walchhofer
1442 DH 5 December 2008    Aksel Lund Svindal   Marco Buechel   Erik Guay
SC 4 December 2008   heavy snowfall; replaced in Val d'Isère on 12 December 2008
1305 SG 2007/08 3 December 2007     Hannes Reichelt   Mario Scheiber   Christoph Gruber
1304 GS 2 December 2007       Daniel Albrecht   Mario Matt     Didier Cuche
1303 DH 30 November 2007     Michael Walchhofer   Steven Nyman     Didier Cuche
1302 SC 29 November 2007       Daniel Albrecht   Jean-Baptiste Grange   Ondřej Bank
1268 SL 2006/07 3 December 2006     André Myhrer   Michael Janyk   Felix Neureuther
1267 GS 2 December 2006     Massimiliano Blardone  Aksel Lund Svindal   Ted Ligety
1266 DH 1 December 2006     Bode Miller     Didier Cuche   Steven Nyman
1265 SC 30 November 2006    Aksel Lund Svindal    Marc Berthod   Rainer Schönfelder
1231 SL 2005/06 4 December 2005     Giorgio Rocca   Stéphane Tissot   Ted Ligety
1230 SG 3 December 2005     Bode Miller   Daron Rahlves   Kalle Palander
1229 DH 2 December 2005     Daron Rahlves   Bode Miller   Hans Grugger
1228 SG 1 December 2005     Hannes Reichelt   Erik Guay   Matthias Lanzinger
1195 SL 2004/05 5 December 2004     Benjamin Raich   Giorgio Rocca   Rainer Schönfelder
1194 GS 4 December 2004    Lasse Kjus   Hermann Maier   Benjamin Raich
1193 DH 3 December 2004     Bode Miller   Daron Rahlves   Michael Walchhofer
1192 SG 2 December 2004     Stephan Görgl   Bode Miller   Mario Scheiber
1157 SG 2003/04 7 December 2003    Bjarne Solbakken   Hermann Maier   Hans Knauß
1156 DH 6 December 2003     Hermann Maier   Hans Knauß   Andreas Schifferer
1155 DH 5 December 2003     Daron Rahlves   Stephan Eberharter
 Bjarne Solbakken
1119 SG 2002/03 8 December 2002       Didier Cuche   Marco Büchel   Hannes Trinkl
1118 DH 7 December 2002     Stephan Eberharter   Michael Walchhofer   Daron Rahlves
SG 2001/02 2 December 2001   replaced in Val d'Isère on 7 December 2001
DH 1 December 2001   replaced in Bormio on 28 December 2001
1051 SG 2000/01 3 December 2000     Fredrik Nyberg   Christoph Gruber  Kenneth Sivertsen
1050 DH 2 December 2000     Hermann Maier  Lasse Kjus   Stephan Eberharter
1009 SG 1999/00 28 November 1999     Hermann Maier   Stephan Eberharter  Lasse Kjus
1008 DH 27 November 1999     Hermann Maier   Stephan Eberharter   Kristian Ghedina
939 SG 1997/98 5 December 1997     Hermann Maier   Stephan Eberharter   Hans Knauß
938 DH 5 December 1997     Andreas Schifferer   Hermann Maier   Stephan Eberharter
937 DH 4 December 1997     Kristian Ghedina   Jean-Luc Crétier  Lasse Kjus

Women

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No. Type Season Date Winner Second Third
1357 SG 2011/12 7 December 2011     Lindsey Vonn     Fabienne Suter   Anna Fenninger
 Not on the original World Cup calendar, it replaced Val d'Isère (2011) and Lake Louise (2021). 

Raptor

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Adjacent to Birds of Prey on Beaver Creek Mountain, a new women's downhill course was built for the 2015 World Championships.[10] Named Raptor, it hosted three women's World Cup events in November 2013 as a test.[11]

Video

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  • You Tube.com - The Birds of Prey Downhill - From Jalbert Production's The Thin Line
  • You Tube.com - Hans Knauss - Audi Birds of Prey POV Downhill - December 2010

References

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  1. ^ "bcworldcup.com/birdsofprey/index.aspx". Archived from the original on 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  2. ^ Lloyd, Barbara (February 4, 1999). "The Ski Report; Birds of Prey Course is not for shrinking violets". The New York Times.
  3. ^ FIS-ski.com - results 2004-12-03 - downhill - Beaver Creek
  4. ^ Frank, Carolyn. "Prey birds". Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  5. ^ Meyer, John (December 7, 2011). "Lindsey Vonn skis to super-G victory on Birds of Prey". Denver Post.
  6. ^ "Results: Beaver Creek downhill" (PDF). FIS-ski.com. November 30, 2012.
  7. ^ "Results: men's downhill" (PDF). FIS. December 5, 2003. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  8. ^ "Trail map". Beaver Creek Resort. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  9. ^ "Second downhill in Kvitfjell". FIS Alpine Ski World Cup. Fédération Internationale de Ski. 7 December 2010. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010. The cancelled Men's Downhill from Beaver Creek (USA) will be replaced on Friday, 11. March 2011 in Kvitfjell (NOR). The organizers in Kvitfjell take over once more a World Cup race that was canceled somewhere else.
  10. ^ "Beav's new women's DH course named 'Raptor'". Ski Racing. September 6, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  11. ^ Meyer, John (November 26, 2013). ""Raptor" downhill course at Beaver Creek gains World Cup ski reputation". Denver Post. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
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39°34′59″N 106°31′23″W / 39.583°N 106.523°W / 39.583; -106.523