Beaver Creek Boosts Snowmaking Ahead of Seven World Cup Races

The American resort of Beaver Creek is preparing for a record-breaking December in terms of the length of its racing programme: this season, seven Alpine Ski World Cup races are scheduled to take place here. The men’s event, which has become a tradition at the resort, will be held in the first week of December, after which the women will take to the Birds of Prey course.

The season’s main technical innovation will be a new snowmaking system. This autumn, 16 automatic snow cannons were installed on the lower third of the course. The Vail Valley Foundation, which sponsors the competitions, notes that this section is particularly vulnerable to changeable weather at the start of the season.

Night-time snowmaking has already begun in Beaver Creek. It is intended to prepare the resort both for the opening of the 2026–27 season and for the races themselves. According to the organisers, the upgraded system will help create a more even and reliable surface, while also reducing electricity and water consumption.

The need for such measures was particularly evident in December last year. Warm weather at the start of the season complicated the operation of the snowmaking system in the Birds of Prey finish area. Because of snow problems, organisers had to raise the finish by 100 vertical metres. Later, when snowfall began at the wrong time, one of the scheduled men’s downhill races was cancelled.

The only downhill race to take place was held on a shortened version of the course. The finish was moved to a point before the spectacular Golden Eagle jump, so the course length was 2280 metres instead of the usual 2715 m. Competitions in Beaver Creek have also been cancelled or postponed several times in the past because of difficulties with the weather and snow cover.

The resort has stressed separately that the new snow cannons can be controlled remotely. In suitable conditions, each of them can be switched on without the direct involvement of an operator. In addition, the redesign of the finish area has reduced the amount of artificial snow that needs to be produced during the season.

Donations to the foundation supporting the races were used for more than just snowmaking. They also helped improve the grandstands, spectator facilities and the John and Karen Arnold Stadium. Entrance to the spectator grandstands will nevertheless remain free.

Women first competed on Birds of Prey in 2024, although no women’s events were held in Beaver Creek a year ago. This December, they will return to the resort and compete for three sets of medals. The event schedule is as follows:

• Men: 3 and 4 December — downhill; 5 December — super-G; 6 December — giant slalom.
• Women: 11 and 12 December — downhill; 13 December — super-G.

In addition to the races, the two-week festival will include free live music concerts, athlete autograph sessions and sponsor events. This season will be a special one for the American resort: seven races is the highest number ever held during World Cup competitions in Beaver Creek.

Photo: resort press service, image from a webcam in Beaver Creek. 19:48 28.10.26