AVON — The fifth annual Rocky Mountain Pond Hockey Championships will be held at Nottingham Lake in Avon over the next two weekends. The youth division plays Jan. 15-16, and adults play Jan. 21-23. This outdoor ice hockey tournament is an opportunity for all youth and adult hockey players to come out and enjoy the game of hockey the way it was supposed to be played — outdoors. The format is a multi-division tournament with the following age divisions for adults: Seniors over 50, seniors over 40, senior open (no age restriction), and a women's division.
VAIL VALLEY — Amy Blakey from Eagle wants to be the next Local Lange Girl but she'll need help from the community. Blakey, 36, is competing in the ski boot company's annual contest. Each year, Lange picks “ripping ski town hotties” to represent the brand at mountain events in their area and get free boots. The company also picks a national winner who gets a spread in Freeskier magazine, according to the contest Web site. “I love skiing and I have always been involved in the ski industry,” Blakey said.
VAIL, Colorado — When the National Weather Service starts throwing around the term “epic,” you know this might be big. “Heavy, heavy snow of epic proportions expected to last into Thursday above 9,000 feet,” the government agency said in an advisory issued Sunday afternoon for the Vail area. Three to six feet of snow are expected to fall above 9,000 feet by Thursday afternoon, with some areas getting 8 feet, the service said in its winter storm warning. The warning covers Vail, Aspen, Crested Butte and Telluride and lasts through Tuesday night.
AL D'ISERE, France — Lindsey Vonn moved back to the top of the World Cup standings Sunday with another dominant performance in Val d'Isere, winning a super-combined race the day after a masterful downhill. Vonn had the fastest time in the super-G in the morning and followed it up with an assured slalom run in the afternoon. The victory gave Vonn 581 points in the overall standings, three more than rival Maria Riesch of Germany. Austria's Elisabeth Goergl is far behind in third with 366.
VAIL, Colorado — Vail pioneer Pepi Gramshammer stepped off the new High Noon Express Lift, Chair 5, Friday morning and could hardly believe what he had just experienced. “Can you believe this — 48 years,” Gramshammer said. Forty-eight years — that's how long it's been since he arrived in Vail and contributed to the creation of both the ski resort and the town. His wife, Sheika, who has been in Vail with him the entire time, was by his side again on the chairlift Friday morning.
VAIL, Colorado — Vail pioneer Pepi Gramshammer stepped off the new High Noon Express Lift, Chair 5, Friday morning and could hardly believe what he had just experienced. “Can you believe this — 48 years,” Gramshammer said. Forty-eight years — that's how long it's been since he arrived in Vail and contributed to the creation of both the ski resort and the town. His wife, Sheika, who has been in Vail with him the entire time, was by his side again on the chairlift Friday morning.
VAL D'ISERE, France — Ted Ligety is well on his way to a third World Cup giant slalom title, dominating his rivals Saturday for his second straight victory in this event. Now he's trying to carry his success to the slalom as well. The American beat Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway by more than a second in the French Alps resort for his seventh career victory in his favorite event. But to achieve his goal of challenging for the overall World Cup title, Ligety knows he needs to vastly improve his slalom results this season — starting with Sunday's race.
LAKE LOUISE, Alberta — Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn returned to the top of the Lake Louise, Alberta, podium Sunday with a commanding super-G victory over Maria Riesch of Germany. Julia Mancuso was third as six Americans finished inside the top 25. “Today I dropped the hammer a little bit more and believed in myself,” said Vonn, who barely escaped a near-crash on Saturday.
BEAVER CREEK — It was a tough day for the U.S. Ski Team at Saturday's Birds of Prey super-G race as the American men skied off course and missed a gate one after another, all in the same section of the race course. American Bode Miller kicked off what would become a bad luck spot for the Americans. Miller came off a jump just before the Screech Owl jump, in the middle section of the course, and was too over-rotated on his landing to turn around in time for the next gate. He missed the gate and skied off course.
BEAVER CREEK,COLORADO — The home-team advantage is something that's present in just about every sport, and U.S. Ski Team members are happy to have it this week at the Birds of Prey World Cup races in Beaver Creek. Birds of Prey is the only United States stop on the men's World Cup circuit, meaning the U.S. Ski Team has just one chance to race on its home snow. U.S. skier Andrew Weibrecht said Beaver Creek is a special stop for the U.S. Ski Team. He feels the advantage already after his training run Wednesday, and the U.S.
