• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Because the Family that Skis Together, Enjoys Life Together.
  • Home
  • About
    • Awards
    • Featured Author
    • Brand Ambassador
  • Brave Ski Mom Stickers
  • Contact Me

The Brave Ski Mom

Building a new generation of skiers and snowboarders.

  • Skiing
    • Skiing With Kids
    • Ski Racing
    • Learn to Ski
    • Cross Country Skiing
    • Telemark Skiing
    • Snowboarding
  • Ski Resort Reviews
    • United States
      • Alaska
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Connecticut
      • Idaho
      • Maine
      • Massachusetts
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Hampshire
      • New Mexico
      • New York
      • North Carolina
      • Oregon
      • Pennsylvania
      • Utah
      • Vermont
      • Washington
      • West Virginia
      • Wisconsin
      • Wyoming
    • Argentina
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Bulgaria
    • Canada
    • Chile
    • France
    • Finland
    • Greece
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • New Zealand
  • Ski Gear Checklist and Recommendations
    • Equipment and Gear
    • Product Reviews
    • Brave Ski Mom Stickers
  • Hiking
    • Camping
  • Biking
    • Downhill Biking
    • Mountain Biking
    • Road Biking
  • Good Stuff
    • Parenting
    • Health
      • Getting in Shape
    • Reflections

It’s Good to Be Austrian at the Alpine World Ski Championships

February 9, 2015 by braveskimom

flags flying over beaver creek

braveskimom logoWe were told to party with the Austrians.

And while there are Austrians everywhere in Vail and Beaver Creek right now, the first two we met were all business.

Waiting in a short lift line during the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, we were joined by Otte and Matthias.

Bundled up in bright blue and green uniforms (why a country with a red and white flag wears Easter egg colors is another question), these two are rock stars in Europe. Fans might even maul them.

Getting on a lift with us, two North Americans whose most recent race experience includes gate keeping for 12 year-olds, they were safe – or so they thought.

“Your skis are quite different from mine,” I tried by way of an icebreaker.

“Yes,” Otte replied, ice intact, now rimed with awkwardness.

fat skis thin skis
My fat K2 Remedy 102s next to Otte and Matthias’ sleek, long, thin downhill skis.

“Is the men’s downhill training still scheduled for 1:30?” my husband tried a few minutes later.

“It’s at 2:00,” replied Matthias. End of conversation.

Finally, with only a few lift poles to go, I jumped in. “Since we’ve shared a chair with you,” I blurted, “we’re going to cheer for you. What are your names and bib numbers?”

When they made the mistake of answering, I asked if I could take their photo. I like to think we parted as friends, although there would be no partying, at least not with us.

austrian ski racers striedlinger and mayer

Later, during training we discovered we’d shared a lift with Matthias Mayer, the downhill gold medalist from Sochi and Otmar Striedinger, himself no stranger to the World Cup podium.

A Good Week for Austrians

The first week of the Vail Beaver Creek 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships has a been good one for Austrians, with Anna Fenninger winning the Women’s Super G and Hannes Reichelt winning the Men’s Super G (while U.S. favorite Bode Miller crashed, requiring surgery to repair a severed hamstring tendon).

anna fenninger austria
Anna Fenninger celebrates her victory in the Ladies’ Super G.

For a while during the Women’s Downhill on Friday, the top three spots were held by Fenninger and two teammates. The final result kept Fenninger in Silver, while Tina Maze of Slovenia took Gold and Lara Gut of Switzerland won Bronze.

podium women's downhill
The 2015 World Championships Women’s Podium for Downhill. 

American fans turned out big time, cheering loudly for the U.S. Ski Team.

But for those loyal to red, white and blue, the skiing was more satisfying than the racing, while the Austrian parties, complete with countless steins of beer and oompah music, were closed.

party like austrians
The party of parties. The Austrian party. Too bad you need an invitation.

We had to make do drinking beers in the hot tub with Argentines (actually, that’s a good combination).

A Good Week for Everyone

While the Austrians exhibited the most dominance and the highest profile in Beaver Creek during the first week, there were other notable triumphs.

dustin cook
Coming out of nowhere, Dustin Cook of Canada wins Super G silver.

Coming out of nowhere in the Men’s Super G, Canadian Dustin Cook passed higher seeds to secure a silver medal.

Slovenia’s Tina Maze won two medals taking 1st in the Downhill and second in Super G, while the Swiss team won a gold and bronze in Men’s Downhill and a bronze in Ladies’ Downhill.

tina maze
Slovenia’s Tina Maze, blasting to victory in Ladies’ Downhill.

Stacey Cook, a strong U.S. contender in the speed events, crashed in training, plowing through the B-net only to come back less than 24 hours later and compete with an injured arm and hand. Skiing through pain, she placed 19th out of 39 racers.

And while the Vail Valley crowd that turned out big time for Lindsey Vonn on Friday were hoping for a downhill medal, her 5th (just 1.05 second behind Maze) along with a bronze in Super G, keeps her squarely on track for a run at another overall World Cup title, despite recent injury and surgery.

lindsey vonn
Lindsey Vonn celebrates after a strong Super G run.

Week Two Preview

With seven days remaining, the U.S. team is coming into some strong events, led by two popular skiers, Mikaela Shiffrin and Ted Ligety. The technical events begin on Thursday, February 12 with the Ladies’ Giant Slalom and Men’s GS Qualifier, continuing through the weekend, before closing with the Men’s Slalom on Sunday.

loyal ligety fans
Loyal Ted Ligety fans.

Shiffrin, who at 19 holds two World Cup Slalom titles and won her first World Cup Giant Slalom this season, is in the unique position of staying with her parents during the Championships.

When asked about the pressure of being a hometown favorite, Shiffrin admitted that she prefers to be an underdog, and as a favorite would have to “put my best skiing out there.”

“The past two weeks of training have been spectacular,” she added. “I like to think I have the capability to win two golds.”

When You Go…

If you can get to Beaver Creek this week, go. With new snow last week, the skiing is fantastic.

stone creek chutes beaver creek
Stone Creek Chutes at Beaver Creek.

The weather across Colorado remains oddly spring-like, making for good spectating and there’s good energy everywhere, whether in Red Tail Finish Stadium or at the free concerts in Vail.

If you go, go early. The parking lots and free busses fill up fast and the stadium fills up faster (but you can always watch course-side).

ski racing fans at beaver creek world championships

Best of all the events are free, unlike in Europe where each event requires a ticket costing between 40-50 Euros.

And even if you can’t party with the Austrians, you can watch them party – for free.

Enjoy!

raptor course beaver creek colorado
A cross-mountain look at the FIS Alpine Courses at Beaver Creek.

 More Ski Racing:  

  • The Ski Racing World is Coming to Vail. You Should Come, Too. January 14, 2015.
  • How to Find a Junior Ski Racing Program, November 15, 2011.
  • A Passion for Speed: Two Family Ski Racing Success Stories, November 9, 2010.
  • Colorado’s Morris Sisters Reach for the Top in Ski Racing and Cycling, April 19, 2012.

© 2015, braveskimom. All rights reserved. Any use or publication of content, including photos, requires express permission.

Spread the Love (thanks!)

  • Email
  • Print
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Related

Filed Under: Ski Racing Tagged With: Colorado, Family Skiing, ski, Ski Racing, skiing

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. braveskimom says

    February 9, 2015 at 10:02 am

    I wrote this on Saturday, so it doesn’t include yet another Austrian Gold Medal, this time to Marcel Hirscher for Men’s Alpine Combined. Both Hirscher and Ted Ligety of the US (bronze behind Kjetil Jansrud of Norway) benefited from an early start on the slalom course, before the snow got soft and the ruts got deep.

    The Ladies’ Alpine Combined starts right now: 10:00 AM MST! Even if you don’t normally watch ski racing, it’s really a fun event, combining one run of downhill with one run of slalom. NBC will broadcast it this afternoon, or you can follow along here: http://vailbeavercreek2015.com/results-ladies-alpine-combined-dh/

  2. braveskimom says

    February 9, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    For a moment there, it looked like this afternoon’s Ladies’ Alpine Combined was going to be an Austrian sweep. And then Tina Maze skied and took 1st. She was followed by Austria’s Nicole Hosp and Michaela Kirchgasser.

  3. feonica kaihlan martinez says

    February 15, 2015 at 7:53 pm

    Thanks for the information. Great! Congrats to all the winners for ski championship.

Primary Sidebar

2023-2024 Partners

FERA
World Snow Day
FERA

Welcome

I'm Kristen, a western Colorado mom, wife and trail boss in a busy outdoor family. Our family has a passion for skiing and my goal is to provide information to help other families enjoy their skiing adventures. Whether you have tiny toddlers just learning to slide or grown children with whom you're planning a reunion, you're in the right place. Cheers!

Never Miss a Post

Enter your email address to subscribe. You'll receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Me

FacebookInstagram Pinterest Twitter

Today’s Most Popular Posts

  • No Snow? No Problem: Summer Skiing in North America
    No Snow? No Problem: Summer Skiing in North America
  • Upside Down Ski Resorts: When the Base is at the Top
    Upside Down Ski Resorts: When the Base is at the Top
  • A First-Time Family Guide to Skiing Breckenridge, Colorado
    A First-Time Family Guide to Skiing Breckenridge, Colorado
  • Family Skiing at Beaver Creek and Vail
    Family Skiing at Beaver Creek and Vail
  • Telluride's Bear Creek Trail: Family Perfect
    Telluride's Bear Creek Trail: Family Perfect
  • Our Child Doesn't Want to Ski. What Should We Try?
    Our Child Doesn't Want to Ski. What Should We Try?

Categories

Footer

Recent Tweets

My Tweets

Featured In

snowlink world snow day snowkidz
liftopia mtn town learn to ski and snowboard mom trends
Copyright © 2025 · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · Affiliate Disclosure · Product Review & Giveaway Policy · Guest Post Policy · Privacy Policy · Login
 

Loading Comments...