Usually when my kids come home from ski club they’re exhausted and whining. Not yesterday. Instead, they came home bubbling about skiing, telling me about the latest tricks and the ski stars they saw. They were inspired by this weekend’s visitors: the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team is in Telluride to train for the upcoming World Cup races.
The team usually does their post-holiday training in Park City, Utah or wherever they can get a good course built, but this year Telluride is hosting—thanks to the support of Telluride Ski & Golf, Silver Star Property Management, and Element 52. The team is also holding an exhibition on Saturday Jan. 5 at noon on Hermit, with music and an announcer (former Olympic gold medalist Hannah Kearney). Olympians Mike Morris, Keaton McCargo, and Jaelin Kauf, and other athletes will also be in attendance and available to sign autographs.
U.S. Freestyle Ski Team coach Caleb Martin is also a Telluride resident, and he said he’s grateful for all the work the resort put in to get a course ready and host the team, especially after the busy holiday season. Martin typically has to travel most of the ski season and says it is fun to be home. “It’s fun for the athletes to be in Telluride, too. Keaton [McCargo, also from Telluride] was their local guide and took them for their first run down Kant-Mak-M, Spiral Stairs, and the Plunge. They were impressed for sure.”
Saturday’s All Star Mogul Show is free and spectators are encouraged to come and check out the action. The specs of the course on Hermit are close to the World Cup course that the athletes will compete on next in Calgary, says Martin. “It’s great training and will help us get ready for the next four events in North America. Telluride’s done a lot of World Cup events and they do a great job. We also want to give a huge thanks to Element 52 and Silver Star for putting up our athletes this week.”