#$%&'()* + ,-./ 0 NEVER BEFORE HAVE AMERICAN SKIERS!AND THEIR FANS! HAD SUCH HIGH HOPES FOR OLYMPIC SUCCESS. THE RUSSIAN GAMES PROMISE TO BE A STAR"SPANGLED SPECTACLE. DON’T MISS A MINUTE. By Kelley McMillan and Nathaniel Vinton At the 1998 Olympics in racing powerhouse. athletes who, by virtue of their Gold RushNagano, Japan, America’s Credit goes at least in part talent and example, seemed to ski racers won exactly one to U.S. Ski and Snowboard elevate the performance of the medal—Picabo Street’s Association CEO Bill Marolt, entire group. super-G gold. It was a dismal who retires this year after 18 Now the American alpine showing but not unusual. years (see page 104). Marolt has crew, anchored by Vonn (if Despite flashes of true endured criticism—for being she’s healthy), Miller, GS ace greatness over the years, from very well compensated, among Ted Ligety, big-event specialist Mead to the Mahres, the U.S. other things. But almost Julia Mancuso, and 18-year-old Team had never earned much everyone now acknowledges slalom champ Mikaela Shiffrin, respect on the world stage. that he’s been a savvy executive is poised to launch a blitzkrieg And yet by 2010, an and effective fundraiser. on the ski-racing events at COURTESY OF HEAD SKIS HEAD OF COURTESY astonishing transformation had Sheer luck also played a role. Sochi. "row in the best taken place. American alpine Marolt’s tenure has coincided freeskiers on the planet (always racers brought home eight with the rise of some of the a U.S. strength) and a suddenly medals from the Vancouver greatest American racers ever, respectable nordic team (once Games, a record for the U.S. Ski including Daron Rahlves, Bode unimaginable), and the U.S. Ski Team, establishing it as a ski- Miller, and Lindsey Vonn— Team has never looked better. Bode Miller’s goals for the Games—and the season—might seem ridiculously lofty. But he’s Bode Miller. This will be entertaining. 58 SKI MAGAZINE { January 2014 } { January 2014 } SKI MAGAZINE 59 #$%&'()* + ,-./ 0 5#63 &($$32 AGE 36 BodeHOMETOWN Franconia, N.H. WINS 5 Olympic medals, 5 World Champi- onship medals, 33 World Cup wins The freakishly young and talented Torin TITLES 8 (3 combined, Yater-Wallace. Can 2 overall, 2 an Aspen 15-year-old super G, 1 GS) win halfpipe gold? EQUIPMENT Head SPONSOR America’s most decorated male ski racer and the sport’s favorite bad boy, Bode Miller is now a married man and father of two, contemplating retire- ment. Despite his time away from the Bode Snurfed slopes—he spent the last year and a (Did Not Inhale) half recovering from a knee injury— We’ve heard about the rustic don’t underestimate Miller. Remember New Hampshire cabin where 713 #$%&'()*: 8(** #9 63:71 9#2 9233*8((;<= his epic three-medal haul in the 2010 Bode Miller grew up, off the Olympics? That came on the heels of grid and never on level ground. With the addition of slopestyle in the ’90s with a renegade to have people that commit an injury and a season spent mostly There beside a mossy stream, and halfpipe to the Sochi group of Canadian bump ski- to that one precise thing for away from the sport. So watch out, his hippie parents taught lineup, the 2014 Games mark ers, including J.P. Auclair and many years, and that’s what world. Bode is back. —K.M. their kids to push limits and freeskiing’s debut in the Mike Douglas, who thought the Olympics do,” Auclair challenge convention, making Olympics. In slopestyle, ath- overregulation of competitive says. “On the other hand, if it HOW DO YOU FEEL COMING BACK Bode’s storied career a sort of letes launch tricks off of rails, mogul skiing stifled athletes’ affects the spirit of the sport, FROM INJURY? belated triumph of the ’60s. Anytime you’re coming back from But almost as important walls, and jumps in a terrain creativity and the sport’s that used to bother me. But injury, it’s a little bit different. I feel was a backyard toy that Jo park. Halfpipe has been the progression. individuality and creativity will ready, like I’ve had enough time to and Woody Miller gave Bode in exclusive domain of high-flying Freeskiing’s founding fathers happen, whether it’s in the recover. This injury is something I’ve 1979 (for Christmas, Jo thinks). snowboarders, but skiers go have mixed feelings about Olympics or not.” been dealing with for a bunch of years. The Snurfer, a precursor to the even higher, executing even their sport’s Olympic induc- The U.S. fields the best snowboard, soon became his more complicated tricks. tion. “If you want to see a high freeskiing squad in the world. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE SEASON? preferred means of descending Jib-style freeskiing started level of anything, you have Medal hopes are high. —K.M. My goals are to race a whole season, the steep, icy path from the every race, every event. All the objec- cabin to Route 116 in Easton. tive goals I’ve had over my career, I’d “He got pretty good at navigat- like to see if I could accomplish them in ing that hill,” Woody recalls. !"##$%&#"$ '( )*'+, i Simon Dumont, Jen Hudak, and Torin Yater-Wallace in halfpipe; one season—winning the overall, Olym- Invented in the 1960s by Sammy Carlson, Bobby Brown, and Grete Eliassen in slopestyle. WSI/AFP champion pic medals, breaking 2,000 points Sherman Poppen of Wisconsin, Gus Kenworthy is a double threat. on the men’s side. I’d love to have the the Snurfer was a wide, short ski i Olympic champ Hannah Kearney and bronze medalist Bryon Wilson. men’s record. The Hahnenkamm and with no bindings. The user stood -(./0$ being the first American male to win with one foot ahead of the other $%& +"($$ i X Games and World Cup star John Teller, Joe Swensson, and Langley McNeal. the downhill title are in there too. Being and steered with the help of a healthy and happy are my primary lanyard attached to the tip. goals, and my personal life is obviously The last of Bode’s several a huge focus, so balancing all that stuff Snurfers wore out long ago, but is where the challenge is. 30 years later Bode describes 41:7 7##8 *# $#;<= 1#2*3 '#432 it in fine detail, down to the In 2014, freeskiing and women’s jumping join the Games. Preceding them: WILL YOU RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON? rounded ridge that ran under It’s normal to retire after an Olympics, the tail like the keel of a canoe. 1924 1948 1988 1994 2006 Hasn’t missed a but it doesn’t make much difference “It’s a piece of wood with Cross-country, Downhill, Super G, Aerials Snowboard cross to me if I stop this year or right now or staples in two spots,” Miller nordic combined, slalom alpine combined Kentucky Derby since 1999; in December. I don’t feel like there are says. “The staples give you ski jumping (reinstated) 1998 2010 any rules dictating what I do and don’t traction when there’s snow on 1952 Snowboard Ski cross co-owns two thoroughbreds. do in my sport. If I’m feeling good, it, and it has a little bit of a tiny 1936 Giant slalom 1992 halfpipe, anything’s possible. SEO RIK { } SELKOWITZ JONATHAN E little natural V. Not a V in but a V Alpine combined (alpine combined Moguls snowboard GS down. Just in the tail.” —N.V. dropped) 60 SKI MAGAZINE { January 2014 } { January 2014 } SKI MAGAZINE 61 #$%&'()* + ,-./ 0 ! Americans to Watch $(;6*3% >#;; AGE 29 :$'(;3 i :$'(;3 i *01&2# i !"##$%&&2. i 3/-1&2. i HOMETOWN St. Paul, Minn. ANDREW WEIBRECHT MARCO SULLIVAN STACEY COOK MAGGIE VOISIN LINDSEY VAN WINS 2 Olympic AGE i 27 AGE i 33 AGE i 29 AGE i 15 AGE i 29 medals, 5 HOMETOWN i HOMETOWN i Truckee, HOMETOWN i Truckee, HOMETOWN i HOMETOWN i World Champi- Lake Placid, N.Y. Calif. Calif. Whitefish, Mont. Park City, Utah onship medals, 59 World Cup WINS i 1 Olympic WINS i 1 World Cup win WINS i 2 podiums WINS i 2013 WSI World WINS i 2009 World wins medal (downhill), 3 additional (downhill) Championships gold Championships gold podiums (downhill) EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT TITLES 17 (4 overall, SPONSOR i Head EQUIPMENT SPONSOR i Rossignol SPONSOR i Armada SPONSOR i Rossignol 6 downhill, SPONSOR i Atomic 4 super G, 3 LUCKY STIFF i Married MACHING i Once flew TRUANT i Gets to miss HERO i Bone-marrow combined) a former Lange Girl GNARLY i Four-time in an F-18 Super Hornet (high school) classes to donation advocate winner of Arctic Man, fighter jet ski in Russia Nicknamed “the Alaska’s snowmobile- Women’s ski jumping Warhorse,” Weibrecht has finally cracked the EQUIPMENT Head assisted ski race. After nipping at the Last year, Voisin came surged out of obscu- podium for years, Cook out of nowhere to win Olympic events lineup, SPONSOR rity to win the super-G After resolving health had a breakthrough the slopestyle at the and no one gets more bronze in Vancouver. issues and switching to season last year, notch- WSI/AFP World Cham- credit for that than Van. With record-shattering achievements or stuff- He has struggled with Atomic, 14-year Team ing two second-place pionships. In doing so, Though she’s been of-tabloids personal dramas, Lindsey Vonn has injuries and technical veteran Sully opened finishes in Lake Louise she beat women 10 plagued by injuries, the done as much as any racer to bring her sport into issues ever since, but last season finishing and placing fourth in years her senior, estab- former world champ the mainstream.