Many of the top female skiers in the world, celebrity skiers, and U.S. ski team and international legends will descend on Squaw Valley this week for the Audi FIS Women’s Alpine World Cup.
The World Cup tour event will take place March 9-12 in Lake Tahoe. The Women’s Giant Slalom is scheduled for Friday, March 10, and Women’s Slalom on Saturday, March 11. This marks the return of World Cup ski racing to California for the first time in 19 years. U.S.
Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin will compete on the legendary Red Dog run, which also played host to the 1969 World Cup and 1960 Winter Olympics.
“In keeping with our longstanding ski racing legacy here at Squaw Valley, we are honored to be chosen to host an Audi FIS Women’s Alpine World Cup event,” said Andy Wirth, President and CEO of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows.
The race field for the Toyota Pro-Am will feature former and current U.S. Ski Team legends, including Tiger Shaw, Tamara McKinney, Jonny Moseley and Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley. Also competing will be Austrian legends Franz Klammer, Franz Weber, Klaus Heidegger and Killian Albrecht.
Celebrity Pro-Am racers are expected to include Dennis Quaid, Bret Saberhagen, Ed Begley, Jr., Ben Stiller, Bobby Kennedy, Jr. and Cheryl Hines.
The Pro-Am racing starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 12, and the finals will be held at 1 p.m.
Red Dog has a definite history. It’s the same course as the women’s slalom and giant slalom events of the 1960 Winter Olympics and the 1969 World Cup. With over 1,200 feet of vertical drop in the giant slalom and nearly 700 feet in the slalom, Red Dog run is full of challenges, including fall-away pitches, side hills and bank turns, and is expected to be one of the more difficult courses on the tour.
Squaw Valley is welcoming top international athletes and hosting numerous free events, including three free concerts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A free Community Kickoff Parade will celebrate the region’s Olympians, U.S. Ski Team alumni and an estimated 1,000 local and regional athletes, culminating with a live artistic performance by America’s Got Talent finalist David Garibaldi.
On Saturday evening, Hollywood actor Dennis Quaid brings his band – The Sharks – to the Resort at Squaw Creek to help kickoff Squaw Valley’s Toyota Ski Pro-Am. The Korbel “Forever Blue: Together Tonight for Tomorrow” evening, presented by Levi’s, will celebrate Squaw Valley’s return to World Cup ski racing, while also raising funds for a pair of environmental nonprofit organizations in Waterkeeper Alliance and Protect Our Winters.
In addition to Dennis Quaid and the Sharks, the Forever Blue benefit event will feature a casual ambiance, with farm-to-fork dining and a live auction. The evening is scheduled to get underway at 7 pm, with individual tickets priced at $250 per person, while corporate tables are also available, starting at $5,000. Attire is Tahoe Tuxedo.
For additional information or to purchase tickets for the Forever Blue: Together Tonight for Tomorrow evening and the Toyota Ski Pro-Am, visit https://squawalpine.com/events-things-do/toyota-ski-proam.
Visitors will enjoy the flavors of the region as The Village at Squaw Valley transforms into California Way, a vendor village with some of California’s most notable and recognizable products. Race spectators can enjoy free standing room viewing near the finish arena as well as skier spectator viewing on looker’s right of Red Dog Face, and live stream viewing will also be available at select locations in The Village at Squaw Valley including KT Base Bar Sun Deck.
For more information on the skiing, visit www.squawalpine.com or call 800 403-0206.
