It’s official: men’s and women’s Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup races will held on the famed Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek on back-to-back weekends for the first time ever this December.

The racing will be paired with a multi-day festival including concerts, family activities, the Beers of Prey beer tasting, gatherings, celebrations, and more in Beaver Creek December 6-15.

The approved men’s and women’s racing calendar includes:

• Dec. 3-5 Men’s downhill training
• Dec. 6 Men’s downhill
• Dec. 7 Men’s super G
• Dec. 8 Men’s giant slalom
• Dec. 11-13 Women’s downhill training
• Dec. 14 Women’s downhill
• Dec. 15 Women’s super G

The announcement was made today by the nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation, which leads the event Local Organizing Committee (LOC), together with the International Ski Federation (FIS), U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Vail Resorts, Beaver Creek Resort, the Beaver Creek Resort Company, and other sponsors and partners. The announcement came after the FIS calendar was confirmed today at a meeting in Iceland.

“This will be a celebration not-to-be missed. Our community has hosted and organized FIS Alpine World Cups for over 50 years and we are home to some of the best alpine ski racers in history,” said Mike Imhof, President of the Vail Valley Foundation. “We are grateful to our friends and partners at U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Beaver Creek, and Beaver Creek Resort Company for their support this year in adding women's racing and we want to express our sincere thanks to the FIS for this opportunity. We look forward to joining together with our partners to once again welcome the world to the iconic slopes of Beaver Creek and the legendary Birds of Prey racecourse.”

“We are thrilled to welcome a women’s speed World Cup this year, combining with the men’s racing, to showcase Beaver Creek Resort as a world-class destination,” said Bobby Murphy, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Beaver Creek Resort. “Our Birds of Prey racecourse at Beaver Creek is iconic, and we’re proud to offer a truly inclusive resort experience with both men and women competing in the same venue.”

“We are so excited to bring a women’s speed World Cup to the United States,” said President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard Sophie Goldschmidt. “The opportunity to showcase the world’s best women alpine skiers in Colorado is an incredible opportunity for our community and fanbase.”

“Beaver Creek has always been an important stop on our World Cup tour. Now, being able to return not only with speed races but also with a giant slalom—the first one since 2019—adds a great value,” said Markus Waldner, FIS World Cup Men’s Chief Race Director. “We are all looking forward to skiing this challenging slope across three different disciplines."

“I am very happy and proud to return to Beaver Creek with the Women's World Cup after more than 10 years,” said Peter Gerdol, FIS World Cup Women’s Chief Race Director. “The summer inspection will take place the second week of July and we will analyze the key sections of the Bird of Prey to arrive at the first speed event of the season in the best possible way. The slope is challenging but I am confident that our female skiers will manage to face the slope and provide a great show.”

Women and men haven’t raced together at Beaver Creek since the Vail/Beaver Creek 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships.

Racing on home soil

Top Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete, Vail Valley local, and the winningest skier of all time, Mikaela Shiffrin, is slated to compete in front of her hometown fans.

“I love racing at Beaver Creek,” Shiffrin said. “I have a lot of great memories skiing there, particularly from World Champs in 2015. It’s an iconic World Cup speed track with a best in the world course crew - The Talon Crew - and the surface is always incredible. It’s been inspiring to watch the men ski on one the best speed tracks on the World Cup tour, and I’m excited the women will get a chance to ski on it this year too. Plus, we’re on the road for more than half the year, so it’s going to be a treat to be racing so close to home and be able to sleep in my own bed. Can’t wait to see all of the fans out there cheering!”

The men’s races will once again feature a giant slalom for the first time since 2019, which is good news for another locally-born-and-raised Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete, River Radamus.

Radamus, a tech specialist who also races speed events, has been a fan favorite at the Birds of Prey races in recent years.

“I’m so fired up about the newest addition to next season’s World Cup at Birds of Prey,” said Radamus. “Adding women to the schedule is going to give fans an opportunity to see even more of the best skiers in the world, and I’m personally so excited about the return of one of the best giant slalom tracks on the circuit.”

The women’s race provides the first time that the younger generation of speed-event racers on the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team will have an opportunity to compete on home snow, including top downhiller Bella Wright.

“I am so happy that I get to ski on home snow next season!” said Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Bella Wright.

In 2015, Vail and Beaver Creek hosted the Alpine Ski World Championships, but the last time that women have competed on the slopes of Beaver Creek in an official World Cup (as opposed to a Championships) was in 2013. In 2011, women raced a modified version of the Birds of Prey super G course to make up a Val-d'Isère race; Lindsey Vonn (USA) was victorious in that contest.

This December, top USA and international athletes will compete on the iconic Birds of Prey course, known as one of the most difficult in the world. All the world’s best racers will all have a chance to experience the thrill of racing at the Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup in 2024.

Surrounding festivities throughout 10-day event window

The dual-weekend of racing provides an opportunity for the Vail Valley Foundation and its partners to host a multi-day festival of winter culture, concerts, VIP parties, sponsor activations, and much more in Beaver Creek throughout the Dec. 6-15 timeframe.

Organizers are already into the planning stages to welcome concerts to Beaver Creek Village, as well as the always-popular “Beers of Prey” beer tasting event, giveaways and prizes, sponsor activations, and many other fun and exciting activities.

More information will be available soon at bcworldcup.com, and on Instagram and Facebook.

Learn more about the nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation, which hosts the Birds of Prey races each year, at vvf.org.

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About the Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup

The Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup at Beaver Creek Resort has become legendary in the ski world.

Beaver Creek Mountain is home to the formidable Birds of Prey racecourse, challenging an international roster of top athletes for one weekend of racing that typically features Men’s Alpine super G, downhill and giant slalom competitions. The event is organized by the nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation, in close partnership with the FIS, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Vail Resorts, the Beaver Creek Resort Company, Beaver Creek Resort, the U.S. Forest Service, Stifel, and CELSIUS energy.

Learn more at bcworldcup.com.

About the Vail Valley Foundation

The Vail Valley Foundation is a 501c3 Colorado nonprofit corporation with a mission to provide leadership in arts, athletics, and education, and address community needs to enhance our valley as a place to live, work and visit.

The organization’s work in education is through YouthPower365, a 501c3 Colorado nonprofit organization. From early childhood to college and career, YouthPower365 provides programs to help youth reach their full potential and support youth and families every step of the way. The Vail Valley Foundation also provides the Vail Valley with several of its most treasured annual events, such as the GoPro Mountain Games, the Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup races, the Vail Dance Festival, and the Moe’s Original BBQ Hot Summer Nights and Town of Eagle ShowDown Town free concert series. The Vail Valley Foundation also manages and operates two performing arts centers, the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek Village and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, providing more than 150 Broadway, dance, comedy, classical, rock, pop, jazz, community and family events per year.

Vail Valley Foundation activities and events are in part made possible by cornerstone partners: Town of Vail, Vail Resorts, Beaver Creek Resort Company, GMC, GoPro, Nature Valley, Constellation Brands, CELSIUS, TINCUP Mountain Whiskey, and Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate.

To learn more about the Vail Valley Foundation, visit vvf.org.

About Beaver Creek Resort 

As a renowned luxury family resort, Beaver Creek is the place to relax, indulge, and explore during any season, with an intimate alpine village, World-Cup mountain pedigree, spectacular hospitality and detail-oriented guest service. Just 30 minutes east of Eagle Airport (EGE) and 2.5 hours west of Denver International Airport (DIA), Beaver Creek offers luxury ski-in, ski-out accommodations throughout three villages. More than 40 in-resort and slope-side restaurants, elegant village boutiques, cherished daily traditions and more than 2,000 acres of terrain to explore for skiers and snowboarders. Visit BeaverCreek.com for additional information.