Challenger (ski course)
| Challenger | |
|---|---|
| Place: | Sun Valley, Idaho |
| Mountain: | Bald Mountain |
| Opened: | 13 March 1975 (50 years ago) |
| Downhill | |
| Start: | 8,783 ft (2,677 m) AMSL |
| Finish: | 6,076 ft (1,852 m) |
| Vertical drop: | 2,707 ft (825 m) |
| Length: | 1.53 mi (2.459 km) |
| Max. incline: | 28.8 degrees (55%) |
| Avg. incline: | 18.5 degrees (33%) |
| Min. incline: | 5.7 degrees (10%) |
| Super-G | |
| Start: | 8,120 ft (2,475 m) AMSL |
| Finish: | 6,076 ft (1,852 m) |
| Vertical drop: | 2,044 ft (623 m) |
| Length: | 1.17 mi (1.876 km) |
| Max. incline: | 28.8 degrees (55%) |
| Avg. incline: | 18.3 degrees (33%) |
| Min. incline: | 5.7 degrees (10%) |
Challenger is a World Cup downhill ski course in the western United States, on the north slope of Bald Mountain in Sun Valley, Idaho. The course is part of Sun Valley Ski Resort, the most prestigious in Idaho.[1][2][3][4]
Tom Johnston, a very controversial character known as "Cowboy", designed the new or mostly renovated slope, starting on the original old course at Steilhang Traverse; in mid-section it runs left from the original slope, then returns for the finish on the same terrain as the old one. Challenger has the steepest average incline on the World Cup circuit at 36%, surpassing even the Streif course in Kitzbühel. With a vertical drop of 2,707 feet (825 m), the steepness provides a very demanding but relatively short course at 1.53 miles (2.46 km); lasting about 85 seconds,[5] the average vertical descent rate is approximately 32 feet (9.8 m) per second.
Course
History
The Challenger was a steam locomotive introduced by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936, the year it founded and opened Sun Valley ski resort with the first ski chairlift in the world, by which they are known for.
This spectacular and very demanding ski course hosted World Cup technical events in the 1970s, in March 1975 and 1977; Ingemar Stenmark, Hanni Wenzel, Gustav Thöni, and Phil Mahre won early events here. It also served as a training facility for alpine skiing during the 2002 Winter Olympics in northern Utah.
After 48 years, this course at Sun Valley returned to the World Cup circuit in March 2025, hosting the season finals. Located west of the Challenger chairlift, portions of several runs are used for the course, including International, Greyhawk, and Hemingway.
Sections
Valley
- Sawtooth Jump
- Durrance Dive
- The Legends
- Carol's Wagon Wheel
- Steilhang Traverse
- Frontier Jump
- The Sluice
- Rudi's Roll
- Cowboy's Corner
- The Redd
- Proctor Park
World Cup
Men
| No. | Season | Date | Type | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | 1974/75 | 13 March 1975 | GS | Ingemar Stenmark | Piero Gros | Gustav Thöni |
| 202 | 15 March 1975 | SL | Gustav Thöni | Piero Gros | Ingemar Stenmark | |
| 254 | 1976/77 | 5 March 1977 | SL | Phil Mahre | Ingemar Stenmark | Steve Mahre |
| 255 | 6 March 1977 | GS | Ingemar Stenmark | Christian Hemmi | Heini Hemmi | |
| 2024/25 | 22 March 2025 | DH | delayed by snowfall, cancelled due to strong wind | |||
| 1962 | 23 March 2025 | SG | Lukas Feurstein | Raphael Haaser | Franjo von Allmen | |
| 1963 | 26 March 2025 | GS | Loïc Meillard | Marco Odermatt | Henrik Kristoffersen | |
| 1964 | 27 March 2025 | SL | Timon Haugan | Clément Noël | Fabio Gstrein | |
Women
| No. | Season | Date | Type | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 194 | 1974/75 | 13 March 1975 | GS | Lise-Marie Morerod | Monika Kaserer | Fabienne Serrat |
| 195 | 14 March 1975 | SL | Hanni Wenzel | Annemarie Moser-Pröll | Christa Zechmeister | |
| 247 | 1976/77 | 5 March 1977 | SL | Perrine Pelen | Claudia Giordani | Monika Kaserer |
| 248 | 6 March 1977 | GS | Lise-Marie Morerod | Kathy Kreiner | Abbi Fisher | |
| 2024/25 | 22 March 2025 | DH | delayed by snowfall, cancelled due to strong wind | |||
| 1843 | 23 March 2025 | SG | Lara Gut-Behrami | Lindsey Vonn | Federica Brignone | |
| 1844 | 25 March 2025 | GS | Lara Gut-Behrami | Federica Brignone | Sara Hector | |
| 1845 | 27 March 2025 | SL | Mikaela Shiffrin | Lena Dürr | Andreja Slokar | |
Note
- Greyhawk / Hemingway is the name for technical (GS and SL) events course, which is the bottom half of the Challenger course.
References
- ^ "Stenmark zmagal, Križaj 23. / Slalom Avstrijkama". Delo (in Slovenian). 15 March 1975. p. 5.
- ^ "Trije kandidati". Delo (in Slovenian). 17 March 1975. p. 9.
- ^ "B. Križaj 9". Delo (in Slovenian). 7 March 1977. p. 9.
- ^ "Sun Valley course map" (PDF). sunvalley.com. 24 March 2025.
- ^ "Sun Valley's Legendary Downhill Returns: 2025 World Cup Finals Revive Historic Venue". skiracing.com. 21 March 2025.
External links
- sunvalley.com (official)