Alpine Hits the Road

Winter has taken its time arriving in Park City, but the Alpine Division has not slowed down. As Alpine Director Jessica Kelley puts it, “We have stayed productive, positive, and flexible while chasing snow across the region.” November was packed with quality training blocks, fall conditioning, and focused preparation across every age group. And now, with Utah Olympic Park finally open for training, athletes are getting valuable time on snow at home.

FIS Teams

The FIS Men’s and Women’s teams wrapped up excellent training blocks at Copper Mountain, where conditions were strong, and the environment was world-class. “Training alongside World Cup athletes from the USA, Switzerland, France, Austria, and New Zealand was huge for our group,” Kelley shared. “It is not just about how well they ski. It is about how they operate. Warm-ups, inspections, and how they process between runs. Our athletes learned a lot just by being there.”

After Copper, both teams took a short reset to recover and finish coursework during the final week at the Winter Sports School. Balancing academics with daily training, dryland, video sessions, and meetings is no small task, and Kelley noted how impressed she was. “The discipline they showed during that stretch really stood out. They handled school and skiing the right way.”

Once school wrapped up, athletes spent Thanksgiving reconnecting with family before heading to Big Sky Resort for early December training. With local venues still limited at the time, training on the same hill that will host their first races of the season was a major advantage. “They have worked hard all off-season,” Kelley said. “They are ready to move into the competition phase.”

U16

The U16 group also capped off a strong Copper camp while managing dryland, meetings, and Winter Sports School finals in late November. This past week, part of the group traveled to Big Sky for focused GS training, while the rest stayed closer to home, freeskiing and running drills at Solitude Mountain Resort as they waited for UOP access.

U14

The second year U14s completed fall testing with clear improvements since dryland began in September, then headed to Big Sky for a productive five-day camp that included SL and GS progressions, guided freeskiing, drills, and full gate training. The first year, U14s followed a similar early-season path with testing and their own five-day Big Sky camp.

Both groups also took part in a sports psychology session with Olympian Doug Lewis while in Big Sky. “Those sessions gave the athletes great tools and perspective,” Kelley noted. Back in Park City, the U14s continue to rotate dryland, SIM Sports, and Woodward Park City as they wait for more consistent on-snow opportunities at home.

South Series and U12

South Series athletes wrapped up fall conditioning with strong momentum. Coaches led athlete education sessions, tuning clinics for athletes and families, and thorough equipment checks leading into Thanksgiving. Prior to the holiday break, athletes met in their communication coach groups for preseason meetings. “We talked about goal setting, what a great race culture looks like, and how we want to develop over the season,” Kelley explained. “That foundation matters.”

Devos

The Devo program launched winter programming on Monday, December 8th, with a team meeting at the Utah Olympic Park. Their first on-snow day followed on Friday, December 12th, marking an exciting milestone for the group as winter training officially began.

Despite a slow start to winter, the Alpine Division enters the holidays with momentum, focus, and a clear plan ahead. As Kelley summed it up, “The work is in. The attitude is right. We are ready for what comes next.”

Think Snow.