Aspen Shines for World Cup

Nobody does events and parties like Aspen and this past week's World Cup Final event was testament to that.

Spring temperatures in the 50's and 60’s with abundant sunshine everyday made difficult work for race crews, but they were true to the test and with the help of hundreds of volunteers and staff - made everything run to perfection.

So many stories, tributes and personalities were here, the town was rocking and in Aspen Style everything ran seamless and a good time was had by all.

The Downhill on Wednesday brought back America’s Downhill for the first time to Aspen in twenty two years and it didn’t disappoint as men and women reached top speeds and the fan base loved to watch it all from Aztec to the Airplane Turn all the way down to the stadium filled bleachers at the Finish line. Lindsay Vonn came to ski and that she did with a strong second place on the podium.

Throughout the 5 days of racing, Aspen enjoyed seeing the top men and women skiers in the world, and the racers could not have been more accommodating signing autographs and engaging the public throughout the event.

Wagner Park was transformed into a mini World Cup Village and was constantly filled with excited fans. From the Aspen Crud party and the many sponsors who provided samples and fun to the Bud light Concert series featuring Vintage Trouble, Gogel Bordello and Michael Franti on Saturday to massive crowds and families of all ages. All followed by an amazing Fireworks display lighting up the mountain behind the Little Nell.

Kudos to all the athletes - those who podiumed, those who are upcoming stars and everyone who competed. Special shout out to Mikaela Shiffrin for winning the overall World Cup title and Crystal Globe for women - a feat that is extremely difficult to win and well deserved by her hard work and dedication along with her humble attitude and role model instincts that mean so much to so many young women.

Thanks to all the volunteers, media, Aspen Ski Co, the sponsors (how cool was it to have Audi sponsoring free shuttle rides everywhere) and the visitors and fans who all made Aspen even more special for this great week.

Let’s hope that FIS understands that Aspen has more than proven itself and could be one of, if not THE, most popular venues on the tour in the future. The new Lift that FIS wants will eventually come but don’t allow that to cause delay as Aspen welcomes the world and always will!