Palisades Tahoe Men's Giant Slalom and Slalom Races Preview

Palisades Tahoe will once again welcome back World Cup racers this winter. One of only four U.S. resorts featured on the Audi FIS Ski World Cup circuit this season, Palisades Tahoe will host Men’s Slalom and Giant Slalom events on the Red Dog course. The racecourse, raced in 2017 for the women’s alpine event, is one Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin has described as “one of, if not the toughest” course venues on the women’s World Cup circuit.

Until 2021, the resort was known as Squaw Valley, but changed its name due to the derogatory meaning of squaw to Native Americans and their allies. It was the host site for the 1960 Winter Olympics.

Palisades Tahoe (USA)

February 25th Giant Slalom / Men

February 26th Slalom / Men

The Palisades Tahoe ski resort will host a Men's Alpine Ski World Cup events for the second time, after a Slalom and Giant Slalom were held back in March 1969. Billy Kidd won the Slalom that year and Reinhard Tritscher finished first in the Giant Slalom.

On 2016 the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) announced that "Squaw Valley" had been selected and affirmed by a vote of the FIS Council to host an Audi FIS World Cup in March 2017. The event marked the return of World Cup ski racing since 1969.

On March 11 2017 under overcast skies, warm temperatures, and soft snow American phenom Mikaela Shiffrin managed to walk away with the win on home snow with a combined time of 2:16.42 seconds, a scant 0.07 seconds ahead of Italian Federica Brignone in second and and 0.86 seconds ahead of Frenchwoman Tessa Worley in third.

The day after Mikaela Shiffrin completed her sweep of the weekend, winning today's slalom race with a combined time of 1:39.48 seconds, a full 1.03 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Sarka Strachova of the Czech Republic and 1.08 seconds ahead of Austria’s Bernadette Schild in third.

Marco Odermatt was crowned World Champion in the Men's Giant Slalom in Courchevel on 17 February.

The Giant Slalom Olympic Champion in Beijing 2022 won four of the six men's World Cup Giant Slalom races this season. He reached the podium in each of the last 13 men's World Cup Giant Slalom events he participated in.

He can become the fourth man to claim a podium in 14 successive starts in Men's Giant Slalom events, after Ingemar Stenmark (37, 1977-1981), Marcel Hirscher (18, 2016-2018) and Alberto Tomba (14, 1990-1992).

Odermatt has won 19 Men's World Cup events. He can become the fifth Swiss man to win at least 20 World Cup events, after Pirmin Zurbriggen (40), Peter Müller (24), Michael von Grünigen (23) and Didier Cuche (21).

Among Swiss men, only von Grünigen (23) won more men's Giant Slalom World Cup races than Odermatt (11).

Loïc Meillard claimed his first Men's Giant Slalom win in the World Cup in Schladming. Switzerland has only won more Men's Giant Slalom World Cup races in a season in 1995-1996 (7).

Henrik Kristoffersen claimed the slalom world title in Courchevel.

Kristoffersen (49, including 23 wins) is one shy of his 50th podium result in a World Cup Slalom event. Three other men recorded as many podium finishes in World Cup Slalom races as Kristoffersen: Ingemar Stenmark (81), Marcel Hirscher (65), and Alberto Tomba (57).

The last man to win a World Cup slalom in the United States was André Myhrer at the World Cup Finals in Aspen in March 2017.

Kristoffersen has finished on the podium in four of the five Men's Giant Slalom World Cup races this season, but he has yet to win one (3 second places, and 1 third place).

Marco Schwarz finished third in the last two Men's Giant Slaloms: the World Cup in Schladming and the World Championships in Courchevel.

The last Austrian to win a World Cup Giant Slalom event was Marcel Hirscher. Hirscher's last win came in Adelboden on January 2019.

Žan Kranjec (2) hopes to equal in Palisades Tahoe Jure Kosir (3) on most World Cup victories among men representing Slovenia.

With his silver medal in Courchevel's Slalom last week, AJ Ginnis made history as the first Greek athlete to win a gold medal in a winter sport.

Greek-born Ginnis represented USA until the 2020-2021 season. He has finished second in last two Men's slalom events: the World Cup in Chamonix and the World Championships in Courchevel-Méribel.

Alex Vinatzer took bronze in the Men's slalom at the World Championships last week. His last podium finish in a World Cup Slalom was in Madonna di Campiglio in December 2020 (3rd).

The last Italian to win a men's World Cup Slalom was Manfred Mölgg in Zagreb on 5 January 2017.

After more than two years, Ramon Zenhäusern was back on top of the podium in Chamonix thanks to a flawless performance on the "Verte des Houches". His last win before Chamonix was on December 2020 in Alta Badia.

Zenhäusern could win two men's slalom World Cup events in a single season for the first time.

Daniel Yule has won two World Cup Slalom races in 2022-2023. He can equal his record of 2019-2020 when he became the only Swiss man so far to win three Men's Slalom World Cup events in a single season.

He finished in third position on the last World Cup Slalom held in Chamonix.

Lucas Braathen finished on the podium in five of the eight Men's World Cup Slalom events this season.

With 430 points the 22-year-old Norwegian leads the Slalom World Cup standings.

Manuel Feller is looking for his third World Cup Slalom event win. His last win was in Lenzerheide on 21 March 2021.

Palisades Tahoe is a ski resort in the western United States, located in Olympic Valley, California, northwest of Tahoe City in the Sierra Nevada range.

In 2022, the United States Board on Geographic Names officially renamed the surrounding valley to Olympic Valley, matching the community's name, as part of a program to remove "Squaw" from the names of geographic features across the country.

Olympic Valley is located on the banks of the Truckee River near Lake Tahoe.

Palisades Tahoe is internationally renowned for legendary terrain that spans 3,600 skiable acres, six peaks and 30 chairlifts, and ranges from an expansive mountaintop beginner area to unrivaled expert steeps, trees and bowls. Off the mountain, families relax in The Village at Squaw Valley, enjoying a host of restaurants, bars, boutiques and art galleries.

Squaw Valley was purchased by KSL Capital Partners in November 2010.

In September 2011, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley Ski Resort merged.

Palisades Tahoe is one of the ski resorts of Alterra Mountain Company, an American hospitality company established in 2018 with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. It is privately owned by KSL Capital Partners and Henry Crown and Company, the owners of Aspen/Snowmass.

In January 2018, in order to compete with Vail Resorts' Epic Pass, Alterra announced the Ikon Pass, a season pass that provides unlimited or restricted access to all of their ski resorts in collaboration with Alta Ski Area, Arapahoe Basin,[6] Aspen/Snowmass, Boyne Resorts, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Powdr Corporation, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, SkiBig3, and Snowbird.

Before being awarded the rights to host the 1960 Olympic Winter Games, the ski resort was virtually unknown among skiers, let alone the wider world.

Following the success of the Games, the ski resort has firmly established itself as a major ski destination.