Top Five Fridays: January 12, 2024
Lead Image: Caroline Gleich, leading an early morning charge up a socked in peak. Currently an accomplished ski mountaineer and climate activist, Gleich hopes to add “U.S. Senator” to her credentials shortly. More on that in highlight #4! Image: Caroline Gleich's Official Website
#1: FIS World Cup Alpine Update - With Shiffrin Sick, a New American Athlete Makes a Podium Appearance:
Hello, and welcome to Top Five Fridays, the January 12, 2024 edition! This week we start things off in a “same, same, but different,” kind of way, as our first two highlights bring you FIS Skiing updates, but with their own plot twists. Case in point: in this week’s World Cup women’s slalom race in Kranjska Gora, the U.S. team had an athlete finish in third and fifth, and neither was Mikaela Shiffrin. She, as it turns out, didn’t make it through her first run. As for the athletes who took home third and fifth? Well Paula Moltzan, a name we’ve come to know as one that’s constantly knocking at the door of a podium result stayed consistent and finished in 5th. So who does that leave to take home the bronze medal, marking her first career podium and personal best? None other than AJ Hurt. Perhaps what’s even more impressive than her third place result is the fact that in her second run, AJ Hurt earned the fastest time, beating even Petra Vlhova, who ultimately won the race. With this result, AJ Hurt has proven beyond a doubt that the U.S. Women’s team now has three athletes capable of making the slalom podium on any given day.
In addition to that slalom race last weekend, there was also a giant slalom in Kranjska Gora. In that race, Shiffrin finished in 9th, while AJ Hurt took home 18th. If you’re finding yourself wondering what was going on with Shiffrin this weekend, the answer is surprisingly simple: she’s been sick. While she’s been able to fight through illness during races before, this time was different. In her words, “"I haven't felt this low energy in a while. I was just not able to execute the right skiing." So, there you have it. We hope Shiffrin gets some rest and begins to feel better asap so she can get back on course! Speaking of which, the women’s circuit is currently in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria for two super g’s and a downhill race. We look forward to bringing you coverage of those results next week!
On the men’s side of things, a giant slalom and a slalom race in Adelboden, Switzerland, and Downhill and Super G races in Wengen, Switzerland brought a slew of notable results. Going in chronological order, we’ll start with the giant slalom in Adelboden, where River Radamus barely missed the podium, ultimately finishing in 4th place, just .12 seconds behind third place finisher Filip Zubcic. Also earning points in that race was Tommy Ford, in 17th. In the slalom race a day later, River Radamus took home 19th, while Benjamin Ritchie took home 23rd. In moving from Adelboden to Wengen, the men’s circuit switched into a higher gear as the speed team took over. In the first of the two races held at that venue this week, American Ryan Cochran-Siegle finished in an impressive 6th place in the downhill race. Joining him in the points were Bryce Bennett in 16th and Sam Morse in 30th. A day later, in the super g, Ryan Cochran-Siegle earned 21st, while Jared Goldberg and Bryce Bennett took home 27th and 28th respectively. All in all, it was yet another solid week for the U.S. Men who have been putting together these types of results all year long: a smattering of athletes in the points with a couple of names knocking on the podium. Looking ahead, the men have two more races left in Wengen, which we’ll cover next week. To preview those or to check this week’s results from the venue, click here.
#2: Jessie Diggins Wins Tour de Ski, While Sophia Laukli Also Finds Success:
Tour de Ski winner Jessie Diggins, and final stage winner Sophia Laukli celebrating with their teammates after the final race. Image: Jessie Diggins on Facebook
Next up in FIS racing news this week, we have an exciting follow up to last week’s coverage of Jessie Diggins. She won the event. For those of you who missed it, we shared the news last week that U.S. XC skier Jessie Diggins was currently in the lead in the Tour de Ski, a Tour de France style event for the cross country World Cup circuit that’s arguably the highlight of the season. At the time of our writing last week, Diggins was leading the pack by 44 seconds after the first 5 stages, with two stages left. The race was hers to win or lose. As it turns out, she decided to win. In the second to last race, a 15km mass start classic, Diggins took home 8th, just 5.7 seconds behind first place finisher Linn Svahn who was in second place overall. Coming into the last race, all Diggins had to do was post a reasonable time in order to win. But, the race itself was grueling: a 10km mass start in which athletes completed one 2.5km lap on the previous day’s course before launching into a 7.5km climb up a downhill ski trail. It’s an incredibly demanding race, particularly after 6 consecutive days of races. In the end though, Diggins found enough gas in the tank to finish in 6th place, fending off Heidi Weng who finished in 2nd in this stage, and 2nd overall. When all was said and done, Diggins’ 44 second margin had dropped to 31.6 seconds as a result of Weng’s push, but she still managed to claim the overall victory for the second time in her career, as well as the second time in U.S. history. It’s an incredible, incredible accomplishment for an athlete who is doing what she can to get herself nominated to the hall of fame some day.
Now at this point, you might be wondering, “ok, so where’s the plot twist you promised?” Well, here it is: in the final stage of the Tour de Ski, U.S. athlete Sophia Laukli took home the gold medal. Perhaps even more impressive than the win itself, is how she did it. Early in the race, Laukli fell. Then, she got up, and simply charged harder than anyone else, ultimately winning the stage by over 17 seconds. To fall in a race, and then proceed to win that race, beating the overall Tour de Ski second place finisher by 17 seconds is simply ridiculous. In fact, the only reason why it’s somewhat comprehensible is because Laukli thrives in these situations. Over the summer, she won the overall Golden Trail World Series trail running event, meaning she’s conditioned for cardio over elevation changes. Secondly, Laukli actually won this same stage last year as well, so she has a history of success at this particular race. Still, this week’s win remains wildly impressive all things considered. To learn more about this final race, check in with the U.S. Ski Team for their full report./p>
#3: Tragedy Struck Palisades Tahoe This Week, as the Opening of KT-22 Was Marred by an in Bounds Avalanche:
Next up this week is unfortunately a much less fun highlight. As we’re sure you all know, there was an inbounds avalanche at Palisades Tahoe this week. After a dry start to the year, Palisades finally got the snow they’d been waiting for last Sunday, with a reported 17” of snow falling. As a result, the resort announced their plans to open its iconic KT-22 lift this Wednesday, on January 10th. Unfortunately, the good times were limited as just a half an hour after opening, an avalanche was triggered directly underneath the top lift tower, resulting in a slidepath that tumbled down GS Bowl. As it did, it ultimately took 4 skiers with it. Thanks to quick responding ski patrollers as well as other skiers on the mountain, three of those skiers caught in the avalanche were rescued. The fourth, a man named Kenneth Kidd, unfortunately did not survive the accident.
At the moment, those are the facts as we know them. While we’re known to extend stories and talk about implications and bigger themes here on Chairlift Chat, this story, at this particular time, doesn’t call for that. Instead, we want to simply share the facts, and send our condolences to the family of Kenneth Kidd. This is an undeniably challenging time for the skiers who were a part of this incident, either as someone who was caught or almost caught in an avalanche, or as someone responding to the scene. It’s also most certainly a difficult time for the ski patrollers at Palisades, and particularly those tasked with avalanche safety. Our thoughts are with the entire Palisades community this week. For more on this, we recommend watching the accompanying news report, or checking out this coverage from the Sacramento Bee.
#4: Skier, Activist, and Mountaineer Caroline Gleich Officially Announces Her Candidacy for U.S. Senate:
Caroline Gleich. Skier. Mountaineer. Activist. Senator? Image: Caroline Gleich's Official Website
It’s always challenging to center ourselves after sharing highlights like the one we just did. But, we have a fourth highlight this week that we hope will make it at least a little easier, as it speaks to the optimism and power to fight for change that comes from within the ski industry. First, the headline: Salt Lake City based, accomplished ski mountaineer, Caroline Gleich, has officially declared her candidacy for U.S. Senate this week. The seat she is aiming for is the one left vacant by Mitt Romney. While it might seem like a surprising and overly optimistic move, those who’ve been following Gleich in recent years are likely less surprised as she’s become increasingly active on the political front. Looking back at her Instagram, Gleich has been encouraging her followers to become political advocates for environmental policies since at least November of 2021. Last January, she spoke at a rally in Salt Lake City, promoting environmental policies on a state level. This past July, she organized a run to protest Utah’s recent redistricting. In other words, while it may sound like a surprise that someone known for her skiing has decided to take on the challenge of becoming a U.S. Senator, it’s really not. Gleich has been doing this for years.
As for the political side of this story, there’s a lot to consider. First, Gleich has a tough task ahead of her as she’ll be running as a Democrat in a state that sways heavily towards Republicans. In fact, the last time Utah had a Democratic Senator was when Frank Moss held the role from 1958 - 1976. Or, put differently, there hasn’t been one in nearly 50 years. To say the odds are against her would be an understatement. Still, Gleich’s platform is likely to appeal to many, particularly those living in the Wasatch region or with interests in combating climate change within their state. In addition to her environmental goals, an article shared by Ski Mag phrases Gleich’s vision as being, “rooted in a commitment to creating positive change, with a focus on advocating for people and the planet, social and environmental justice, and elevating critical issues such as air quality, gender equity, climate action, and more.”
While we won’t know one way or another how the result of this campaign will play out for nearly a year, win or lose, we still love this story. We’ve talked a bit recently about the ski industry’s potentially powerful political role when it comes to climate change, thanks to its direct impact on our sport as well as its ties to countless wealthy individuals. With Gleich taking this step, it also shows that skiers are capable of inspiring change themselves as individuals as well. Whether or not Gleich wins this election, this announcement will always be a victory in our eyes, as it proves to young people that getting involved is possible, even if it’s scary. To learn more, check out the report from the Salt Lake Tribune, as well as the coverage and interview from SkiMag.com.