Top Five Fridays: January 23, 2026
Shiffrin 4th, X-games snowmobile freestyle returns, and lots more to talk about this week on Top Five Fridays! Image: SkiRacing.com Article
Hello and welcome to Top Five Fridays, the January 23rd 2026 Edition! We’ve got a great lineup for you today, starting as usual with ski racing news and moving into more resort-oriented headlines. With snow starting to fall heavily out in Colorado and Utah, and bitter cold rushing into the northeast, it sure feels like winter is in full swing almost everywhere across the country. If you’re in the Greater New England area, it will be a fantastic weekend to stay at home and watch the X-Games and the Hahnenkamm downhill. Enjoy and stay warm!
#1: Ski Racing News: Shiffrin 4th at the Kronplatz GS while Morse Attacks from the back in Kitzbuhel Super G—Hahnenkamm Downhill on Saturday:
Marco Odermatt clocked in at 1:08.41 to win his second straight kitzbühel Super-G. This is now his 99th podium and 17th carrer WC Super-G victory. Image: GEPA pictures SkiRacing.com article
In the world of ski racing, we have the US women traveling to Kronplatz, Italy for a Giant Slalom race this past tuesday and the men starting their big speed week in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Julia Scheib of Austria took home top honors while Mikaela Shiffrin finished fourth. Sheib has been at the top all year, with four GS wins this season. For the other US finishers, Paula Moltzan finished 8th while Elisabeth Bocock earned 12th.
For the men, the speed events in Kitzbuhel are always a highlight. In the Super-G, Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt earned his 17th World Cup super-G victory and the 99th podium of his career, edging out his teammate Franjo von Allmen by .03 seconds. Austria’s Stefan Babinsky finished third in front of the raucous home crowd. For the US men, Sam Morse found some speed out of the back of the pack, starting 50th but ending up 18th—a big move and worthy of note. Kyle Negomir finished in the points at 26th. Now all eyes are on Saturday’s Hahnenkamm downhill—arguably the most famous ski race around.
#2: X Games Starts Today!:
To refresh your memory, here’s a clip from the last Snowmobile Freestyle.
Runs Jan 23rd to Jan 25th at the base of Buttermilk. Normal events, plus the return of Snowmobile Freestyle after 5-year hiatus. The course has been upgraded with two NextGen ramps with an 80-foot gap.
#3: One Resort to Open, One to Close, One to Open again (we think):
Image: Panadero Ski Corp. A Colorado Ski Area That Time Forgot Just Reopened Its Lone Lift After 25 Years
Image: New England Ski Industry Mt. Jefferson, ME, Announces Its Final Ski Season—Ever
Image: Mont-Sainte-Anne (RCR) 'Back in business': Locals, union celebrate planned reopening of Le Massif after strike
A. In Colorado, Cuchara Mountain Park opened back up on January 17th, 25 years after it was abandoned. Located in south central Colorado, Cuchara Mountain park is basically in the same mountain range as Red River and Taos in New Mexico. They badly needed a chairlift rehabilitation, and Pandero Ski Corporation is the nonprofit that operates the resort and fought for the upgrade. Lift tickets will be $45 all season long. In 2017, they started to try and get it back together but needed additional funding. In 2023, they started using a trailer with school bus seating to tow people to the top for a $200 season fee or $40 per day.
B. In Maine, Mt. Jefferson is announcing its final season. After 61 years in operation, the resort announced that barring a huge final push, the ski area will close indefinitely. Based in Lee, Maine, Mt. Jefferson is way up there, in between Bangor and Mt. Katahdin. Featuring 3 chairlifts, 12 marked runs, and a vertical drop of 432 feet, the resort is modest, but as always, an important cog in the larger ski machine.
C. Le Massif in Quebec seems poised to open back up after nearly a month-long shutdown due to labor strike. The resort plans to open Saturday, January 24th. Unfortunately, this will be a day of record cold temperatures. Even as recently as January 20th, three days ago, we got news that they would not open at all, so this is a moving target type of story.
#4: Quebec’s Mont-Sainte-Anne to get a huge refresh to the tune of $73M USD:
Mont-Sainte-Anne and the Quebec government have relaunched their partnership and are investing heavily in revitalization projects." Image: Mont-Sainte-Anne (RCR) Notorious Quebec Ski Resort Announces Start Of Capital Improvement Projects
In conjunction with the Quebec government and Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR), Mont-Sainte-Anne will get a boost in infrastructure to modernize lifts, snowmaking, redevelopment of base and summit areas, and the installation of a mountain coaster for 4-season appeal. The first parts will begin this winter. This comes on the heels of some notoriously rough times. Last month, a failed inspection due to a power outage forced several lift closures. This ski infrastructure is paving the way for real estate development. If fully implemented, they’re looking at huge growth, with up to $450 million CAD of created real estate. Just north of Quebec City, MSA is a huge driver for tourism and recreation in the area.: