Birds of Prey (ski course)
Birds of Prey is a World Cup downhill ski course in the western United States, located at Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, Colorado. The race course made its World Cup debut 27 years ago in December 1997.
| Birds of Prey | |
|---|---|
| Place: | Avon, Colorado, U.S. |
| Mountain: | Beaver Creek Mountain |
| Architect: | Bernhard Russi (SUI) |
| Opened: | December 1997 |
| Level: | expert |
| Downhill | |
| Start: | 11,427 ft (3,483 m) AMSL |
| Finish: | 8,957 ft (2,730 m) |
| Vertical drop: | 2,470 ft (753 m) |
| Max. incline: | 32.3 degrees (63%) |
| Avr. incline: | 17 degrees (31%) |
| Most wins: | Aksel Lund Svindal (4x) |
| Super-G | |
| Start: | 11,155 ft (3,400 m) |
| Finish: | 8,957 ft (2,730 m) |
| Vertical drop: | 2,201 ft (671 m) |
| Max. incline: | 34 degrees (68%) |
| Avr. incline: | 19.3 degrees (35%) |
| Most wins: | Hannes Reichelt (4x) |
| Giant slalom | |
| Start: | 10,249 ft (3,124 m) |
| Finish: | 8,937 ft (2,724 m) |
| Vertical drop: | 1,312 ft (400 m) |
| Max. incline: | 26.7 degrees (50%) |
| Avr. incline: | 17 degrees (31%) |
| Most wins: | Ted Ligety (6x) |
Creek
Beaver Creek is a traditional early December stop on the men's World Cup calendar. The course hosted the World Championships in 1999 and 2015, and is also used for super-G and giant slalom races. Prior to 1995, the World Cup speed events in North America were usually held in the latter part of the racing season.
This course has hosted total of 65 men's World Cup events (eighth all-time), and an additional three speed events in March 1988 were on "Centennial", the former speed course at Beaver Creek.
In December 2021, Birds of Prey became the first course in World Cup history to host four speed events on four consecutive days (two downhills, two super-G's).