Help us determine the best ski area in the Northwest by voting for your favorite resort, lodge food, ski run and more.

Click below to take the quick survey. Your favorites will featured in 2008-09 Ski preview sections in newspapers across the Northwest. Voters from around the region - Idaho, Washington, Oregon and B.C. - are participating so make sure your favorites are well represented.

2008-09 Snow Ride Guide Survey

From the U.S. Freestlye Team:

Michael Morse (Duxbury, MA) and Emiko Torito (Steamboat, CO) each laid down spectacular runs to win gold in the moguls competition of the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships at Deer Valley Resort in Park City Saturday.

The Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships will air Sunday, April 6 on Versus at 3 p.m. ET.

"We had a great day. Everybody put together some really good stuff," said Moguls Head Coach Scott Rawles. "We have a competitive group and they came out and skied hard. It was awesome."

=> Read more!

From the U.S. Ski Team:

The U.S. Ski Team's Liz Stephen (East Montpelier, VT) and Leif Zimmermann (Bozeman, MT) skied their way to titles in the pursuit event during the U.S. Cross Country Distance Championships on Friday evening in Fairbanks. The events were held in the late evening twilight in Fairbanks.

The event also served as the finale of the USSA SuperTour. Russian Ivan Babikov took the win, with Zimmermann the top American in fourth to grab his third U.S. Championship gold of the season. Zimmermann was a double winner at the U.S. Cross Country Championships in Houghton, MI in January.

=> Read more!

LOCAL ATHLETES
- Cle Elum mogul skier Patrick Deneen was named the FIS rookie of the year and celebrated March 15 by finishing third in a race in Italy.
- Federal Way native Apolo Anton Ohno finished his season with a strong performance at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in South Korea. He won gold at 500 meters and overall. He also took the 1,000- meter silver and bronze at 3,000 meters. Ohno has won 18 world championship medals – six of each hue.
- Yakima’s Phil Mahre, a gold medalist in the 1984 Olympics, fell short of his goal of qualifying for this month’s U.S. Alpine Nationals. He turned down special invitations to compete because he wanted to qualify on his own.
- Crystal Mountain’s Scott Macartney finished 26th in the World Cup’s downhill standings this season despite not racing since January because of an injury. A ski team spokesman said he’s hoping to return to racing speed this summer.
- Crystal’s Libby Ludlow finished 32nd in the giant slalom and 36th in the Super G. She participated in the NorAm Finals in New York despite knee injuries.

TEAMS USA UPDATES
- March was an historic month for the U.S. Ski Team as it finished one of its best World Cup seasons ever. Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn took the overall titles. It’s the first time U.S. men and women have swept the titles since 1983 when Yakima’s Phil Mahre and Kentucky’s Tamara McKinney won the titles. Miller also claimed the season combined title and Vonn took the downhill title in February.
- Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety won the World Cup season giant slalom title.
- Vonn and Jimmy Cochran each won slalom and combined titles at this week’s U.S. Alpine Championships.
- Miller did not compete in the U.S. Alpine Nationals.
- Katherine Ruetter won Team USA’s only women’s medal at the speed skating world championships. She took bronze at 3,000 meters.
- The 1998 Olympic Women's Hockey Team, which won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sport, is one of five finalists for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. It’s the only winter team nominated. Its competition includes the 1992 Men’s basketball team - the original Dream Team.
- Figure skater Brian Boitano and speedskater Sheila Young Ochowicz are among the 18 individuals nominated. Fans can vote at usolympichalloffame.com.

FACILITY UPDATES
- Testing at the sliding center on Blackcomb Mountain continued this month.
- Work is expected to be completed on the Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park, the Whistler Athlete’s Centre, the UBC Winter Sports Centre and the Richmond Oval this year.

OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS
- Some members of the Canadian cross-country team have complained that the 2010 Nordic venue is too easy according to the Vancouver Sun.
- The 2010 day-by-day competition schedule can be viewed online at blogs.thenewstribune.com/adventure.

COMING UP
- The U.S. Freestyle Championships start today in Park City, Utah.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets go on sale Oct. 11, 2008. Tickets.com was selected as the games’ official ticket service.

From the U.S. Ski Team:

Stacey Cook (Mammoth, CA) captured her second U.S. title in two days winning the downhill at the 2008 Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships, while TJ Lanning (Park City, UT) took the men's downhill for his first U.S. crown. Combined gold went to Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH) and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO).

Cook, who won the super G a day earlier, notched her third national win, all of which have come at Sugarloaf.

"I knew with Lindsey coming out of the gate right behind me, I needed to have a fast start so that was really my focus and then just to relax on the way down," Cook said. "I put no pressure on myself. I got my title yesterday and today it was just to have fun and let it run. But I brought my game today and it was enough."

=> Read more!

From the U.S. Ski team:

World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) and reigning U.S. slalom champion Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH) each laid down the fastest first and second runs to win national slalom titles at the 2008 Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships Saturday.

=> Read more!

Just watching a rerun of Saturday Night Live from 2002 (hosted by a pre-rehab Britney Spears)and was amused by Jimmy Fallons Olympic Tribute song for the Salt Lake games.

Here are the lyrics:

The 2002 Winter Olympics are next week,
and the theme song for the olympics is "America" by Neil Diamond
Now, no offence to Neil Diamond but thats songs good
it's only like 20 years old
So I thought I could change the words to some more recent songs
and see if they want to use those instead
You should highlight the events, like downhill skiing

I can go down hill
on the icey snow
dressed up in my unitard
where else can I go?
I'm only a man on two skinny red skis
instead of cologne I'm wearing anti freeze
I can't even tell if I'm winning the race
because snot is frozen on my face
and its not easy to down hill ski

=> Read more!

This just in from Doug Haney of the U.S. Ski Team:

High winds have postponed the start of the 2008 U.S. Alpine Championships one more day. Organizers will be meeting later this morning to discuss the new schedule and I'll send an official announcement along as soon as the schedule is set. The slalom will not be run today.

This isn't necessarily Olympic related, but we'd love to have your help:

Help us determine the best ski area in the Northwest by voting for your favorite resort, lodge food, ski run and more.

Click below to take the quick survey. Your favorites will featured in 2008-09 Ski preview sections in newspapers across the Northwest. Voters from around the region - Idaho, Washington, Oregon and B.C. - are participating so make sure your favorites are well represented.

2008-09 Snow Ride Guide Survey

Interesting story in the Vancouver Sun this week. Apparently some athletes are complaining that the Nordic venue is too easy.

Check out the article here.

Just got word from the U.S. Ski Team that Phil Mahre's bid to qualify for U.S. Alpine Nationals this year has come up just short. Mahre of Yakima is 50-years-old and won a gold in the 1984 Olympic slalom. He started his comeback last season and impressed a lot of people despite coming up short of his goal. He turned down a special invitation to ski at nationals because he wanted to qualify on his own.

Cle Elum's Patrick Deneen was named the FIS rookie of the year and celebrated Saturday by finishing third in a race in Italy. Teammate David Babic of Vermont took gold.

Here's the release from the U.S. Ski Team:

The U.S. Ski Team's David Babic (Washington, VT) went all out to bring home his first World Cup win of the season, and second of his career, in moguls at the 2008 Freestyle FIS World Cup Finals in Italy Saturday. Newly named FIS Rookie of the Year Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) finished third.

=> Read more!

It’s seemed inevitable for sometime now that Lindsey Vonn would someday be crowned queen of the ski world.

The coronation was this morning when she became the first U.S. woman to win the World Cup overall title since Tamara McKinney in 1983.

As McKinney drove her kids to ski training at Squaw Valley USA this afternoon she talked about finally having to relinquish her title as the only American woman to win the overall.

“It’s great to see another generation be able to get up there and be consistently at the top of the world in skiing,” McKinney said. “Skiing not the No. 1 sport in America. You can win from any country if you have the love of the sport, the equipment and the talent. ... This is great for the sport of skiing.”

When the final downhill of the season was canceled earlier this week, Vonn was a little nervous about losing her lead in the overall. The downhill is her best event. She won the World Cup season downhill title in Whistler last month.

“I was worried to say the least, but Thomas calmed me down,” Vonn said, referring to her new husband.
With the crystal globe in hand, Vonn says she’ll have bigger goals for next season.

“One thing I’m good at is goal setting,” Vonn said. “I’ll definitely come up with some more goals. I will continue to work hard do the same thing next year and try to win another downhill and a super G globe and maybe another overall.”

2006 olympic gold medalist won the World Cup season giant Slalom today.

Click here to read the AP report.

Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller have clinched the women's and men's overall World Cup titles. It is the first time since 1983 - and the second time ever - the U.S. has won both titles in the same year.

From U.S. Skiing:
Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) completed her best slalom race of the season, finishing 11th and capturing enough points to clinch the Audi FIS World Cup overall title Friday during World Cup Finals in Bormio, Italy. Vonn, who rallied from a first run finish of 25th to win the second run by a .19 margin, is the first American woman to win the World Cup overall title since 1983.

OK, folks. I've received your calls and e-mails. The biggest questions so far are about the schedule.

Well, this ought to help you out. Click below to download the 2010 competition schedule. It probably goes without saying considering we have two years to go, but times and dates are subject to change.

Thanks for the e-mails and comments. Keep them coming.

2010 Olympic Day-by-day competition schedule

From the U.S. Ski Team:

After delaying the start for two hours in hopes of better conditions, the women's downhill at the World Cup Finals was cancelled. It will not be made up. The cancellation doesn't change the current overall World Cup points but will tighten the title race between the U.S. Ski Team's Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), German Maria Riesch and Austrian Nicole Hosp.

Vonn, who already won the women's downhill title and was favored to extend her overall lead during the downhill final, sits in the lead at a slim 157 points ahead of Riesch, and 178 points ahead of Hosp. There are 100 points at stake in each of the three remaining races.

=> Read more!

A statement released today by the Vancouver Organizing Committee:

The homologation process for The Whistler Sliding Centre concluded over the weekend, achieving another milestone in the timeline to ensure the venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions is complete for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The four days of testing and evaluation by the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT), the International Luge Federation (FIL) and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) will allow the venue operators to move ahead with the next phase of planning to have the facility fully operational in the coming months.

=> Read more!

Local mountain climbing guide services planning to lead expeditions on Mount Everest this year got bad news this morning from the Chinese government.

The government announced it will not permit non-Chinese climbers from climbing the world's tallest peak this spring. The primary concern seems to be possible protests during a planned attempt to take the Olympic torch to the summit. China hosts the summer games this year.

"Mountaineers worldwide are in a state of uproar (including us)," said Erin Simonson of International Mountain Guides, an Ashford-based guide service that leads expeditions on Everest each year. Erin is the wife of IMG co-owner Eric Simonson.

IMG and many other guide services have already collected fees for Everest climbs and has already spent much of that money on preparations for climbs, Erin Simonson said.

IMG, Alpine Ascents International and Mountain Madness are all local guide companies who lead expeditions on Everest.

"The climbing community is looking to American diplomacy to persuade China to relax its concerns and heavy-handed approach," Erin Simonson said.

Read more at Everestnews.net.

Here's the big news from the slopes this weekend:

- Greg Bretz (Mammoth Lakes, CA)grabbed his first career World Cup win Sunday in Quebec.

- Lindsey Vonn finishes third in Super Combined.

- Erroll Kerr and Jake Fiala finished in the top 10 of the World Cup ski cross in Switzerland.

- Ted Ligety finishes seventh in World Cup slalom.

- Bill Demong set a new American mark, finishing third in the season-long overall FIS Nordic Combined World Cup standings. No American had previously finished higher than fourth.

From the U.S. Ski Team

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) set a new U.S. record, winning her 10th World Cup downhill Saturday in Switzerland. Vonn won by a huge .61 margin over Austrian Renate Goetchl to extend her overall World Cup lead to 150 points.

Further east in Europe, teammate Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) won a giant slalom In Kransjska Gora, Slovenia. It's the first American victory sweep since Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH) and Vonn (then Kildow) won together on Dec. 20, 2006 when Miller took a super G in Hinterstoder, Austria, and Kildow won the downhill in Val d'Isere, France.

WCSN.com will provide same-day coverage of this race at 1 p.m. ET

"It was awesome. It was a pretty tough day because the light was flat on the top section so I was pretty nervous from the top, but I think I had a solid run from top to bottom," Vonn said. "I'm just really happy I made it to the finish and to win again this season is amazing. It's just been a crazy ride this whole season and I couldn't be happier."

=> Read more!

From the U.S. Snowboard team:

U.S. Snowboarding riders Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) and Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI) barreled their way to the top of the podiums Saturday winning the Visa U.S. Snowboarding Cup at Whiteface Mountain, outside Lake Placid. Both Baumgartner and Jacobellis also were crowned the Visa U.S. SBX champions after their wins.

=> Read more!

Miller finished second in the super G today in Norway on the 1994 Olympic course to increase his lead in the World Cup overall standings.

Click below to read the release from the U.S. Ski Team.

=> Read more!

Bode Miller won the Olympiabakken Downhill this morning to extend his U.S. record for World Cup wins to 31.

He finished 0.4 seconds ahead of Didier Cuche of Switzerland and is now just five points behind Cuche in the downhill standings.

Miller extended his lead in the overall by 100 points.

Read the release from the U.S. Ski Team below.

=> Read more!