Aspen: Course chief said site is ready

The FIS announced that it would postpone its decision about the women’s alpine World Cup in Aspen until Friday, but the course chief said he anticipates the races happening as scheduled.
   

THE FIS ANNOUNCED that it would postpone its decision about the women’s alpine World Cup in Aspen until Friday, but the course chief said he anticipates the races happening as scheduled.
    Though the Rockies have been in dire need of snow, there has been a couple of storms and cold fronts over the last week that have helped course crews in Beaver Creek and Aspen prepare for the World Cup races. On Tuesday night, a storm dropped 6 inches of snow on Aspen Mountain, but course chief Patrick Callahan says the new snow will help for aesthetics but not much more. "It certainly will help things look a lot better,” he said. "We have more than we need. It will just help the sides and spill zones."
    A few days ago, the snow guns were moved down the mountain to focus on the slalom finish. Then Callahan and crew plan to prep the start of the downhill course prior to the training runs set for next week. The women will train and then race downhill, super G and slalom Dec. 4-9.
    "I anticipate FIS will be nice and say ‘go ahead and hold all the races,’” Callahan said. "It looks 1,000 percent better than a week ago."