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 27.594953796106036 years ago in December 1997.

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).

History
The Birds of Prey course was developed for the 1999 World Championships, designed by Swiss Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi, a noted constructor of downhill race courses around the world.

The first World Cup race was won by Kristian Ghedina of Italy in December 1997, but the course was then dominated by Austrians, led by the legendary Hermann Maier. He won three consecutive Birds of Prey downhills: the 1999 world title in front of 20,000 spectators, followed by World Cup victories in each of the next two seasons.

All rounder Lasse Kjus won record all five discipline medals at 1999 World Championships (two gold and three silver medals). This outstanding achievement has not yet been repeated.

In December 2004, Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves took first and second place, respectively, in the World Cup downhill race, the first ever one-two finish for American men in a downhill, and the first in any event in over two decades, since Phil & Steve Mahre in the 1984 Olympic slalom. The two Americans switched positions on the podium the following year.

Due to a lack of snow in France at Val d'Isère in December 2011, the women's super G was replaced on Birds of Prey course. This is the only World Cup event for ladies held here. Lindsey Vonn took the win.

In November 2018, weather forced a lower start at 11158 ft, reducing the course length to 1.286 mi with a vertical drop of 2201 ft. With the flat section of the top eliminated, the winning time of 1:13.59 by Beat Feuz yielded an average speed of 62.9 mph and an average vertical descent of 29.9 ft per second.

Course
The downhill starting gate is at an elevation of 11427 ft, Super-G at 11155 ft and giant slalom at 10249 ft above sea level with the finish line at 8957 ft.

The course is 1.71 mi in length, an average gradient of 31 percent (17 degrees), with a maximum gradient of 68 percent (34 degrees) in the middle.

Rahlves' time of 1:39.59 in December 2003 is the fastest in competition for the full course, an average speed of 61.0 mph and an average vertical descent of 24.9 ft per second.

The course that year had a vertical drop of 2484 ft and a length of 1.687 mi.

The Red Tail Camp finish area is about 800 ft above the resort's main village.

Sections
Downhill course sections from top (start) to the bottom (finish): The Flyaway, The Brink, The Talon, Pete's Arena, Russi's Ride, The Abyss, and The Miller's Revenge.

Jumps
The jumps of the race course adhere to the birds of prey theme: Peregrine, Goshawk, Screech Owl, Golden Eagle, Harrier, and the concluding Red Tail.

Men's events
Only three events were held on Birds of Prey at the first championships; GS and SL were held at nearby Vail.

Women's events
Only SL was held on Birds of Prey at second championships (none of first); the other women's events were held at nearby Vail.

Raptor
Adjacent to Birds of Prey on Beaver Creek Mountain, a new women's downhill course was built for the 2015 World Championships. Named Raptor, it hosted three women's World Cup events in November 2013 as a test.

Video

 * You Tube.com - The Birds of Prey Downhill - From Jalbert Production's The Thin Line
 * You Tube.com - Hans Knauss - Audi Birds of Prey POV Downhill - December 2010