A Timeline of Events

ASPEN/SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo. -- Aspen first became a major ski racing venue in 1939 when Ajax hosted the Southern Rocky Mountain Downhill and Slalom Championships. The success of this event spawned the Rocky Mountain Championships of 1940 and the National Championships of 1941.

The most prestigious local ski racing acknowledgment in Aspen’s early days began in 1946 when the Aspen Ski Club awarded the Roch Cup to the winner of downhill and slalom, combined.

In 1950, thanks to the efforts of Dick Durrance and a group of ski racing advocates, Aspen hosted its first important international race — the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) World Alpine Championships, which drew top ski racers in every discipline.

In 1967, the World Cup circuit was born, thanks to former U.S. Ski Team coach and Aspen resident Bob Beattie, French coach Honoré Bonnet, and Swiss journalist Serge Lang, the influential columnist for L’Équipe newspaper. World Cup, a season-long series of races, provided the means of bringing consistent international ski racing to the U.S., and determining the best skiers in the world.

Aspen hosted its first World Cup in 1968, attracting considerable attention and prestige. Winternational became the week-long pageant in which World Cup’s “White Carnival” is celebrated by the Aspen community.

Seventeen World Cup events have been held in
Aspen in 1968, 1976, 1981-1989, 1991-1995 and most recently in 1998.

World Cup ski racing in Aspen