Beaver Creek Automates Snowmaking on Birds of Prey Ahead of Its Biggest World Cup

Beaver Creek has installed an automated snowmaking system on the lower third of its Birds of Prey downhill course, so that crews can build a race surface faster in the unpredictable early season. The system was announced on Tuesday 27 October. It lands weeks before the Colorado resort stages a record seven World Cup races over two weekends, from 3 to 13 December. The aim is a consistent, race-ready surface while using less water and energy.

What was installed

The new system gives snowmakers a remote-controlled, weather-responsive tool on the part of the course most vulnerable to early-season conditions. It consists of 10 SMI Grizzly stick guns with onboard air compressors, six SMI Super Puma fan guns, 10 metal shelters and a new weather station. It also includes 4,500 feet of trenched power and hard-lined communications, so each gun can be monitored and operated remotely.

Targeting the vulnerable areas removes the need for manual set-up, which lets crews exploit short temperature windows. This matters in autumn and early winter, when temperature inversions are more common. The Vail Valley Foundation says the system increases efficiency and reduces the water and energy used to make race-ready snowpack. Beaver Creek began making snow with the new equipment on 27 October. The resort is scheduled to open on 25 November.

Funded by a ski racing legacy gift

The upgrade was paid for by the John and Karen Arnold Ski Racing Legacy Fund. The fund is a gift dedicated to securing the long-term future of ski racing in the Vail Valley and keeping Birds of Prey free to attend. It is part of the Vail Valley Foundation’s $74 million Empowering Possibility campaign, which also supports arts, education and community programmes in the Eagle River Valley. A $10 million gift from the Arnolds, announced in 2024, funded women’s racing and the naming of John and Karen Arnold Red Tail Stadium. Earlier projects include a regrading of the finish area and improvements to the grandstands and spectator areas.

Mike Imhof, the foundation’s president and CEO, called the project more than a snowmaking upgrade. He described it as a long-term investment in the community’s ski racing legacy, its athletes and fans around the world, and thanked the Arnolds and Beaver Creek Resort.

A record seven races

The timing reflects the event’s growth. A second women’s downhill was added in the spring, creating the largest Birds of Prey festival in its history. The men race on 3 and 4 December in two downhills, a super-G on 5 December and a giant slalom on 6 December. The women follow on 11 to 13 December with two downhills and a super-G. That is the most World Cup races on the course since its debut in 1997.

Women’s racing is still new here. The women first raced on the course in 2024, which the foundation called a historic moment for alpine ski racing. The women’s races are on a course designed for men. That makes the lower-course snow quality particularly important.

The course and its history

Birds of Prey is among the best-known downhills in the sport. It was built in the summer of 1997 ahead of the 1999 World Championships and designed by Swiss Olympic champion Bernhard Russi. The first World Cup race there was won by Italy’s Kristian Ghedina on 4 December 1997. Austria’s Hermann Maier holds the record with eight career victories on the course. The Americans later made it a home course. Daron Rahlves set the course record in 2003, and a year later he and Bode Miller took the top two places.

The course is steep and icy by design. The downhill drops 2,470 feet over 8,303 feet, starting at 11,424 feet above sea level. The surface is injected with water, making it, in the words of one guide, similar to an ice rink tilted at a steep angle. Last December Marco Odermatt won the downhill, with American Ryan Cochran-Siegle second, the first American podium there in years.

Snowmaking and the climate

The investment fits a broader pattern at race venues, where reliability matters more as early-season weather becomes harder to predict. Organisers have had to adapt in the past. One recent report said unusually high temperatures and lack of snow forced organisers to shorten a men’s downhill, with the finish placed higher up the course. Lower-course automation is intended to reduce that risk. It cannot make snow in warm weather, but it can take advantage of cold hours that might otherwise be missed.

Closing thoughts

For spectators, the change will largely be invisible, apart from, hopefully, a firm surface on race day. For the organisers, it is an insurance policy for a bigger festival, built with philanthropic funding. Free admission, a record schedule and both men’s and women’s racing make this year’s Birds of Prey a high-stakes edition. The new guns, trenches and weather station will be tested in the next few weeks, long before the first racer leaves the start gate.