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 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, - results 2004-12-03 - downhill - Beaver Creek 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 until the 2024 World Cup event. Lindsey Vonn took the win.
In November 2018, weather forced a lower start at , reducing the course length to with a vertical drop of . With the flat section of the top eliminated, the winning time of 1:13.59 by Beat Feuz yielded an average speed of and an average vertical descent of per second.
Course The downhill starting gate is at an elevation of above sea level, Super-G at , and giant slalom at with the finish line at .
The course is 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 and an average vertical descent of per second.
The course that year had a vertical drop of and a length of .
The Red Tail Camp finish area is about above the resort's main village.
Sections The Flyaway The Brink The Talon Pete's Arena Peregrine (jump) Rahlves' Roll Russi's Ride Goshawk (jump) Screech Owl (jump) Ligety's Legacy Golden Eagle (jump) The Abyss Miller's Revenge Harrier (jump) Red Tail (jump)
World Championships
Men's events
Only three events were held on Birds of Prey at the first championships; GS and SL were held at nearby Vail.
EventTypeDateGoldSilverBronze 1999 SG 2 February 1999 Lasse Kjus Hermann Maier Hans Knauß DH 6 February 1999 Hermann Maier Lasse Kjus Kjetil André Aamodt KB 8–9 February 1999 Kjetil André Aamodt Lasse Kjus Paul Accola 2015 SG 5 February 2015 Hannes Reichelt Dustin Cook Adrien Théaux DH 7 February 2015 Patrick Küng Travis Ganong Beat Feuz KB8 February 2015 Marcel Hirscher Kjetil Jansrud Ted Ligety GS 13 February 2015 Ted Ligety Marcel Hirscher Alexis Pinturault SL 15 February 2015 Jean-Baptiste Grange Fritz Dopfer Felix Neureuther
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. EventTypeDateGoldSilverBronze 2015 SL 14 February 2015 Mikaela Shiffrin Frida Hansdotter Šárka Strachová
World Cup Ted Ligety (USA)Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)Hannes Reichelt (AUT)Won record 6 giant slalomsWon record 4 downhillswon record 4 super-G's
Men + DH – Downhill, SL – Slalom, GS – Giant slalom, SG – Super giant slalom, SC – Super combinedTypeSeasonDateWinnerSecondThird937 DH1997/98 4 December 1997 Kristian Ghedina Jean-Luc Crétier Lasse Kjus 938 DH 5 December 1997 Andreas Schifferer Hermann Maier Stephan Eberharter 939 SG 5 December 1997 Hermann Maier Stephan Eberharter Hans Knauß1008 DH 1999/0027 November 1999 Hermann Maier Stephan Eberharter Kristian Ghedina 1009 SG 28 November 1999 Hermann Maier Stephan Eberharter Lasse Kjus1050 DH 2000/012 December 2000 Hermann Maier Lasse Kjus Stephan Eberharter 1051 SG 3 December 2000 Fredrik Nyberg Christoph Gruber Kenneth Sivertsen DH 2001/02 1 December 2001 replaced in Bormio on 28 December 2001SG2 December 2001 replaced in Val d'Isère on 7 December 20011118 DH 2002/037 December 2002 Stephan Eberharter Michael Walchhofer Daron Rahlves 1119 SG8 December 2002 Didier Cuche Marco Büchel Hannes Trinkl1155 DH 2003/045 December 2003 Daron Rahlves Stephan Eberharter Bjarne Solbakken 1156 DH 6 December 2003 Hermann Maier Hans Knauß Andreas Schifferer1157 SG 7 December 2003 Bjarne Solbakken Hermann Maier Hans Knauß1192 SG 2004/052 December 2004 Stephan Görgl Bode Miller Mario Scheiber1193 DH 3 December 2004 Bode Miller Daron Rahlves Michael Walchhofer 1194 GS4 December 2004 Lasse Kjus Hermann Maier Benjamin Raich1195 SL5 December 2004 Benjamin Raich Giorgio Rocca Rainer Schönfelder1228 SG 2005/061 December 2005 Hannes Reichelt Erik Guay Matthias Lanzinger1229 DH 2 December 2005 Daron Rahlves Bode Miller Hans Grugger 1230 SG 3 December 2005 Bode Miller Daron Rahlves Kalle Palander1231 SL4 December 2005 Giorgio Rocca Stéphane Tissot Ted Ligety1265 SC 2006/07 30 November 2006 Aksel Lund Svindal Marc Berthod Rainer Schönfelder 1266 DH 1 December 2006 Bode Miller Didier Cuche Steven Nyman 1267 GS2 December 2006 Massimiliano Blardone Aksel Lund Svindal Ted Ligety1268 SL3 December 2006 André Myhrer Michael Janyk Felix Neureuther1302 SC2007/0829 November 2007 Daniel Albrecht Jean-Baptiste Grange Ondřej Bank1303 DH30 November 2007 Michael Walchhofer Steven Nyman Didier Cuche1304 GS2 December 2007 Daniel Albrecht Mario Matt Didier Cuche1305 SG3 December 2007 Hannes Reichelt Mario Scheiber Christoph Gruber SC 2008/094 December 2008 heavy snowfall; replaced in Val d'Isère on 12 December 20081442 DH 5 December 2008 Aksel Lund Svindal Marco Buechel Erik Guay1443 SG 6 December 2008 Aksel Lund Svindal Hermann Maier Michael Walchhofer1344 GS 7 December 2008 Benjamin Raich Ted Ligety Aksel Lund Svindal1378 SC2009/104 December 2009 Carlo Janka Didier Défago Natko Zrnčić-Dim 1379 DH 5 December 2009 Carlo Janka Didier Cuche Aksel Lund Svindal1380 GS6 December 2009 Carlo Janka Benjamin Raich Aksel Lund Svindal DH2010/113 December 2010 strong winds; replaced in Kvitfjell on 11 March 20111411 SG4 December 2010 Georg Streitberger Adrien Théaux Didier Cuche 1412 GS5 December 2010 Ted Ligety Kjetil Jansrud Marcel Hirscher1447 DH 2011/122 December 2011 Bode Miller Beat Feuz Klaus Kröll 1448 SG3 December 2011 Sandro Viletta Aksel Lund Svindal Beat Feuz1449 GS 4 December 2011 Marcel Hirscher Ted Ligety Fritz Dopfer1450 GS 6 December 2011 Ted Ligety Marcel Hirscher Kjetil Jansrud1451 SL 8 December 2011 Ivica Kostelić Cristian Deville Marcel Hirscher 1492 DH 2012/1330 November 2012 Christof Innerhofer Aksel Lund Svindal Kjetil Jansrud 1943 SG 1 December 2012 Matteo Marsaglia Aksel Lund Svindal Hannes Reichelt1494 GS 2 December 2012 Ted Ligety Marcel Hirscher Davide Simoncelli 1526 DH 2013/146 December 2013 Aksel Lund Svindal Hannes Reichelt Peter Fill 1527 SG 7 December 2013 Patrick Küng Otmar Striedinger Peter Fill Hannes Reichelt1528 GS 8 December 2013 Ted Ligety Bode Miller Marcel Hirscher1560 DH 2014/15 5 December 2014 Kjetil Jansrud Beat Feuz Steven Nyman 1561 SG 6 December 2014 Hannes Reichelt Kjetil Jansrud Alexis Pinturault1562 GS 7 December 2014 Ted Ligety Alexis Pinturault Marcel Hirscher1596 DH2015/16 4 December 2015 Aksel Lund Svindal Kjetil Jansrud Guillermo Fayed 1597 SG5 December 2015 Marcel Hirscher Ted Ligety Andrew Weibrecht1598 GS6 December 2015 Marcel Hirscher Victor Muffat-Jeandet Henrik Kristoffersen SG 2016/17 2 December 2016 warm temperatures in November; replaced in Val d'IsèreDH3 December 2017 GS4 December 2016 1676 SG2017/181 December 2017 Vincent Kriechmayr Kjetil Jansrud Hannes Reichelt1677 DH2 December 2017 Aksel Lund Svindal Beat Feuz Thomas Dreßen1678 GS 3 December 2017 Marcel Hirscher Henrik Kristoffersen Stefan Luitz1712 DH2018/1930 November 2018 Beat Feuz Mauro Caviezel Aksel Lund Svindal1713 SG1 December 2018 Max Franz Mauro Caviezel Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Dominik Paris Aksel Lund Svindal1714 GS2 December 2018 Stefan Luitz Marcel Hirscher Thomas Tumler1751 SG2019/206 December 2019 Marco Odermatt Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Matthias Mayer1752 DH 7 December 2019 Beat Feuz Johan Clarey Vincent Kriechmayr 1753 GS8 December 2019 Tommy Ford Henrik Kristoffersen L. K. Nestvold-Haugen SG 2020/21 4 December 2020 North American Tour cancelled before the season; due to the COVID-19 pandemicDH 5 December 2020 GS 6 December 2020 1822 SG 2021/22 2 December 2021 Marco Odermatt Matthias Mayer Broderick Thompson1823 SG 3 December 2021 Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Marco Odermatt Travis Ganong1824 DH 4 December 2021 Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Matthias Mayer Beat Feuz DH 5 December 2021 rescheduled from Lake Louise; but due to strong wind moved to Kvitfjell on 4 March 2022DH 2022/23 2 December 2022 heavy snowfall; moved to Val Gardena/Gröden on 15 December 20221858 DH 3 December 2022 Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Marco Odermatt James Crawford1859 SG4 December 2022 Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Marco Odermatt Alexis Pinturault DH 2023/24 1 December 2023 cancelled due to heavy snowfall and strong wind; one downhill moved to WengenDH 2 December 2023 SG 3 December 2023 1931 DH 2024/25 6 December 2024 Justin Murisier Marco Odermatt Miha Hrobat1932 SG 7 December 2024 Marco Odermatt Cyprien Sarrazin Lukas Feurstein1933 GS 8 December 2024 Thomas Tumler Lucas Pinheiro Braathen Žan Kranjec DH 2025/26 4 December 2025 cancelled due to lack of snow1970 DH 4 December 2025 Marco Odermatt Ryan Cochran-Siegle Adrian Smiseth Sejersted DH 5 December 2025 rescheduled to 4 December due to bad weather forecast1971 SG 5 December 2025 Vincent Kriechmayr Fredrik Møller Raphael Haaser SG 6 December 2025 rescheduled to 5 December due to bad weather forecast1972 GS 7 December 2025 Marco Odermatt Alex Vinatzer Henrik Kristoffersen
Women TypeSeasonDateWinnerSecondThird1357 SG 2011/12 7 December 2011 Lindsey Vonn Fabienne Suter Anna Fenninger1427 GS 2013/14 1 December 2013 Jessica Lindell-Vikarby Mikaela Shiffrin Tina Weirather1819 DH 2024/25 14 December 2024 Cornelia Hütter Sofia Goggia Lara Gut-Behrami1820 SG 15 December 2024 Sofia Goggia Lara Gut-Behrami Ariane Rädler
Raptor Adjacent to Birds of Prey on Beaver Creek Mountain, a new women's downhill course was built for the 2015 World Championships.
Parallel sloped called Raptor, has hosted two of 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
References
External links Slope profile