Killington Cup 2023: Shiffrin leads a compelling cast of skiers in the annual kickoff to winter

Zoe Zimmerman of Gilford, N.H., learned to ski minutes from home at Gunstock. (Dustin Satloff/U.S. ski team)

After winning the first five slaloms on Killington’s Superstar course, Mikaela Shiffrin, the career leader in World Cup victories, will be looking to reclaim the top spot this weekend when World Cup racers return to Vermont for the seventh time since 2016 to compete in the Killington Cup.

Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson and Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener tied for the win a year ago. Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland won the giant slalom by seven-hundredths of a second. 

While Shiffrin, whose résumé includes 89 career World Cup victories, five overall World Cup season titles and two Olympic gold medals, is the star of the show, the Burke Mountain Academy product is far from the only U.S. skier worth checking out.

Paula Moltzan grew up in Minnesota but resides in Charlemont, Mass. She was 15th overall and seventh in the slalom points list a year ago. Allie Resnick skied collegiately at Dartmouth, and sisters Elisabeth and Mary Bocock were slated to make their World Cup debut in Sölden.

Zoe Zimmerman of Gilford, N.H., learned to ski minutes from home at Gunstock. Now, at 21 years old, she is working on making a name for herself on the circuit. She made eight World Cup slalom starts last season and earned her first points by finishing 27th in Sestriere, Italy, last December. She also was second last season in the slalom points list in the NorAm Cup, skiing’s version of Triple-A baseball.

“I’m looking forward to skiing more slalom World Cups now that I have a spot,” she told NESJ recently during a phone call from Sölden. “Last year I didn’t have a fixed slalom spot, so that’s exciting.

“I’m hoping to build off those World Cup points that I got last year and try to get into the top 30 or top 15 this year.”

With U.S. coaches Magnus Andersson, Shaun Goodwin and Zan Spilar, Zimmerman also has been working on improving her GS. Her best GS finish in the NorAm Cup was fifth at Georgian Peaks in February 2022.

“It’s going a little bit better than it has in the past,” Zimmerman said. “I have been training a little bit more GS here in Sölden with everyone, which has been great. … I’m hoping to lower my GS points. I don’t want to continue to be labeled ‘just a slalom skier,’ so hopefully I can translate what I’m doing in training into the races.”

Her season started in Levi, Finland, with a pair of DNF the weekend of Nov. 11-12.

While she was not in the Killington lineup last year, Zimmerman was in the starting gate in 2021, making just her second career World Cup start. She remembered those nerves at the start and skiing out after about six gates.

She anticipates having a lot of family and friends on hand and, for the first time, giving her friends at Dartmouth College the World Cup experience. She is currently a sophomore at the school, studying government modified with economics and philosophy, taking classes during the spring and summer.

“I was very nervous for it two years ago, but it was also my second World Cup start so I was still very new to the scene,” she said. “I feel a little bit more confident this year going into Levi. I’m sure I’ll be nervous for Killington, but I feel way more excited for it than I am nervous, at least as of right now.”

After two days of racing, Superstar typically remains closed during the week to give groomers a chance to turn the surface from the near-boilerplate conditions World Cuppers are familiar with before reopening it to the public the following weekend with much softer conditions.

New this year, Killington will keep the race course open for a week and host about 350 athletes from area clubs, academies and universities for training.

“This will push (opening the trail to the public) back by a week but we believe this offering benefits our local racing community who would typically need to travel to train,” Killington and Pico communications manager Kristel Killary said. “We shared this at our community meeting last week and it was well-received.”

About 37,000 people watched the festivities last year with 6,000 there for Friday’s opening ceremonies, 21,000 on Saturday for the giant slalom and 10,000 for Sunday’s slalom, according to the hosts.

Skiing isn’t the only thing on the menu, with a festival village, including a music stage at the base area to keep people entertained between runs over the weekend and after the awards are handed out. Fireworks are scheduled for Friday night following the bib presentation.

“On Saturday, we will be hosting a panel with the U.S. ski team in support of the heroic women’s initiative called ‘Doing it All,’” Killary said. “After the panel, we’ll be showing the ski film ‘Advice for Girls,’ and we’re working with the Pico Ski Education Foundation to promote that event.”

Tickets for each race day are available on Killington’s website and start at $10 for general admission, perfect for those who want to take a break during their ski day — yes, the mountain keeps running despite the large arena-like buildout that dominates the base area near the K-1 lodge.

For those who want a good view of the action from the bleachers, those tickets are $45 on Saturday and $40 on Sunday, with the top rows reserved for $100/$90.

VIP packages are sold in partnership with the Killington World Cup Foundation, which is designed to “benefit local and regional youth development programs, and to support the Women’s World Cup at Killington,” according to its website.

Musical acts Young the Giant, Matisyahu, Mix Master Mike, and 220 KID were recently announced as the event’s entertainment lineup.

For those who want to check in on the action without leaving the comforts of home, the first run each day will be broadcast on Outside TV starting at 10 a.m., and NBC has second-run coverage beginning at 1 p.m.