Lack Of Snow Isn't Keeping Olympians From World Championships Training
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Just a few months ahead of the World Championships in February, Mother Nature isn't cooperating.
That's frustrated some Olympians who were training at Copper Mountain this week.
"It's definitely discouraging that we don't have as much snow as we normally do at this time of year in Colorado. But at the same time I'm getting good technical training in," gold medalist Lindsey Vonn said.
Vonn practiced giant slalom with several other members of the women's team.
It's early in the season, but the skiers say getting work in now will pay off later.
"My knee is doing really well. Training is going extremely well. I don't have pain or swelling, so it's definitely a lot better than I anticipated," Vonn said.
Eagle-Vail's Mikaela Shiffrin already has a win this season. But both top skiers say their eyes are firmly focused on the World Championships at Vail and Beaver Creek, their home mountains.
"I'm pretty psyched to come home in February. As you can imagine, the World Championships is kind of the pinnacle of ski racing. The Olympics is the pinnacle of sports all together, but World Championships is something ski racers covet," gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin said.
The snowmakers haven't had much of a chance this season. In order to make snow, some snowpack has to be in place already. The U.S. ski team usually shows up in October to take advantage of the speed center.
Vonn, Shiffrin and the rest of the U.S. ski team returns for the World Championships on Feb. 2.
Check the status of trails & lifts at Colorado ski resorts in the CBSDenver.com Ski Report section.
