MT. HOOD, OR - Attending Ted Ligety's (Park City, UT) signature ski camp at Mt. Hood will earn you two things - a better turn and a mustache. Since the camps inception, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time Audi FIS Alpine World Cup champion has hosted "Mustache Mondays" where he personally draws his best handlebar on all campers to start the day.
"It's sort of a tradition at my camp," laughed Ligety, who famously stencils a mustache on his face tape whenever racing in extreme cold temperatures. "I definitely get creative when I draw on the kids, but then they also draw one on me - it get's pretty interesting."
Session one of the two-week camp wrapped up last week, while No. 2 is going strong in the second week of July with Olympic super G bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) holding fort at Timberline Ski Area. Also serving as a coach and camp counselor is 1984 Olympic slalom gold medalist and retired U.S. Ski Team great Phil Mahre and 2006 NCAA slalom champion Scotty Veenis.
"Ages range from eight to 79, but most of our campers are between eight and 15-years-old," said Ligety, who was 10 when he attended his first camp at Mt. Hood. "We had 50 people out there the first week and 25 in the second week, but most of those 25 kids stayed on from the first week."
Two years after he attended his first summer camp at Mt. Hood, Ligety recalls having the opportunity to ski with Olympic and World Cup greats Tommy Moe, Kyle Rasmussen and Hilary Lindh during a Ski Racing Magazine camp when his was 12.
"At that time I looked up to Tommy Moe the most," said Ligety. "He'd won an Olympic gold medal in 1994 and I wanted to be just like him. So to be able to train and ski along side him for a week was a pretty big inspiration to my skiing career for sure."
In addition to arcing a mustache on an Olympic gold medalist, Ligety says the opportunity to train on his course sets is worth the trip itself.
"A Ted Ligety course set is all about mega swing and crazy combinations. There's no doubt that if you can survive my gates, you're going to be a better skier," he said.
Ligety and Weibrecht will join the rest of the men's alpine program next week for a physical testing and hockey camp at the Center of Excellence and nearby Park City Ice Arena.
"We brought back the hockey camp this summer and the guys are really fired up," said Head Coach Sasha Rearick. "Most of our crew is based out of Park City for the summer in order to take advantage of the Center of Excellence and the ice sheet is directly next door. It's a great way for the guys to have fun and get in some incredible conditioning."
Rearick also added he was excited to have newly added Sports Dietician Adam Korzun cooking for the Team throughout the camp. Korzun traveled with the men's program last winter as a chef while working for the United States Olympic Committee. He joined the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association full-time in late spring.
