LOVELAND SKI AREA/COPPER MOUNTAIN RESORT, Colo. – The Pioneers ski team hosts the Denver Invitational to kick off the alpine portion of the 2025 season this week at Loveland Ski Area and Copper Mountain Resort.
Three days of alpine racing begins with an NCAA slalom qualifier on Monday, Jan. 6 at Loveland Ski Area before the DU Invite begins in full on Tuesday, Jan. 7 with another slalom race at Loveland. The meet moves to Copper Mountain near Frisco on Wednesday, Jan. 8 for the men's and women's giant slalom to wrap up the invitational's alpine races.
The best viewing area of the Pioneers and the other RMISA athletes this week is Wednesday at the GS at Copper, as the finish area is walkable from the East Village base area at the resort.
Denver is hosting its home meet at Loveland Ski Area for the fourth-straight season and is returning to Copper Mountain for the first time since 2022.
The Pioneers placed second overall at the DU Invitational last season, finishing just 11 points behind winner Colorado. Denver was also second in tight men's and women's alpine races, just 23 points behind Utah.
Freshman
Stella Buchheister from nearby Dillon, Colorado, and fellow rookie
Pietro Motterlini of Milan, Italy, are both expected to make her collegiate debuts this week, while graduate student
Loic Chable and junior
Nicola Rountree-Williams will race in Pioneer crimson and gold for the first time. Chable transferred after racing the previous two seasons at Westminster University in Utah, and Rountree-Williams began her college career at Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs.
Both Chable and Rountree-Williams have had success at the DU Invite. Chable owns a pair of top-10 results at Loveland while Rountree-Williams has three such top-10 results and picked up her first career top five last season in slalom on Feb. 5.
The four newcomers will join nine returners on DU's alpine squad, which include former All-Americans
Cooper Cornelius, Thomas Hoffman, Eirik Kveno, Liv Moritz, Sara Rask and
Christian Soevik. Kveno is also set to make his Pioneer debut after missing all of last season with an injury after transferring from St. Michael's College.
This week's races are the only alpine events in the state this season, as the Colorado Invitational will not be held this year after CU hosted last year's NCAA Championships in Steamboat Springs.
The Denver Invitational concludes on Feb. 7-8 with Nordic races in the Vail Valley at Maloit Park in Minturn, Colorado. The cross country events begin with the 7.5K classic individual start on Saturday, Feb. 7 before a 10K freestyle mass start on Sunday, Feb. 9.
DENVER INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 6
RMISA Alpine Qualifier
Loveland Ski Area, Colo.
Run 1: 9:30 a.m. MT (Women), 10:15 a.m. MT (Men)
Run 2: 12:30 p.m. MT (Women), 1:30 p.m. MT (Men)
Tuesday, Jan. 7
DU Invitational
Loveland Ski Area, Colo.
Run 1: 9:30 a.m. MT (Women), 10:15 a.m. MT (Men)
Run 2: 12:30 p.m. MT (Women), 1:30 p.m. MT (Men)
Wednesday, Jan. 8
DU Invitational
Copper Mountain, Colo.
Times: TBA
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