Sugarloaf Mountain’s Narrow Gauge trail will play host to America’s top alpine skiers when the Toyota U.S. Alpine Championships and NorAm finals come to Carrabassett Valley from March 20 to April 1, 2022.
The U.S. championships will be held shortly after the Beijing Winter Olympics, which are slated for Feb. 4-20, and a number of Olympic athletes are expected to come to Sugarloaf as well as many top racers on the U.S. team.
That includes Sugarloaf-based Sam Morse, a member of the U.S. Alpine B Team who grew up in Carrabassett Valley and graduated from Carrabassett Valley Academy.
This will mark the eighth time Sugarloaf has hosted the national alpine championships, most recently in 2019. The mountain also hosted the U.S. championships in 1996, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2015 and 2017.
“Sugarloaf has a proud tradition of hosting some of the world’s premier ski racing events, and we’re honored to have the U.S. Alpine Championships return for 2022,” Sugarloaf general manager Karl Strand said. “Having this event on the heels of the Olympics will only add to the excitement of what is already one of the country’s best alpine racing showcases.”
Sugarloaf’s Narrow Gauge trail has hosted many of the world’s biggest alpine events, including men’s and women’s World Cup races in 1971 and the first official FIS Alpine Junior World Championships in 1984.
Sugarloaf also has produced numerous world-class racers and over the years, including Olympic gold medalist and world champion skier Bode Miller and snowboarder Seth Wescott, a two-time Olympic gold-medal winner.
For additional information on the U.S. Ski Team and the U.S. Alpine Championships, visit usskiandsnowboard.org.