Throughout a four-decade career on the World Cup crew in Aspen, Jim Hancock has seen his fair share of “desperate situations” in ski racing — most of them weather-related.
There were years without enough snow. There were years with too much. And there were years, like Hancock’s first on the team in 1981, when World Cup organizers had to deal with both: That winter had been so dry that workers had to build a temporary snowmaking system for the Winternational in March, only to get hit by a “huge storm” before the event, Hancock recalled.
“You can fight as hard as you can, but we're no match for Mother Nature,” Hancock said with a laugh. “And sometimes it wins.”
Hancock is retiring this year from his current position as chief of race — a role he’s held since 1998, overseeing the competition zone and ensuring the course is safe and fair for all of the athletes.
But he’s hardly one to take all the credit for a successful race. As Hancock reflected on big challenges and lessons learned in an interview, he gave credit to the dedicated race crews and spirited community members who support World Cup skiing in Aspen.
“(For) people that’ll get up at three in the morning to go on a ski hill and shovel snow and work and build things, it's not about money. It's not about getting a jacket,” Hancock said. “It's a pretty amazing camaraderie and feeling we all get out of working together, and that’s the most rewarding part of it for me.”
Hancock said it was “miraculous” that crews were able to clear the course for this year’s Winternational after a foot and a half of snow fell early in the week. And while some folks looked at the forecast for the weekend and thought Sunday’s slalom might be canceled due to another storm, the race was only delayed an hour — thanks to the effort of hundreds of staff and volunteers.
Workers started up the mountain around 3 a.m. to clear the course as nearly a foot of heavy, dense snow fell on the slopes.
“I really believe putting on a ski race is probably one of the most complicated sporting events, because it's outside, it's winter, the field of play is between a mile and two miles long,” Hancock said. “And the weather changes every day, and the conditions change every day.”
Hancock said his role as chief of race is physically grueling, “a brutally hard job” that’s getting even harder as he gets older. He also figured this year would be the right time to step down because he thinks there may be a gap before the World Cup returns to Aspen again.
But it’s not a farewell for good, Hancock said. When the races do return to Aspen, he still plans to be involved as a volunteer or an advisor, “and I’m sure I’ll want to be up on the hill, too,” he said.
“It's just been too big a part of my life,” he said.
