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5 Olympic Ski Runs Average Skiers Can Try

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Mar 29, 2025 7:23 AM ET

From our collective couches with our collective potato chips, it’s easy to watch ski racers in the Olympics and think, “I bet I could ski that.” As it would turn out, odds are reasonably good you could survive an approximate version of the pistes Olympic skiers race down.

“Approximate,” however, is the key word here—World Cup and Olympic race courses are doctored up to be as slick and fast as possible. The average skier, as this video beautifully illustrates, has no business entering a race course that’s ready for prime time.

Still, at numerous mountains throughout the world, you can try a more approachable format of the same slopes where Olympic skiers once dueled. Here’s where to find them.

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The Grizzly Downhill in 2002Photo: EFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images

1. Snowbasin, Utah—Grizzly Downhill

Fashioned by Swiss ski course designer Bernhard Russi, Snowbasin’s Grizzly Downhill is known for its difficulty and steepness. The run is sometimes to as the “Kitzbühel of North America,” an ode to the foreboding Hahnenkamm downhill course in Austria just across the pond.

If you’re still interested, hop on the John Paul Express chairlift and then catch the Allen Peak Tram to the top. From there, it’s pure thrills until you reach the Grizzly Center base area.

In 2002, when Salt Lake City, Utah, held the Winter Olympics, Austria’s Fritz Strobel took top marks on the Grizzly Downhill with a blistering time of 1:39.130. Come 2034, the Grizzly Downhill will once again appear as an Olympic venue for the upcoming Salt Lake City Winter Games.

The Dave Murray Downhill's lower reaches as seen from the Creekside base areaPhoto: Kim Stallknecht/Getty Images

2. Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia—Dave Murray Downhill

Named for local legend and Crazy Canucks member Dave Murray, is the Dave Murray Downhill at Whistler Blackcomb.

This trail, in true downhill fashion, reaches a pitch of 58 percent in the Fallaway section. It was featured during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, where storied American racer Bode Miller earned a bronze medal and landed on the podium just behind Aksel Lund Svindal and Didier Defago.

To reach the run, start in the Whistler Village and catch the Fitzsimmons Express 8. From there, you’ll ride one more lift—the Garbanzo Express—before plunging downhill.

The Dave Murray Downhill winds its way from the Garbanzo Express’ upper terminal all the way to the Creekside Base. By the journey’s end, you’ll have traveled just over a mile and a half and covered more than 3,300 vertical feet.

Don't worry—you don't need to look like this while skiing down the Olympiabakken.Photo: Jonas Ericsson/Agence Zoom/Getty Images

3. Kvjtifjell, Norway—Olympiabakken

Kvitfjell hosted portions of the 1994 Lillehammer, Norway, Winter Games.

In downhill, the racers teed off the ski resort’s Olympiabakken, a run that transports skiers from Kvitfjell’s upper reaches down to the train station. In 1994, American Tommy Moe won the day on the Olympiabakken course, narrowly defeating Norway’s Kjetil André Aamodt by only 0.04 seconds. Today, the course is still a regular stop for World Cup racers.

Visitors can check it out themselves by riding the Olympic and Kvitfjell Expresses. Or alternatively, they can hitch a ride on the Vestsiden Express. Either way, you’ll be dropping in to enjoy some Olympic turns.

4. Whiteface Mountain, New York—Cloudspin

Whiteface Mountain, New York, boasts the East’s longest vertical descent of 3,340 feet.

It makes sense, then, that the mountain played a key role in the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. The big story of this Olympic gathering was the "Miracle on Ice," when the U.S. unexpectedly triumphed over the Soviet Union in ice hockey. But skiing, of course, was part of the show, too.

In downhill, the men raced from the top of Whiteface Mountain down to the base area, taking advantage of the ski resort’s considerable vertical drop. The race was won by Austrian Leonhard Stock, an underdog athlete who supplied another entertaining sporting moment.

You can live your own Olympic fantasy by skiing Whiteface Mountain’s Cloudspin run. The run served as the upper portion of the downhill course. To reach Cloudspin, take the Face Lift to the Summit Quad.

Bode Miller charges into second place in giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.Photo: Mike Powell/Getty Images

5. Park City Mountain Resort, Utah—C.B.'s Run

Snowbasin wasn’t the only Utah ski resort to play a role in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley did, too.

The former hosted the men’s Giant Slalom on C.B.’s Run, astride the Eagle lift. The run is named after Craig Badami, Park City’s former marketing vice president, who helped bring World Cup racing to the resort. In 2002, the Austrian Stephan Eberharter claimed Olympic gold on C.B.’s Run, followed by Bode Miller and the Norwegian Lasse Kjus.

Tracing Eberharter’s path—albeit with much less speed—is easy. Just hop on the Eagle Lift, which departs from the Mountain Village base, and head skier’s left.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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