If you’ve ever watched the Birds of Prey downhill along the safety nets off Beaver Creek’s Peregrine run, you’ve heard the sonic roar—reminiscent of a low-flying F-18 fighter jet—racers make as they hurtle down the course. Up until now, only men have been the Mavericks of Birds of Prey, so to speak. But in December, women will get their turn to break records, if not sound barriers.

For the first time, Beaver Creek is officially on the women’s World Cup schedule (December 14 and 15, a week after the men’s races), and to say the female racers are excited about it is an understatement. “It’s incredible that we finally get more women’s speed races in America,” says US Ski Team downhiller Jackie Wiles. “It’s going to be really special to feel that patriotic pride and have families and friends see us.”

But it’s not just skiing on home slopes that’s got the women pumped. Male racers consider Birds of Prey—designed by Swiss ski champ and legendary course architect Bernhard Russi for the 1999 World Alpine Championships—one of the most challenging downhill and super G tracks on the World Cup circuit. Now the women (likely including hometown superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, who at press time planned to race only the super G, and less likely Lindsey Vonn, who was rumored to be mulling a return as forerunner) will get to tackle the same hang-on-for-all-you’ve-got steeps like the Brink and the Talon and soaring jumps like Screech Owl and Golden Eagle.

“It’s going to be a pretty intense course for the women,” says Wiles, who is wistful that per racing standards set by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, the women’s downhill will begin 154 feet lower down the course than the men’s, and the super G will start 295 feet lower. “I’m a little sad about [that].”

Yet both men and women will confront the same uncertainties of the season’s first races. “It’s like a clean slate—anybody could win it,” notes Tom Horrocks, chief of media for the race. “Because it’s so early in the season, it could be rock-and-roll all the way down or it could be buffed out. It’s somewhat different every year.”

Admittedly, this won’t be the first time women have raced at Beaver Creek. In fact, Wiles made her World Cup debut here in 2013, in a race that previewed the venue for the Alpine World Championships the following year. But the women raced a course called Raptor, which shared a finish line with the Birds of Prey course but took a different route down. Women also raced one super G on Birds of Prey in 2011—a makeup for a canceled race in France (Lindsey Vonn won).

Finding a slot in the international race calendar for the women’s event was in the works for a few years, says Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of US Ski and Snowboard. The hope is that the US can host a World Cup women’s speed event every other year, increasing the number of races for both men and women now held in North America. This season, in addition to Beaver Creek, these include Killington, Vermont, and Mont Tremblant, Quebec, as well as the World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, in late March. In addition to home-team advantage, events that viewers can either watch live or at least within the same time zone help inspire the next generation of American athletes.

“A lot of my teammates watched the Beaver Creek men’s races when they were younger,” says Wiles. “Now everyone is really excited and proud that we get to showcase our own event to the country.”

Prey Day

When and Where to Watch

The men’s downhill is scheduled for Friday, December 6, followed by super G racing on December 7 and giant slalom on December 8; the women’s downhill is slated for Saturday, December 14, followed by the super G on December 15.

Cheering on racers in Beaver Creek’s Red Tail Stadium at the finish line (near Talons Restaurant at the confluence of Chairs 9, 10, and 11) provides maximum viewing ops and crowd energy. You’ll be able to see the bottom fifth of the course from there—including racers coming off the Harrier jump and setting up for the final, Red Tail jump—as well as watch the jumbo video screen.

A new spectator deck will be built slightly farther uphill, near the base of the Grouse Mountain lift (Chair 10). But if the Birds of Prey lift (Chair 9) is open and you’re wearing skis, an alternate plan is to stake out a spot, cowbell in hand, about halfway down the course on the Peregrine run; if Grouse Mountain is open, catch the action near the bottom of Screech Owl Trail.

The week between the men’s and women’s races will be jam-packed with events, including concerts and ski film screenings.