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Your Morning News - December 1st, 2014

Austrian Takes First at World Cup

Thirty-one year old Nicole Hosp of Austria defeated the world’s top female skiers to capture gold at the Ski World Cup competition on Aspen Mountain. ESPN reports it’s her first world cup victory since 2008.

None of the American alpine racers took the podium. Favorite Mikaela Shiffrin was in the lead after the first run, but landed in fifth overall. Resi Stiegler, another American skier, came in 11th place.

The FIS race, called the “Winternational,” was held Saturday and Sunday. Ski racing continues in Aspen this week with the men’s giant slalom NorAm races today and tomorrow followed by women’s giant slalom later in the week.

Hoffman Hurt in Finland Race

Nordic skier and Aspen resident Noah Hoffman was hurt over the weekend at a race in Finland. FasterSkier reports the 25 year old injured his lower left leg during his first World Cup distance race of the season. He was racing in a 15-kilometer classic race when he crashed hard on one of the course’s last big descents.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association’s Nordic program mentioned the incident on its Facebook page, saying it’s wishing Hoffman a speedy recovery.

Hoffman is the U.S. Ski Team’s top distance skier.

Aspen’s Lodging Gets Another Look

The Aspen City Council is holding a special meeting tonight to look over new efforts to bolster the resort’s hotels and lodges.

In 2012 and 2013, the City Council made one of its top ten goals to upgrade, boost and diversify the short term bed base and in August the council passed a lodge incentive ordinance. It didn’t last long. Two weeks after it was approved, council rescinded it over community concerns.

Since then, City staff has been doing public outreach to see if there’s agreement in the community about how to solve the problem of an aging and limited bed base. In general, people support providing incentives for existing, small lodges to upgrade, and simplifying the City process, among other things.

Tonight’s meeting starts at 5 and it is a public hearing.

Studying the Human Factor in Avalanches

Backcountry skiing and snowboarding is the fastest growing sector of the snow sports industry but it’s far more dangerous than riding in bounds at a resort. After many avalanche deaths in the last handful of years, Powder Magazine is running an online series exploring how the accidents happened-- and how to prevent more.

Colorado Numbers for Holiday Shopping

Holiday sales are expected to rise again this year in Colorado. Last December, they rose slightly compared to a year earlier. But they jumped 10 percent in Colorado last November. Martin Shields is an economics professor with Colorado State University.

“The economy is doing quite well right  now and we’re finally seeing some upward pressure on wages. So I think this year will be a better year than last year. But will it show up in November or did it show up in October already. I think that will be interesting because I think consumers are confused about when the good deals are anymore.”

Last year, Colorado saw about $6 billion in retail sales in November and about $8 billion in December.

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