Welcome to the Far West Masters! If you are a new visitor to our site, visit the Information pages to learn more About masters racing. The How To Join page has for membership information and applications. We are open to all and welcome new racers!

Masters ski racing is the premier adult ski racing series in the country. We are governed by United States Ski & Snowboard competition rules, the sanctioning body in the US for organized ski racing at all levels from juniors up through international and Olympic competition.

Far West Masters organizes US alpine masters competition in the Far West division. Our yearly schedule includes all disciplines (SL, GS, SG, and DH), with races held mainly at ski areas in the central Sierras. Racers from 21 to over 80 years old compete in ten-year age groups.

Top News Items

... Mammoth opening races cancelled ... Mammoth Races Update ... Mammoth training camp cancelled ... Membership and Race Signups are open ... Mammoth Dec races and camp ... Gate DeMattei memorial service ... Fall Forerunner newsletter ... 2024 Season Schedule ... Preliminary 2024 Schedule ...
... all news items ...
  • Mammoth opening races cancelled

    With regret, the decision was made this morning to cancel our scheduled opening GS/SL races at Mammoth this coming weekend on Dec. 2-3. The planned race venue of Andy's Double Gold (ADG) is the Mammoth Race Department's top priority for snowmaking and slope preparation right now and good progress is clearly being made now that we (finally!!) have good snowmaking conditions, but the assessment today is that it's not certain that we can achieve a good racing surface along with enough coverage for the necessary safety fencing on the sides of the run in time for the races.

    So nature is feeding us feast or famine - last season we had bountiful early snow (too much even!), this season is starting off dry and warm everywhere in the Sierra. Mammoth has their snowmaking crews going full blast and is working to open more runs each day, so there is some decent early season freeskiing for any who had plans to come this week for camp or the races - definitely enough to get out and make some turns.

    Reminder from MRD: If you made lodging reservations for the race weekend at the Mammoth Mountain Inn or Juniper Springs, and/or pre-purchased discounted lift tickets, please call (800) 626-6684 for all lodging and ticket cancellation requests. Be sure to mention Group ID: 38497 (event ""USSA/FIS Early Season Races 2023") to your customer service representative to ease the process.

    [27-Nov-2023]

  • Mammoth Races Update

    Some encouraging news from Mammoth today: additional terrain has been opening through this holiday week and Mammoth Race Department reports that conditions are currently favorable for snowmaking. MRD will continue to assess the safety aspect throughout the next few days and send out another update on Monday, November 27th with the outlook for our masters season opening races. Safety is obviously a priority, we need snow levels deep enough to set gates and fencing on the race venue.

    We encourage everyone considering racing next weekend to get your entries in before the Sunday night early registration deadline. There is no penalty for registering now, you can still withdraw next week if your plans change, but it really helps the organizers and our event planning to have a good estimate of the field size the week prior to the event. So stop procrastinating, get your entries in now!

    Race signups are open on our masters.AdminSkiRacing.com registration site. Early registration deadline is Sun 11/26; registration closes at 8pm PT Wed 11/29. You can sign up for the races and also purchase your 2024 Far West Masters membership if you haven't already done so.

    [24-Nov-2024]

  • Mammoth training camp cancelled

    With regret, Mammoth Race Department has just announced the decision that our masters training camp that was scheduled for next Tue-Fri Nov. 28-Dec. 1 is cancelled. The decision is made based on "safety precautions, snow depths, and current warm temperatures impeding on our ability to make snow". Disappointing news, though not entirely a surprise given the slow start to the winter season for all our Sierra ski areas.

    Reminder from MRD: If you made lodging reservations for the training camp at the Mammoth Mountain Inn or Juniper Springs, and/or pre-purchased discounted lift tickets, please call (800) 626-6684 for all lodging and ticket cancellation requests. Be sure to mention Group ID: 38497 to your customer service representative to ease the process.

    Mammoth is currently open for skiing, though with limited terrain availability, so there is a least an opportunity to get out and make some turns for any coming next week. MRD is planning to provide an update on the outlook for our races the following weekend of Dec. 2-3 on this coming Friday Nov. 24.

    [19-Nov-2023]

  • Membership and Race Signups are open

    Race signups for Far West Masters are opening this week on our masters.AdminSkiRacing.com registration site. Signups for the season opening GS/SL races at Mammoth on Dec. 2-3 are now open and signups for the rest of our scheduled races will be added this week.

    Membership Reminders: you join or renew your Far West Masters membership by paying dues for this season on masters.AdminSkiRacing.com. Create or log into your account, just as you do for race signups, and purchase "2023-2024 Far West Masters membership" on the Event Signup page. (Don't forget to go to checkout to complete your dues payment!) Deadline for renewing members to avoid late fees is Nov. 15.

    [06-Nov-2023]

  • Mammoth Dec races and camp

    Our opening event of the 2023-2024 Far West Masters season is only a month away! We have Sat/Sun GS/SL races at Mammoth Mountain on Dec. 2-3, the weekend following the Thanksgiving holiday. Mammoth is also hosting a 4-day GS/SL training camp on Tue-Fri Nov. 29-Dec. 1 prior to the weekend races, which is good opportunity to get on skis and get in some preseason race training to get warmed up.

    See the event info announcement and training camp flyer for additional details. Mammoth is offering a discounted lodging package for camp week and race weekend.

    Race signups are now open on our masters.AdminSkiRacing.com registration site. Early registration deadline is Sun 11/26; registration closes at 8pm PT Wed 11/29. You can sign up for the races and also purchase your 2024 Far West Masters membership if you haven't already done so.

    [06-Nov-2023]

  • Gate DeMattei memorial service

    It was with tremendous sadness that we received the news of the passing of Gate DeMattei on September 26. We can genuinely say that Gate was admired, loved, and respected. He will be deeply missed by the masters racing community in Far West and around the nation.

    Our October Forerunner included a story and photos of Gate, with memories from fellow Far West Masters and his obituary can be found online

    Funeral service and memorial gathering for Gate will be held on Thursday Oct. 12.

    • 10am - viewing
    • 11am - rosary and Mass - Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Tahoe City CA
    • 2pm-6pm - memorial reception - Bar One - Olympic House, 1990 Olympic Vly Rd. Olympic Valley CA

    [05-Oct-2023]

  • Fall Forerunner newsletter

    The fall issue of the Forerunner newsletter is out! New Communications director Melissa House has pulled together a wealth of information for the upcoming season, with the President's Message from our new division chair Rees Palermo and including details on the season race schedule, Far West Masters membership, and more.

    And we are deeply sad to include a late-breaking report with the news of the passing of Gate DeMattei in late September. Gate was a champion, a role model, an inspiration for living a full and balanced life. He will be very greatly missed.

    Note: the primary distribution method of the Forerunner newsletter will be electronic publishing through our news email list and here on the web site. All current members of Far West Masters should receive the newsletter. If you have any questions, contact us at forerunner@farwestmasters.org for assistance.

    [02-Oct-2023]

  • 2024 Season Schedule

    The 2023-2024 season schedule is now posted and the web site Season Schedule page updated.

    Far West Masters membership will open in October on our Masters AdminSkiRacing registration site and race signups will be added soon after.

    [28-Sep-2023]

  • Preliminary 2024 Schedule

    The preliminary 2023-2024 race schedule is now available! Scheduling Director Mike Braun has tried to put together a calendar with a good mix of events at proven venues. The schedule has some unusual timing this season for some of our traditional events in consideration of the FIS Masters World Criterium in March, a major event that only comes to North America every 5 years. A highlight this season is the Masters National DH Championship in our home division at Mammoth Mountain.

    The US masters national championships are hosted this season in Central division at Granite Peak, WI on Feb. 5-10. The Western Region championship/FIS Masters Cup races will be held at Beaver Creek CO on Feb. 22-25. The international FIS Masters World Criterium follows on Mar. 1-7 at Kimberly BC in Canada.

    And last, but not least, for the first time since Covid interrupted everyone's plans in March 2020, we have a season finals event with a banquet gathering planned so we can once again gather with our racing friends at the end of our competition season.

    [04-Sep-2023]

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