Alaska News

Girdwood skier leads U.S. in Europa Cup race

Feeling right at home above the Arctic Circle, Girdwood skier Kieffer Christianson was the top American finisher at a Europa Cup giant slalom race Thursday in Levi, Finland.

Christianson placed 27th, 3.16 seconds behind winner Sam Torstiof Finland, who had a two-run total time of 2 minutes, 11.89 seconds.

Christianson, 22, was one of 10 Americans racing. Only three qualified for a second run.

Levi is above the Arctic Circle, and in an email Christianson said he felt comfortable with all the darkness.

"It's gray for a couple of hours a day, and the rest of the time it's dark," he wrote. "It is very cozy and it makes me feel like I am home! It reminds of skiing at a more intense version of Hilltop. It's pretty funny how everyone is so rattled by the darkness all day but I am loving it and it's remarkable how I feel so much more at home here than in Colorado"

The Europa Cup is an international race series that is one step below the World Cup. Thursday's giant slalom was the first of four Europa Cup races in Levi. There's one more giant slalom and two slaloms.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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