How The US Ski Team Met Ludacris In Lake Tahoe
American skier River Radamus stole the show at the 2024 Palisades Tahoe Cup.
By earning his first World Cup podium, he shook the metaphorical monkey off his back, and fueled the home crowd into an absolute frenzy. The tone had been set.
Photo: Ella Boyd/POWDER Magazine
The vibe quickly evolved after Radamus sprayed champagne on his fellow competitors and basked in the drowning cheers from the home crowd. What had started as a fun and accessible way for Tahoe locals to see the world's best skiers on their home mountain, changed to an all-out party.
Whether the locals were celebrating Radamus, the success of the event, or just the joy of skiing itself, their eyes were alive with excitement and their thirsts unquenchable.
The crowd stumbling in-and-out of Palisades' various watering holes seemed to grow with each passing minute.
As a regular patron of the greatest little ski bar in the world, The Slot Bar, I spent two hours shouting to my friends as loud music played, people danced on the bar, and the bell, which signifies an over-zealous drinker had purchased a round of shots for the entire bar, was rung no fewer than 10 times.
As the evening progressed, and the sun started to dip behind the peaks, the crowd slowly migrated to the massive stage constructed under Palisades' iconic Gold Coast Funitel.
Photo: Ryan Salm/Palisades Tahoe
As a designated driver for the night, I wandered soberly through the sea of lubricated fans still wearing ski boots and helmets. Each person seemed to add to the buzz of excitement as they waited for the headliner to burst onto the stage.
Ludacris, the world-famous rapper and actor, put on a show to remember at Palisades Tahoe. The crowd got fired up for hits like 'Act A Fool', and 'Move B*tch', and continued to sing along throughout the night.
It was a peculiar choice for Ludacris to headline a free concert accompanying a World Cup ski race, but the crowd didn't mind.
I heard through the grapevine that members of the US Ski Team were given the opportunity to meet Ludacris backstage after the concert. After receiving the photo below, I inquired further about the encounter.
Check out my short Q&A below with US Ski Team athlete George Steffey about meeting Ludacris, the health of ski racing in the United States, and more.
Courtesy: US Ski Team
The crowd was rowdy for The Cup and that only seemed to amplify with the Ludacris concert. What was your experience like taking in the scenes as an athlete?
"Yeah, it was really cool to see that many people come to watch the race. You know, it's definitely an uphill battle in the US with most of the races being over in Europe.
The timing of the races and the broadcasting rights can be difficult, so it's difficult to get people engaged in ski racing in the US, but it's really promising to see that many people show up.
Obviously, the race didn't go great for me which is always a bummer, (Steffey did not qualify for the finals) but it was still nonetheless, a really, really fun experience. I'm glad I got an opportunity to ski in front of the home crowd. Then getting to go to the Ludacris concert afterwards was definitely a blast.
Everything from the concert itself to the village before and after was exciting. We went on stage and did an athlete introduction thing. It just blew me away how many people were there and fired up to come watch ski racing in the US."
How did you meet Ludacris and what was he like?
"To be honest we didn't really get to hang out with him for too long, unfortunately. We took the picture and then had to move on. I mean, still cool nonetheless to meet a star like that at a ski race."
Courtesy: US Ski Team
Following the weekend, what impressions were you left with about the health of ski racing in the US?
"It was very promising to see that many people there.
A lot of people made some serious effort to get there, so it's definitely an indicator to me that ski racing is still alive and well in the United States. Obviously, we want to try and grow it and make it easier to follow, but it was definitely a little pulse check and it came back very positive.
I think they did an excellent job organizing and pulling off the event. Getting a crowd to show up for events can be hard, but an easy way to get people to show up is to make the whole thing as fun as possible.
Photo: Ella Boyd/POWDER Magazine
To some degree, it has to be a party, and having a big concert with a headliner like Ludacris is a huge boost. The whole experience being there, feeling the energy of the crowd, all the excitement of the people, the concert, the skiing afterwards, all those things are part of the reason why I think people showed up.
It was an excellent job pulling off and organizing the event all in all."
Related: Tahoe Skier Ryan Faye Had A Weekend To Remember
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