Alpine Buffs Next Up: Season Gets Underway At Loveland And Aspen

Monday, January 12

Loveland, Colo.

All Day

Colorado

Slalom at Loveland Ski Area

Photo by: Matan Coll, CU Athletics

Alpine Buffs Next Up: Season Gets Underway At Loveland And Aspen

January 10, 2026 | Skiing

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By: Curtis Snyder, Associate AD/Athletic Communications

LOVELAND & ASPEN, Colo. – The first alpine action of the season for teams in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association begins this week with a four-day series that combines both the Denver and Colorado Invitationals.

Competition opens Monday and Tuesday at Loveland Ski Area with men's and women's slalom races before shifting Wednesday and Thursday to Aspen Highlands for giant slalom. The GS races were originally scheduled for Eldora Mountain Resort, but were relocated due to snow and course conditions.

At each venue, the first race will be scored as the Denver Invitational, followed by the Colorado Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational on the second day. The four-race week serves as the RMISA's alpine season opener.

Colorado enters the week with a deep and experienced alpine roster on both sides, blending returning All-Americans and first-year skiers who have already produced results at a high level.

Women's Preview

The Buffs are led on the women's side by returning All-American Louison Accambray, who was dominant during the Winter Sports Classic. She won the GS race at Aspen Highlands on Dec. 18, finished second the day prior, and added two third-place podiums in slalom at Steamboat Springs. Accambray also recorded a pair of top-12 GS finishes, including an eighth place, during the NorAm Cup series at Copper Mountain.

Colorado will be without one of its anchors this season, as three-time NCAA individual champion Magdalena Luczak continues rehabilitation from a knee injury suffered at last year's NCAA Championships. Junior Ashley Campbell will also miss this series after competing earlier this winter at the Winter Sports Classic, where she posted a ninth-place GS finish at Aspen Highlands.

Sophomore Cathinka Lunder returns for her second season after a strong pre-collegiate stretch that included two top-20 NorAm GS finishes at Copper Mountain, followed by a FIS GS victory at Aspen on Dec. 17 and a third-place result the following day. She also recorded an eighth-place slalom finish at Steamboat Springs on Dec. 19.

The Buffs' newcomers have already made an impact. Graduate transfer Hannah Soria, who joined Colorado from Colby College, has a top-10 NorAm slalom finish to her credit and added a fourth-place GS showing at Aspen Highlands on Dec. 18. Freshmen Paige DeHart and Alexa Brownlie have also delivered consistent early results. DeHart recorded multiple top-10 NorAm finishes before winning a slalom race and posting two top-five GS results at the Winter Sports Classic, while Brownlie earned NorAm Cup points at Copper Mountain and Tremblant, highlighted by top-20 finishes in both slalom and GS.

Men's Preview

On the men's side, Colorado is led by Filip Wahlqvist, who has picked up right where he left off a season ago. He has already won four slalom races this winter—two at the NorAm Cup at Beaver Creek and two more at the Winter Sports Classic in Steamboat Springs. Wahlqvist also placed fifth and 10th in NorAm GS races at Beaver Creek, accumulating 271 Cup points over four days.

Sophomore Justin Bigatel has also been consistently strong, posting two top-10 slalom finishes at the NorAm Cup at Beaver Creek before finishing three of four Winter Sports Classic races inside the top five. His results included a runner-up GS finish at Aspen Highlands and a third-place slalom showing at Steamboat Springs.

Colorado's freshman class brings both depth and international experience. Stanley Buzek made his World Cup debut this fall with slalom starts in Levi, Val d'Isère and Alta Badia, then followed with a fourth-place NorAm slalom finish at Mont-Saint-Sauveur in early January. Feb Allasina highlighted his fall with a slalom victory at the Winter Sports Classic and added NorAm Cup points in GS, while Christoffer Oestroem earned points across four NorAm races at Beaver Creek, highlighted by a sixth-place GS finish.

Freshman Hunter Salani remains sidelined as he continues to recover from injuries and is not expected to factor into this week's races.

With four races across two venues and both invitationals scored, the week provides an early test of depth and consistency as RMISA teams open the alpine portion of the 2026 season.