Anybody with a lift ticket at Crabbe Mountain this weekend will also have a front row seat to the ski hill's first international alpine competition in over 30 years.
About 80 athletes from across Canada, the United States, Spain, Italy and Ireland are on the roster to participate in the International Ski and Snowboard Federation's (also known as FIS) alpine ski race.
Crabbe Mountain hosted ski and alpine events during last year's Canada Winter Games, which helped organizers land this week's FIS competition.
Ben Kaley of Ski N.B. said the event would help to keep talented local athletes involved with the sport.
"Canada Games is a U-16 sport, so what we see is a lot of fall-off with athletes after the Canada Games," said Kaley. "This is to give them a pathway to keep skiing."
Several local competitors at the event, who train stateside in New England, were happy to be back on their home hill.
"It's nice to be somewhere that I'm familiar with," said competitor Gracie Kaley of Fredericton, who also participated in the 2023 Canada Winter Games. "I've been training out of Maine all year so it's nice to be home for a week and have family around too."
The competition began Thursday at Crabbe and will run until Sunday.
