Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

By John Meyer, The Denver Post

I'll never forget the awards ceremony at the 1998 Nagano Olympics​ when Picabo Street​ received her gold medal in super-G only 14 months after suffering a devastating knee injury on a training run in Vail.

There was a gorgeous full moon that night, and I recall asking her about it. Her face lit up like the moon that shone on her, and even now — almost 14 years later — I can still see the look on her face.

"I remember it being just the brightest full moon I've ever seen in my life," Street said, remembering my question that night. "That was a perfect little cherry on top."

Read more about the training center at Copper Mountain!

But that night might not have happened for Street if not for a secret training camp at Copper Mountain three months earlier, involving only her and a handful of coaches while the rest of the World Cup racers were beginning their seasons. With a desperate need to catch up on the training she lost while rehabbing her knee, Street checked into a Summit County hotel under an assumed name and got to work.

"I think I can honestly say that if I hadn't had that training in the fall, I wouldn't have been ready," said Street, who returns to Copper today for the grand opening of the U.S. Ski Team Speed Center. "I wouldn't have come into the season with that confidence and gotten my head of steam up."

Read more about Street's amazing career in her interview with Meyer at denverpost.com.