An iPhone safety feature is drawing renewed attention after six skiers were rescued during California’s deadliest recorded avalanche, with survivors using satellite messaging to stay in contact with emergency responders when traditional cell service failed.
The skiers were able to communicate with authorities using Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature when they found themselves outside cellular and Wi-Fi coverage.
Remote Areas
Apple introduced Emergency SOS via satellite with the iPhone 14 lineup. The feature is available on supported models running iOS 16.1 or later and is designed for use in remote areas where cellular signals are not accessible.
The satellite tool, available on newer iPhone models, allows users to text emergency services directly when traditional networks are unavailable. As interest in the feature grows, Apple users have been discussing how it works—and whether it should remain free.
In the Lake Tahoe rescue, communication between the stranded group and emergency personnel proved critical.
Rescuers ultimately found the group roughly 11 hours after the avalanche began, according to reports from Inc.
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon described the strength of the slide, saying: “A two would bury a person. A three would bury a house and it’s right in the middle of those two.”
‘Life saving’
Reddit contributors reacting to the story said the feature justified the cost of newer iPhones.
“This is probably the best feature the iPhone has ever added, possibly only behind fall detection in Apple Watches,” a fan declared on Reddit.
Another agreed that, “This is the kind of feature that justifies the premium. Most people will never need it, but for the ones who do, it’s literally life-saving.”
Some critics, however, raised concerns about reports that the feature may not remain free indefinitely.
“The only worry is that it’s still planned to be a paid feature… which I think is completely wrong,” one remarked.
Apple advises users to first attempt calling 911 or local emergency services, even if their regular carrier shows no service.
If the call fails, iPhones will display an option to use Emergency Text via Satellite. Users can tap “Report Emergency” and follow on-screen prompts while keeping the phone held naturally with a clear line of sight to the sky.
Once connected, the iPhone shares critical information with responders, including the user’s location, elevation, Medical ID (if set up), emergency contacts, responses to an emergency questionnaire and the device’s battery level.
Risks Posed
Apple also recommends trying the built-in demo under Settings > Emergency SOS before traveling to remote areas. The demo does not contact emergency services, but walks users through the satellite connection process.
Emergency SOS via satellite is not available in all countries and regions and works only on supported models.
As extreme weather and backcountry travel continue to pose risks, the Lake Tahoe rescue has prompted renewed attention on how smartphones can function as a lifeline when traditional networks fail.
Newsweek has reached out to Apple for comment via email.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.
Whoever said “quitters never win,” never met Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu. Liu’s figure skating comeback has been remarkable: The 20-year-old is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the Milan Cortina Games and a 2025 world figure skating champ.Her free skate on Olympic ice on Thursday clinched the 20-year-old the gold, marking the first time a U.S. woman won an individual figure skating gold since 2002.”My family is out there. My friends are out there. I had to put on a show for them,” Liu told the Associated Press afterward. “When I see other people out there smiling, because I see them in the audience, then I have to smile, too. I have no poker face.”She sat in third place after the short program and is the top American in those standings. The approach she took was one with no pressure on herself.”I’m OK if I do a fail program. I’m totally OK if I do a great program,” she said after the short program, according to the Associated Press. “No matter what the outcome is, it’s still my story.”Looking at her career and why she leftLiu became the youngest U.S. figure skating champ at 13. She’s the first female figure skater to land a quadruple jump in international competition.But at age 16, she announced her retirement from figure skating. Liu said she hated skating by that point and had been planning her exit for a year before she did it. Liu had skated since the age of 5. Skating can be a solitary and controlled sport. She craved teen normalcy, time with friends and freedom. She put her skates in the closet and said she didn’t miss the ice at all. “I left the sport completely,” Liu said. “Like I wouldn’t step in the rink. Honestly, I was low-key traumatized.”Liu spent the next two years making up for lost time. She spent time with her siblings in Oakland, California. She’s the oldest of five kids. She hung out with high school friends, graduated and traveled the world, including hiking in the Himalayas. She enrolled at UCLA and picked up a new sport: skiing. Skiing reminded her of skating because of the sensation of the cold air on her skin. One day, she ventured into a rink with a friend. And, she didn’t hate it. In fact, she enjoyed it. Making a comeback She started skating again for fun and then floated the idea of coming out of retirement to her longtime coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo. “I said, ‘Please don’t.’ I really did. I said, ‘Please don’t. Respect your legacy as an Olympic bronze medalist,’” DiGuglielmo said.DiGuglielmo had coached Liu since she was 5. “We had a Zoom call for two hours,” DiGuglielmo said. “The story is, I had a lot of glasses of wine over those two hours. And she talked me into a comeback.”Liu and DiGuglielmo resumed training for just seven months, and she won the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. DiGuglielmo said no one has taken a two-year break from skating and pulled off such a feat. “It makes me think if I was one of those athletes, I’d be like, ‘Why did I just skate for the last year? I could have taken a vacation for two years. But that’s Alysa. She’s different,” DiGuglielmo said. Liu pointed out that she left her sport while still in puberty. At 20, she’s physically and mentally stronger. And, she’s competing on her own terms, taking an active role in choreography, competition and training. “I have a perspective not many of the athletes in the sport have,” Liu said. “So many people, their goal is the Olympics, and when they get there, and it’s over, they don’t know what to do. I’m really just doing this for fun.”PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
Whoever said “quitters never win,” never met Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu.
Alysa Liu of Team United States competes in the Women’s Single Skating – Short Program on Feb. 6, 2026.
Her free skate on Olympic ice on Thursday clinched the 20-year-old the gold, marking the first time a U.S. woman won an individual figure skating gold since 2002.
“My family is out there. My friends are out there. I had to put on a show for them,” Liu told the Associated Press afterward. “When I see other people out there smiling, because I see them in the audience, then I have to smile, too. I have no poker face.”
She sat in third place after the short program and is the top American in those standings. The approach she took was one with no pressure on herself.
“I’m OK if I do a fail program. I’m totally OK if I do a great program,” she said after the short program, according to the Associated Press. “No matter what the outcome is, it’s still my story.”
Looking at her career and why she left
Liu became the youngest U.S. figure skating champ at 13. She’s the first female figure skater to land a quadruple jump in international competition.
But at age 16, she announced her retirement from figure skating. Liu said she hated skating by that point and had been planning her exit for a year before she did it.
Liu had skated since the age of 5. Skating can be a solitary and controlled sport. She craved teen normalcy, time with friends and freedom. She put her skates in the closet and said she didn’t miss the ice at all.
“I left the sport completely,” Liu said. “Like I wouldn’t step in the rink. Honestly, I was low-key traumatized.”
Liu spent the next two years making up for lost time. She spent time with her siblings in Oakland, California. She’s the oldest of five kids. She hung out with high school friends, graduated and traveled the world, including hiking in the Himalayas. She enrolled at UCLA and picked up a new sport: skiing.
Skiing reminded her of skating because of the sensation of the cold air on her skin. One day, she ventured into a rink with a friend. And, she didn’t hate it. In fact, she enjoyed it.
Making a comeback
She started skating again for fun and then floated the idea of coming out of retirement to her longtime coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo.
“I said, ‘Please don’t.’ I really did. I said, ‘Please don’t. Respect your legacy as an Olympic bronze medalist,’” DiGuglielmo said.
DiGuglielmo had coached Liu since she was 5.
“We had a Zoom call for two hours,” DiGuglielmo said. “The story is, I had a lot of glasses of wine over those two hours. And she talked me into a comeback.”
WANG Zhao / AFP via Getty Images
Alysa Liu reacts after competing in the figure skating women’s single free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 19, 2026.
Liu and DiGuglielmo resumed training for just seven months, and she won the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. DiGuglielmo said no one has taken a two-year break from skating and pulled off such a feat.
“It makes me think if I was one of those athletes, I’d be like, ‘Why did I just skate for the last year? I could have taken a vacation for two years. But that’s Alysa. She’s different,” DiGuglielmo said.
Andy Cheung/Getty Images
Gold medalist Alyssa Liu of Team United States celebrates after the medal ceremony for the Team Event on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 8, 2026, in Milan, Italy.
Liu pointed out that she left her sport while still in puberty. At 20, she’s physically and mentally stronger. And, she’s competing on her own terms, taking an active role in choreography, competition and training.
“I have a perspective not many of the athletes in the sport have,” Liu said. “So many people, their goal is the Olympics, and when they get there, and it’s over, they don’t know what to do. I’m really just doing this for fun.”
Authorities said eight of the nine skiers reported missing after an avalanche near California’s Lake Tahoe have been found dead, with the ninth skier still missing but also presumed deceased.
The avalanche was reported near Castle Peak in Nevada County, north of Boreal Mountain Ski Resort, around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday as a heavy snowstorm moved through Northern California, bringing blizzard conditions to higher elevations.
A total of 15 backcountry skiers were involved in the avalanche, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office reported, with six of those people surviving and being rescued from the site.
Map of the area where the Feb. 17 avalanche took place.
Nine people were still missing as of Wednesday morning, officials said. Search efforts intensified on Wednesday as crews looked to take advantage of a break in the weather.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office announced at a press conference later Wednesday morning that eight of the nine missing skiers had been found dead. Search efforts were still ongoing for the last missing skier, but sheriff’s officials said they are presuming that the missing person has also died due to the condition of the scene.
Blackbird Mountain Guides, which led the skiers into the backcountry, stated that the group was returning from a three-day trip at Frog Lake. The group included four ski guides and 11 clients, the company said.
Of the six people rescued, the sheriff’s office said two have been hospitalized for treatment. The sheriff’s office stated that the survivors were one man and five women, ranging in age from 30 to 55 years old, with one of the six people being a Blackbird Mountain Guide. One of the injured survivors was stabilized, authorities said, while the other was still receiving treatment.
Sheriff’s officials noted that none of the bodies of the eight people found dead have been removed at this time. Search crews have placed avalanche poles so that the bodies can be found again when conditions permit, officials said.
An Avalanche Warning, with the danger rated as “high,” was in effect at the time of Tuesday’s incident, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. Even into Wednesday, search crews were dealing with elevated avalanche risks and treacherous conditions.
Officials underlined the danger of the backcountry where Tuesday’s avalanche took place, referencing the January avalanche that also killed a snowmobiler near Castle Peak.
American skier Breezy Johnson told CBS News she’s been treating her replacement gold medal with care after the original, which she won in the women’s downhill event at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy on Saturday, broke.
“I think that because they were so heavy, the ribbons couldn’t really hold them,” Johnson said, calling it “a little disappointing” that Olympic medal winners had to be careful about celebrating too enthusiastically, as it’s “all anybody wants to do.”
Johnson said she was initially told she wouldn’t get her original medal back, but it has been fixed, and she plans to keep it and trade in the replacement. She also plans to knit a special pouch to keep it safe.
“I am an avid knitter,” Johnson told CBS News correspondent Seth Doane on Wednesday. “I knit a new hat or headband for every race. It’s a big superstition of mine.”
She only wears her special handknit race accessories once, for their respective race, after which they are retired.
“They’re piling up in my bags, but I’ve been wanting for a long time to, like, auction some of them off and, like, have people buy them and donate the proceeds to charity,” she said. “I don’t have anything else to do with them.”
Team USA’s Breezy Johnson shows her gold medal in the alpine ski women’s downhill race on Feb. 8, 2026.
Andy Wong / AP
Johnson dedicated the gold medal to her father.
“He found out that he can never ski again,” she told CBS News. “You know, he taught me to ski. I thought that the best thing that I could do was try to ski as fast as I could.”
Asked about her views on representing the United States, given political debate around the Games, Johnson declined to go down that slope.
“There’s been a lot of rhetoric. I personally prefer to focus on my skiing. I personally don’t know anybody who has changed their political affiliation because of something that any celebrity or person said. So, I personally prefer to focus on my skiing and donate the money that I make to charities that I feel are actually doing the work that I support.”
Despite winning the first gold medal for Team USA in Italy, the Milano-Cortina Winter Games haven’t been a total success story for Johnson.
She failed to make the podium after skiing with teammate Mikaela Shiffrin in the team slalom event Tuesday. After the race, Johnson could be seen speaking with Shiffrin, delivering what looked like a pep talk.
“I said, ‘I know you tried your best and it’s gonna be OK,’” Johnson told CBS News of the private chat. “I don’t, like, hold any of that against anyone because I know this sport. There’s so many variables, and there were variables yesterday, too. They weren’t necessarily in our favor, and we went out and we both gave it our all, and it didn’t happen, but that’s OK.”
Johnson said she’s generally pretty good at coping with the pressure of competing at the highest level of her sport — and she understands that such competition, and such extreme speeds, come with extreme danger.
After Team USA’s Lindsey Vonn was injured in a fall in the downhill race Saturday, which Johnson went on to win, she said her 41-year-old world champion teammate texted her.
“She said, ‘congratulations,’” Johnson said. “You know, I know what she’s going through is hard, and I think she’s dealing with a lot. So, we haven’t spoken, like, on the phone or anything, but I wish her the best.”
Johnson said she also understands what drove Vonn to compete in these Games just a week after rupturing her ACL.
“Part of what breaks your heart is that you’re used to defying the odds. You’re used to writing fairytale endings. And the reality is that those things get made into movies because they’re so unlikely. And unfortunately, you can’t always — it’s not always like the movies,” she said.
“It’s difficult to understand what moves people to do it, but when you’re doing it well, it’s a pretty incredible feeling,” Johnson said, describing the sport of downhill as “counterintuitive” and saying that spectators can share in the rush.
“Eighty-five miles an hour, nothing to protect you except spandex, combining in gigantic blades on your feet, which people sometimes seem to forget,” she said. “It’s like Formula One on ice, with giant knives, who doesn’t want to watch that?”
Was this an attempt to convince herself, a way of relieving the incredible pressure? In 2019, Shiffrin won the over-all title, and became the first skier in history to finish at the top of the standings in the slalom, giant slalom, and Super G. In twenty-nine races, she made the podium twenty-four times, and she had a record seventeen World Cup victories. She was poised to surpass Vonn as the greatest skier in history. Then her father died in an accident. The world shut down for COVID. In interviews, she talked about her self-doubts, her desire to speak out on social issues, her willingness to leave behind the perfect image she’d curated on Instagram. The pressure to ski perfectly, perhaps, was harder to shake, as was her grief. She went into the Beijing Olympics as one of the most hyped American athletes in competition, planning on entering six events. But she crashed in three of six races, and didn’t medal once—by her standards, a catastrophe. Afterward, she talked about the overwhelming expectations and described a “mind-body disconnect.”
She talked to reporters about measuring success independent of podium results, about mental health and persistent doubts, and about the unending process of grieving for her dad. She made herself a poster child for saying it’s O.K. to fail—sort of. The following January, she passed Vonn with her eighty-third World Cup title, and in March she won her eighty-seventh, breaking Stenmark’s record.
After retiring, Vonn walked with a limp. Her knees were a mess—particularly her right knee, which was more or less a tangle of scar tissue and cartilage. In 2024, she got a partial knee replacement, titanium implants that resurfaced the outer part, while leaving her core ligaments intact. It worked. Once she recovered, she was pain-free. And so, she decided to come back to skiing.
She returned that November. It was hard to guess what would happen: no one had tried to do what she was doing before. She was forty years old. She had been retired for five years. She had a partially replaced knee. Just being on skis in World Cup races made the comeback, in some respects, an unfathomable success. But Vonn has never been one for participation trophies. She persuaded an old friend, the Norwegian skier Aksel Lund Svindal—a two-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion—to be her coach. In the off-season, she packed on muscle. Free of pain, she was finally liberated to train at length, and to toy with her equipment and refine her technique. She talked about being in as good a shape as she had ever been, of skiing fast and calmly instead of desperately. And it wasn’t just talk. In December, she won the first World Cup downhill race of the season—and then won another. She made it onto five consecutive podiums. With the Olympics approaching, she was one of the favorites.
Shiffrin, meanwhile, was pursuing her own comeback. She crashed in Killington at the end of November, 2024, in a giant-slalom race, and something, probably the tip of a gate, pierced her abdomen, nearly puncturing her colon and ripping through her core. She had to relearn how to use her stomach muscles as they reknit together—an experience she described to the Athletic as “grueling.” But she saw an upside: as she rebuilt her obliques, she learned how to engage her muscles and move her torso correctly, without compensating for weaknesses. Skiing is not the only thing that should be done with proper technique.
Saturday marked the first full day of the Olympic Winter Games in Italy. Switzerland took the first gold medal in men’s downhill skiing. In all, five medal events were held, but no gold yet for Team USA. Seth Doane has the latest details from Cortina, Italy.
The Macuga sisters did not make it to the 2026 Winter Olympics, and that’s OK with them, well, sort of.
After dominating the world stage in their respective disciplines — Alli, 22, competes in mogul; Lauren, 23, in ski alpine; and Sam, 24, who competes in ski jumps — they became hopefuls for the Milano Cortina Games. But the dream of all three sisters competing in 2026 was swiftly crushed when Alli and Sam were not selected for Team USA.
There was still a chance for Lauren, who took first place in the Super-G at St. Anton am Arlberg in January 2025, making her the first American woman to win the event at the venue and the youngest since Lindsey Vonn to win an Alpine World Cup event. Weeks later, Lauren, who competed in the 2020 Youth Winter Olympics, won bronze in the Super-G at the Alpine World Ski Championships.
But in late November, she fell during a training run and tore her right ACL, ending her season and hopes of competing in Italy.
“It was not even a good crash,” Lauren said.
She immediately stood up after the fall and didn’t feel much pain until she went to take a step.
“It’s heartbreaking,” she said, “I had to call my mom riding down the gondola and that was one of the hardest things.”
Lauren told her not to fly out for the event, but her mom packed up the car and showed up anyway.
“I was really bummed for her, just knowing all the effort she put in and where she stood,” said their father, Dan Macuga. “But we’ve got to just move on. She is an amazing skier. She’s going to be back stronger than ever,” he said.
Dan also said the key to Lauren’s success is that “she is always smiling,” which is something he played a part in.
“It was more about them enjoying what they were doing, than us trying to get them to be these elite athletes,” he said about his daughters.
Holding onto that joy has been the most important part of Lauren’s recovery. Her sisters kept things light, joking about Lauren’s struggles to get down the stairs on her crutches. Now, she’s making small gains back in the gym, already preparing for 2030.
“You have to keep looking for the silver linings,” she said.
And when asked if we’d see her and her sisters competing four years from now, she gave a very Macuga-coded answer: “Definitely.”
The 41-year-old Alpine ski great injured her knee when she crashed in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, but has vowed to race Sunday’s downhill regardless.
On Friday, Vonn confirmed the severity of her injury.
In a social media response to a doctor’s post questioning her ability to compete, Vonn said: “lol thanks doc. My ACL was fully functioning until last Friday. Just because it seems impossible to you doesn’t mean it’s not possible. And yes, my ACL is 100% ruptured. Not 80% or 50%. It’s 100% gone.”
Saturday’s run was the second official downhill training to take place ahead of Vonn’s first competitive Olympic event, the women’s downhill, which is scheduled for Sunday.
There were supposed to be three training events, but the first, which had been scheduled for Thursday, was canceled due to the weather. Vonn successfully participated in a training event on Friday, which was also subject to weather delays.
41-year-old Vonn completed Saturday’s run without any apparent issues.
Lindsey Vonn reacts during an official training for the women’s downhill event during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 7, 2026.
Tiziana FABI /AFP via Getty Images
Fellow Olympic U.S. alpine skiers told CBS News on Thursday that they believed their teammate would be able to persevere despite her injury.
“If anyone can come back from this, if anyone could do it, it’s Lindsey,” Team USA skier Isabella Wright said during a U.S. athlete training ahead of the opening of the Games.
“If it’s your last Games, and you know, already probably have a lot of knee damage, then there’s not that much to lose,” Vonn’s teammate Breezy Johnson told CBS News.
Lindsey Vonn wrapped up her second successful training run in a row Saturday and appears ready to go for gold in the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics downhill at the age of 41, little more than a week after rupturing the ACL of her left knee.
The American crossed in third position, 0.37 seconds behind leader and teammate Breezy Johnson, and pumped her fist after seeing the result. Watch her second training run below.
“All good,” Vonn told The Associated Press.
Vonn is preparing to race the downhill on Sunday with a large brace on her injured knee.
She had a partial titanium replacement inserted in her right knee in 2024, and then returned to ski racing last season after nearly six years of retirement. She crashed during the final World Cup downhill before the Olympics, raising the possibility that she would end not just her season but her career.
Watch Vonn’s first training run from Friday
When can you watch Lindsey Vonn compete at the Olympics?
February 8 — Women’s Downhill Final: The women’s downhill final begins at 5:30 a.m. Sunday.
Vonn’s participation in the final is contingent on her being able to start at least one of the training sessions.
February 12 — Women’s Super-G: The women’s Super-G final starts at 5:30 a.m. Thursday.
Alpine Skiing at Milan Cortina 2026 will air on NBC New York and USA Network. Streaming will be available on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com and on the NBC Olympics app.
How to watch Lindsey Vonn at the 2026 Olympics
Vonn, who won gold in the downhill and bronze in the Super-G in 2010, plus another bronze in downhill in 2018, is competing in two events, if her injury allows her to.
Here are the times you can expect to see Vonn at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games (all times ET).
Where will Alpine Skiing events be held at the Milan Cortina Olympics?
The former is located in Cortina and will host the women’s events. It is a regular stop on the FIS Ski World Cup tour. All races will be held on the Olympia delle Tofane slope.
The men’s events will be held on the Stelvio slope in Bormio — one of the most difficult slopes in the world for Alpine skiers and some gradients reaching 63% (twice the steepness of an average run for a recreational skier).
Vonn previously shared that she has mixed feelings about the new formula and how the men and women are in different spots for the Milan Cortina Olympic Games.
“I mean, I’m in Cortina, so there’s really nothing to complain about. I’m very happy being here. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. But it is sad to not be closer to more of your teammates, not just in ski racing, but in any sport,” said Vonn, who plans to race depite a torn ACL in her left knee.
“Salt Lake City was my favorite Olympics because we were all so close to each other. Almost everyone was in the Olympic Village in Salt Lake and this is quite different,” said Vonn, referring to the 2002 Games. “A lot of the girls (teammates) were talking about wanting to watch hockey, but it’s difficult. … Obviously you can’t choose that geography and where the mountains are, but I think it would have been more fun if we were all closer.”
Cortina, Italy — Fellow Olympic U.S. alpine ski racers told CBS News Thursday that they believe their teammate Lindsey Vonn is still capable of competing in the Winter Olympics despite rupturing her left ACL during a downhill run last week.
“If anyone can come back from this, if anyone could do it, it’s Lindsey,” Isabella Wright told CBS News while a group of U.S. athletes trained Thursday at a gym in Cortina, Italy, after their practice run was canceled due to weather.
The 41-year-old Vonn — a celebrated skier who mounted a career comeback after retiring in 2019 due to multiple injuries — crashed on Jan. 30 during a World Cup race in the Swiss Alps.
During a news conference Tuesday, she said she still plans to compete in the Olympics. Her first event, the women’s downhill, is scheduled for Sunday.
“I haven’t cried,” Vonn told reporters. “I haven’t deviated from my plan. Normally, in the past, there’s always a moment where you break down and you realize the severity of things and that your dreams are slipping through your fingers. But I didn’t have that this time. I’m not letting this slip through my fingers. I’m gonna do it. End of story.”
Lindsey Vonn greets her teammate Isabella Wright at a press conference in Cortina, Italy, ahead of the Winter Olympic Games. Feb. 3, 2026.
Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images
Vonn also posted a video to Instagram Thursday that showed her undergoing a workout with a brace around her left knee.
Four years ago, teammate Breezy Johnson was in a similar predicament as Vonn when she ruptured her ACL a few weeks before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and was forced to sit it out.
“So, in 2022, I ruptured my ACL in early January, and because the Olympics were coming up, I decided to try to keep skiing through it,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely risky. But I mean, if it’s your last games, and you know, already probably have a lot of knee damage, then there’s not that much to lose.”
Teammate Jacqueline Wiles, who has skied with Vonn before, described her as “definitely one of the toughest.”
“I think any time you’re injured, trying to fight through that injury while you’re still competing, while the season’s going on, it definitely can get in your head,” Wiles said. “But she’s been through it more than anyone.”
Vonn may be one of the oldest taking part in the Winter Olympics, but she’s surrounded by athletes who share the same goal.
“I think it’s really fun to have the mix of personalities, the mix of experience, and really just feed off of each other,” Wright said.
Around 2,900 top athletes from around the world will converge on Italy to take part in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, hoping to bring home medals across 116 events.
Olympians from Team USA have won a total of 330 Winter Olympic medals through Beijing 2022 — second only to winter sports powerhouse Norway. This year, Team USA is expected to bring around 230 athletes to the Winter Olympics, which run from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22.
These are some of the American athletes to watch.
Alex Ferreira
This will be freestyle skier Alex Ferreira’s third trip to the Olympics. Ferreira took home silver at PyeongChang in 2018 and a bronze medal in Beijing in 2022.
“It’s awesome representing Team USA, because I look at us and I think we’re the best team in the world, and then it’s special,” Ferreira recently told CBS News. “It’s a big deal to Team USA, to bring home a medal for America and for your town, for your state, for your country. It’s huge.”
Alex Ferreira in the Men’s Ski Halfpipe Final at the Toyota US Grand Prix at Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort on Jan. 9, 2026 in Aspen, Colorado.
Dustin Satloff/U.S. Ski and Snowboard/Getty Images
If he couldn’t compete in his Olympic sport, Ferreira said he’d compete in either track and field or trampoline.
The 31-year-old athlete, who started skiing at age 3 and began competing at 10, specializes in the halfpipe. His first competition was an aerials event, which his mother enrolled him in without informing him, according to Team USA. He’s also medaled at the Winter X Games. During the 2023-2024 season, Ferreira swept five world cups, X Games Aspen and the Dew Tour. Ferreira also skis under his alter ego, an older man who goes by the name Hotdog Hans.
Alex Hall
Milano Cortina will be 27-year-old freestyle skier Alex Hall’s third trip to the Olympics. He made his debut at the PyeongChang Games in 2018. Hall said he has more confidence now and a different outlook than he did then.
“Going to enjoy some of the smaller things at the Olympics, not necessarily the grandiose things,” Hall told CBS News.
He won gold in slopestyle in Beijing in 2022, and earned gold in four different disciplines at the X Games: big air, slopestyle, knuckle huck and real ski.
Alex Hall of Team USA celebrates winning 2nd place of the Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Finals at the world championships on March 21, 2025 in Corvatsch, Switzerland.
David Ramos / Getty Images
Hall, who was born in Alaska to an Italian mom, spent more than half of his life in Europe. He grew up just a few hours away from where he’ll be competing.
The skier said he’s looking forward to meeting with athletes from around the world and hearing their stories, something which should be easy for him since he speaks several languages, including English, French, Italian and German.
Alysa Liu
Figure skater Alysa Liu, now 20 years old and back from a surprise retirement from the ice at 16, will be headed to the Olympics for her second time this year. She was the youngest U.S. figure skating national champion in history, winning the title at age 13. She won another national title at 14 before taking a break from skating after the 2022 Olympics.
Alysa Liu of Team USA trains ahead of the Winter Olympics at the Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 2, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
After her comeback to skating, Liu won the women’s singles world title at the 2025 World Championships. Olympic men’s skating gold medalist Brian Boitano called it “the biggest comeback in sports history.”
Liu recently told “60 Minutes” that as she prepares for the Olympics, she views herself as more of an artist than an athlete.
“I view competitions more as, like, a stage for performing,” she said.
Amber Glenn
Figure skater Amber Glenn, 26, is headed to her first Olympics, just weeks after winning her third straight U.S. title. She’s the first woman to do so since Michelle Kwan.
Glenn told CBS News that being an Olympian is “an incredible opportunity” because she’d “get to be on the biggest stage an athlete can be on, and I’d be able to voice my beliefs and my opinions and my message.”
Amber Glenn skates in an exhibition after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 11, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.
Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
The skater has spent years advocating for mental health awareness and the LGBTQ+ community; Glenn came out as bisexual and pansexual in 2019.
“When I came out initially, I was terrified. I was scared it would affect my scores or something, but I didn’t care,” she said in a Team USA post from 2024. “It was worth it to see the amount of young people who felt more comfortable in their environments at the rink, who feel, ‘Oh, I’m represented by her, and she’s one of the top skaters.’”
Brittany Bowe
This will be Florida speedskater Brittany Bowe’s fourth trip to the Olympics. The 37-year-old two-time Olympic bronze medalist specializes in long track. She said her earlier experiences in the Olympics have taught her to focus on the process.
“In years past, it’s been really easy to be outcome-oriented, and I have found that that doesn’t work. That can be become really debilitating in your preparation,” Bowe told CBS News. “The cards will fall as they will, and for me to just stay focused in the moment, in the process and be ready to go when that gun goes off.”
Brittany Bowe of Team USA trains ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 2, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Sarah Stier / Getty Images
Bowe carried the American flag during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
“Being an Olympian is so important to me because it has given me the platform to inspire people, to encourage people, and it’s also given me an opportunity to live out my childhood dream,” Bowe said. “It’s given me an opportunity to bring a whole squad of people along, and being able to take my family all around the world, for them to be a part of it has been really, really meaningful.”
Caroline Harvey
As a 3-year-old newbie to ice hockey, Caroline Harvey told her aunt she’d make the 2022 U.S. Olympic team, according to Team USA. Her childhood prediction came true when she became the youngest member of the team and helped the U.S. earn a silver medal in Beijing.
“Anytime you get to wear that crest and represent your country, it’s the biggest honor, and being able to do it at an Olympic setting is just something that is unforgettable,” Harvey told CBS News.
Caroline Harvey #4 of Team USA in action against Team Canada on Dec. 13, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Leila Devlin / Getty Images
The 23-year-old athlete was named the best defender at the 2024 and 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championships. She’s also a two-time NCAA champion for the Wisconsin Badgers.
She’s hoping to take home gold in Milano Cortina, but said success is ultimately “knowing we did everything we could to be successful in playing our team game.”
Corinne Stoddard
Milano Cortina will be 24-year-old skater Corinne Stoddard’s second trip to the Olympics.
She went to Beijing in 2022, where she broke her nose during her very first race, according to Team USA. Stoddard competed in the rest of her races while unable to breathe out of one nostril.
Stoddard started roller skating in kindergarten, then switched to inline skating a year later. When she was 11, she began speed skating. While Stoddard does not yet have any Olympic medals, she’s a three-time world medalist in short track speedskating.
Corinne Stoddard of Team USA competing in the Women’s 1000m Semifinals at the ISU Short Track World Tour on Nov. 29, 2025 in Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images
The skater said she’s dreamed of the Olympics since she was a child, which required a lot of hard work along the way.
“I would always have training every day after school, so there wasn’t much time for like, play dates or sleepovers growing up,” she told CBS News. “There wasn’t much time as, like, a teenager, to go out with friends on the weekends. And then for my last two years of high school, I did online when I moved out to Salt Lake to start training with the national team, so I didn’t get to do any of, like the typical like, prom and stuff like that. But to me, that’s all worth it.”
Deedra Irwin
Deedra Irwin grew up wanting to be an Olympian, but she was thinking about the Summer Olympics, not the Winter Olympics.
“I wanted to be an Olympic track star. I had no idea the Winter Olympics were a thing,” Irwin told CBS News.
The 33-year-old athlete picked up skiing in high school as a way to stay in shape between the fall cross-country season and the spring track and field season, according to Team USA. It wasn’t until she was 25 that she started participating in biathlon.
Deedra Irwin of Team USA in action during the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon on Jan. 25, 2026 in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic.
Kevin Voigt / GettyImages / Getty Images
She went to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she finished 7th, the best finish ever for an American in an individual biathlon event at the Olympics.
“We’ve trained so much throughout our lives to just get to this stage,” Irwin said. “And so I think for me, it means a lot of, like, community and family and friends. I don’t remember the last time I was home for Christmas in the past, like, eight years.”
Erin Jackson
Gold medalist speedskater Erin Jackson, 33, will be making her third Olympic appearance — and this year, along with bobsledder Frank Del Duca, she’ll lead Team USA as a flagbearer during the opening ceremony.
In 2022, Jackson became the first Black woman to win gold in an individual event at the Winter Olympics — after nearly failing to make the team that year.
Jackson slipped at the U.S. trials. Teammate Bowe, who qualified for the 500, 1,000 and 1,5000-meter races at trials, gave up her spot in the 500-meter race to ensure Jackson would get to skate in Beijing.
Erin Jackson of Team USA during training at Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Feb. 2, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Sarah Stier / Getty Images
“Each of my Olympic appearances have been super different, just like coming in at all different stages of my career, and this one coming in as the reigning champion, there’s going to be a lot of pressure, but that’s what I’m looking forward to,” Jackson told CBS News.
Jackson first started ice skating shortly before her first trip to the Olympics. She first stepped onto an ice rink in 2016. Jackson spent years inline skating before that.
“I’m just super grateful to be able to skate in circles for a living, and I just want to keep doing it as long as I can,” she said.
Hilary Knight
Ice hockey player Hilary Knight, 36, has been to the Olympics four times and has medaled each time, taking home a gold and three silver medals. Milano Cortino will be her fifth Olympics.
“And never would I have imagined being able to compete in five Olympic Games,” she told CBS News. “I mean, that’s just, that’s crazy in the best way.”
Hilary Knight #21 of Team USA in action against Team Canada on Dec. 13, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Leila Devlin / Getty Images
Ice hockey play has become a lot faster over the years, Knight said.
“It’s a lot more technical, tactical. There’s more of a dynamic, skillful level to it as well, and the visibility is ever growing, which is really exciting,” she said.
Knight played a key role in creating the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Ilia Malinin
Figure skater Ilia Malinin is headed to his first Olympics. The 21-year-old, known as the “Quad God,” is the first athlete to successfully land each of the six types of quadruple jumps in one program.
According to Team USA, Malinin eats a chocolate bar before each competition.
Ilia Malinin of Team USA trains at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 2, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Joosep Martinson / Getty Images
Malinan, whose parents were Olympic figure skaters for Uzbekistan and whose grandfather was a figure skater for the USSR, started skating at 6.
He won gold at both the 2024 and 2025 ISU Figure Skating World Championships.
Read Malinan’s interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” here.
Jaelin Kauf
This will be freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf’s third trip to the Olympics. The 29-year-old silver medalist specializes in moguls and dual moguls, the latter of which will make its debut at the Olympics this year — something Kauf said she’s been waiting a long time for.
“It’s just such an exciting sport,” she told CBS News. “I’ve probably excelled in that historically more than singles, and so it’ll just be really cool to be a part of that on the Olympic stage, being a part of that debut.”
Jaelin Kauf of Team USA at Intermountain Health Freestyle Cup on Jan. 16, 2026 in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.
Dustin Satloff/U.S. Ski and Snowboard/Getty Images
Both of Kauf’s parents were professional mogul skiers.
“My mom has always been my biggest hero and role model, just watching how she’s just gone at life and done what she’s done, pushing the boundaries,” Kauf said.
Jordan Stolz
Speed skater Jordan Stolz, 21, started skating on the pond behind his family’s home after watching Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, according to Team USA.
He made his Olympic debut in 2022. Stolz specializes in the 500-meter, 1,000meter and 1,500-meter. He became the world champion in all three categories at the ISU Single Distance World Championships in 2023 and again in 2024.
Jordan Stolz of Team USA trains during at Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Feb. 2, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Sarah Stier / Getty Images
Stolz also skates professionally for the Dutch team, Albert Heijn Zaanlander. Speedskating is a widely-followed sport in the Netherlands, and Stolz said he hopes to bring more awareness to speed skating in the U.S.
“It’s obviously not going to be as much as it is in Holland. I wish it was but maybe someday it will be, but at least I can do a little bit,” Stolz told CBS News.
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Milano Cortina will be ice hockey player Kendall Coyne Schofield’s fourth trip to the Olympics. She previously took home a gold and two silvers.
“I’m just so excited to feel revived through these games with family, friends, fans, excitement, just energy, all the things that we weren’t able to experience in Beijing because [of] the pandemic,” Coyne Schofield told CBS News.
Kendall Coyne Schofield #26 of Team USA in action against Team Canada on Dec. 13, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Leila Devlin / Getty Images
This will also be the 33-year-old athlete’s first Olympics as a mom, something that she said has made her a better hockey player.
“It’s put my life into perspective,” she said. “It’s provided me with [an] abundance of patience that I didn’t have previously.”
Her son chants “USA, USA,” whether the team wins or loses, she said.
Off the ice, Coyne Schofield voiced a hockey announcer in the Pixar movie “Inside Out 2.”
Korey Dropkin
This will be 30-year-old curler Korey Dropkin’s first trip to the Olympics, though he’s been curling for most of his life.
“It’s a family sport. Honestly, it’s like religion to me,” Dropkin told CBS News. “I grew up at the curling club. My parents were super involved with a junior program at our curling club. My brother was five years older. He was already curling. I followed in his footsteps. I was like his shadow.”
Korey Dropkin delivers a stone during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Nov. 21, 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Stacy Revere / Getty Images
After graduating from high school, Dropkin moved to Duluth, Minnesota, which has become the U.S. curling capital.
“I’ve dedicated my whole life to getting to the Olympics and hopefully medaling at the Olympics,” he said. “I moved myself and relocated and really dedicated a lot of blood, sweat and tears. So being an Olympian, finally, I’ve been close, and now finally realizing the Olympics is just a big dream come true.”
Kristen Santos-Griswold
Speedskater Kristen Santos-Griswold, 31, almost chose not to go to this year’s Olympics after heartbreak in 2022. She was in bronze medal position with just two laps to go in the 1,000-meter when a bump by an opponent caused her to fall. The bump was later ruled a penalty, but the disheartening finish had Santos-Griswold considering retirement.
“When I decided that I was going to keep going, I was like, ‘All right, I’m doing it for me. I’m going to make it all worth it. I’m going to enjoy the journey,” Santos-Griswold told CBS News. “I think that’s just helped to, like, catapult me into going into Olympic year with number one on my helmet.”
Kristen Santos-Griswold of Team USA at the ISU Short Track World Tour on Nov. 21, 2025 in Gdansk, Poland.
Christian Kaspar-Bartke – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images
Santos-Griswold has been training for most of her life. She started figure skating at 3. When she was 9, Santos-Griswold saw speedskating in a commercial on TV, decided she wanted to try it, and fell in love.
“Being an Olympian means everything,” she said. “It’s something that I’ve been working towards my entire life. I started skating when I was 3 years old, and I’m 30 now, so solid 27 years of dreaming about this.”
Santos-Griswold is currently working on a doctorate, with plans to be a physical therapist once her skating career is over, according to Team USA.
Lindsey Vonn
Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, who made a comeback several years after retiring, will be heading to her fifth Olympics — despite an injury on the slopes in late January that left her with a ruptured ACL.
The 41-year-old skier competed at the Olympics in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2018, taking home gold and two silver medals.
She’s the only American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill, according to Team USA, and she also has the most victories by any skier — male or female — in a single discipline.
Lindsey Vonn of Team USA competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Downhill on Jan. 30, 2026 in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
Michel Cottin / Agence Zoom / Getty Images
Vonn started skiing at 3. She learned with her father and grandfather, both of whom were competitive skiers, and made her Olympic debut at 17. She retired in 2019 amid severe knee damage. Vonn has since had knee surgery and told CBS News she’s now the strongest she’s been in her career.
“The only thing I think that’s maybe more challenging at 41 is just the grind of being away,” she said. “I kind of got used to being at home with my dogs and my family, and I got away from, you know, the routine of being on the road, which doesn’t necessarily change because of age, just, I think, more from being away from the sport for six years.”
In 2022, John Clarey, then 41, made history as the oldest alpine skier to medal at an Olympic Winter Games. Vonn said her age won’t stop her from competing at the coming Olympics.
“If I have the opportunity to compete, I’m going to,” Vonn said. “Just because I’m 41 doesn’t mean I can’t do that if I physically feel good, which I do, I feel better now than I did in my 20s. So you know, I don’t see there to be any reason why I can’t do it at 41.”
A week before the start of the Games, Vonn crashed in one of her final downhill tune-ups. While she was airlifted off the mountain to receive medical treatment after injuring her left knee, she assured her fans on social media that her Olympic dream was “not over.”
“This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics… but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback,” she wrote.
Vonn is set to compete in the women’s downhill on Sunday, Feb. 8, and said she would wear a brace for the race.
“I’m not letting this slip through my fingers. I’m gonna do it. End of story,” she said.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates are headed back to the Olympics. Chock, 33, competed in 2014, 2018 and 2022, while Bates, 36, began his Olympic run in 2010.
Their partnership began in 2011, and they won Olympic gold during the team event at their third Olympic Games.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of Team USA in a training session at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 2, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
“There’s so much pride behind it,” Chock told CBS News. “I think growing up and seeing other athletes represent Team USA meant a lot and shaped a lot of how I view sport and athleticism, and there’s so much pride that comes with representing your country in the Olympic Games on the biggest stage for sports in the world. And it’s just been the greatest honor of my life to be a member of Team USA.”
Chock and Bates have also won three consecutive ISU World Figure Skating Championships, starting in 2023.
They’re partners off the ice, too. The couple got married in 2024.
Maxim Naumov
Figure skater Maxim Naumov will make his first appearance at the Olympics after a year marked by tragedy and an emotional comeback.
His trip to the Olympics comes a year after his parents, former world champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, died when their plane collided with a military helicopter on approach to Washington, D.C. His parents, who were popular coaches at the Skating Club of Boston, were among 67 people killed in the crash.
Maxim Naumov performs during a Making the Team event of the 2026 United States Figure Skating Championships at on Jan. 11, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.
Jamie Squire / Getty Images
Naumov held a photo of his parents as he waited for his scores after competing during the men’s short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January.
“Having role models be right there in the house, at the rink, just everywhere, they inspired me to want this dream and it would mean absolutely everything for me to be at the Olympics,” Naumov said in a social media post. “I’m working as hard as I possibly can and I’m doing everything in my power to do so. Doing it for them would be even more beautiful.”
Mikaela Shiffrin
Skier Mikaela Shiffrin, 30, will be headed to the Olympics for the fourth time. She first skied in the Olympics in 2013 and has earned two gold medals and a silver.
Shiffrin specializes in slalom, giant slalom, super-G and downhill. She’s the first alpine skier to record 100 FIS World Cup wins and the first athlete in FIS Ski World Cup history to win in all six disciplines.
Mikaela Shiffrin of Team USA in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Slalom on Jan. 25, 2026 in the Czech Republic.
Millo Moravski / Agence Zoom / Getty Images
In 2024, Shiffrin crashed after losing control while on the course for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. Then last year, she said she was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder from another crash, during which she suffered a puncture wound and severe trauma to her oblique muscles.
Mystique Ro
Skeleton racer Mystique Ro, 31, will be headed to the Olympics for the first time, but she’s no stranger to competition.
Ro competed in track & field. Then, in 2016, she was invited to a rookie camp by USA Bobsled/Skeleton. Coaches there told her she was a little small for bobsled and pushed her to try skeleton.
During skeleton, racers on sleds — head first and face down — can reach speeds of around 80 miles per hour, using body shifts to guide the sled through the course.
Mystique Ro competes during the Bob & Skeleton IBSF World Cup at Eugenio Monti Sliding Center on Nov. 21, 2025 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
“Once you get away from the fear, it starts to become a game,” Ro told CBS News. “So if you get past the fear, that’s the first step, and then you can kind of enjoy the sport for what it is.”
While plenty of kids ride sleds down hills, Row said this isn’t the same.
“The speed is significantly faster, and there’s a lot more peril involved if you’re not prepared for it,” she said.
She made her FIL World Cup debut in 2023 and, the following year, became the first American athlete to win a skeleton race on the World Cup circuit in eight years.
Nick Goepper
Milano Cortina will be skier Nick Goepper’s fourth trip to the Olympics. In 2014, he took bronze in Sochi, contributing to a U.S. podium sweep in men’s slopestyle skiing. Goepper won silver at the Olympics in 2018 and again in 2022.
“To me, being an Olympian has meant legacy,” he told CBS News. “I am a huge fan of history. I love reading about people who have done, you know, amazing things and family connections and just like, you know, people’s eyes always light up when you talk about the Olympics.”
Nick Goepper of Team USA reacts after completing his second run of the Aspen Snowmass Men’s Freeski Halfpipe Finals at Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort in Colorado on Jan. 10, 2026.
Michael Reaves / Getty Images
The 31-year-old athlete retired after Beijing, but then returned less than a year later to compete in halfpipe instead of slopestyle.
Goepper said his approach to competition and the Olympics has changed over the years.
“I can sit back and enjoy the little moments a little bit more. I can savor things a little more, which is nice,” he said.
Paula Moltzan
Alpine skier Paula Moltzan made her Olympic debut in 2022.
“I feel like I learned a lot in my first Olympics, and so to take all those lessons learned into another opportunity would mean a lot to me,” she told CBS News.
Moltzan, now 31, won the junior world slalom title when she was 20, becoming the first American woman to win the event at the junior world championships. She also won the NCAA women’s slalom title as a freshman at the University of Vermont.
Paula Moltzan of Team USA competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Slalom on Jan. 25, 2026 in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic.
Millo Moravski / Agence Zoom / Getty Images
After her Olympics debut in Beijing at 27, Moltzan became a two-time world medalist. She won a title in the parallel team event in 2023 and her first individual world medal, a bronze, in giant slalom in 2025.
She said her family sacrificed a lot to support her skiing career.
“I think they took second mortgages out on my house to allow me to compete in sport. And then my siblings as well, I definitely had the priority because of my athletic ability. They gave up maybe smaller moments, like going to summer camp so I could go to ski camp,” she said. “But it all becomes worth it when you’re there with your team, representing Team USA.”
Red Gerard
This will be Red Gerard’s third trip to the Olympics. The 25-year-old snowboarder won gold in slopestyle in 2018 when he was just 17, becoming the youngest American snowboarder to achieve the feat, according to Team USA.
“I quickly learned that first Olympics how big it is and how cool it is,” Gerard told CBS News. “Ever since, you just kind of want to get back on that stage because there is no stage bigger than the Olympics.”
Redmond Gerard of Team USA during a practice session before competing in the Aspen Snowmass Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals on Jan. 10, 2026 in Aspen, Colorado.
Michael Reaves / Getty Images
Gerard returned to the Olympics in 2022, finishing fourth in slopestyle and fifth in big air. The snowboarder won in slopestyle at the 2024 and 2025 X Games.
Gerard started snowboarding when he was just 2-years-old. In 2007, his family moved to Colorado, where they built a snowboarding park in their backyard to support Gerard’s passion.
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Alpine skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle, 33, is headed to the Olympics for his third games. Cochran-Siegle, the son of an Olympian, started skiing at the age of 2.
He tore his ACL and lateral meniscus in 2013 at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships, according to Team USA. Five years later, he made his Olympic debut in 2018 in PyeongChang. Cochran-Siegle won his first FIS World Cup Race in 2020, but missed the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in 2021 with a fractured neck.
Ryan Cochran-Siegle competes in the men’s downhill race part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Crans Montana, Switzerland, on Feb. 1, 2026.
Fabrice COFFRINI /AFP via Getty Images
The skier came back in 2022, where he won silver in super-G at the Beijing Games. He was the only U.S. alpine skiing medalist at the Beijing Games.
Cochran-Siegle told CBS News that during his previous Olympic appearances, he learned to embrace the moment and to trust and believe in himself.
“Just going out there and doing what I love and putting myself out there is what’s important,” he said.
Lindsey Vonn confirmed Tuesday that she plans to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy despite rupturing her left anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in a crash last week.
Vonn, 41, said in a press briefing that she was still planning to compete, even though her chances at ending up on the podium were diminished. Vonn said she had done a gone skiing before the briefing and was happy that she was “in a position to even try” the exercise.
“I had a feeling it was bad, but I held out hope until I saw the MRI in front of me,” Vonn said. “But I haven’t cried. I haven’t deviated from my plan. Normally, in the past, there’s always a moment where you break down and you realize the severity of things and that your dreams are slipping through your fingers. But I didn’t have that this time. I’m not letting this slip through my fingers. I’m gonna do it. End of story.”
Vonn is set to compete in the women’s downhill on Sunday, February 8. She was also planning on competing in super-G and the new team combined event. If she wins a medal, she will be the oldest alpine skier to do so at the Winter Olympics. Previously, Vonn has won three Olympic medals: Gold in downhill and bronze in super-G in 2010, and bronze in downhill in 2018.
Vonn had been landing a jump in a World Cup race on Friday when she lost control and ended up tangled in safety nets on the upper portion of the course. She received medical attention and walked away from the crash site, but was seen avoiding putting weight on her left leg. Vonn confirmed the injury was in her left knee on Tuesday.
Two other racers crashed on the same course earlier in the day. The race was cancelled after Vonn’s crash. One racer said visibility was a problem and that the course was bumpy.
United States’ Lindsey Vonn smiles during a press conference by the U.S. ski team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
Fatima Shbair / AP
Vonn has been the circuit’s leading downhiller this season with two victories and three podium finishes.
Vonn’s races and Olympic participation come after a five-year retirement. She is skiing with titanium implants in her right knee. After her injury, she posted on Instagram that her “Olympic dream is not over.” Vonn echoed that sentiment again Tuesday.
“This isn’t my first rodeo. It’s hard for me to lose faith in myself and what I know I’m capable of. I know my body very well. I have a high degree of confidence in myself, and it doesn’t matter to me if everyone thinks maybe I can’t do this with no ACL, but I still believe in myself and that makes me smile. That makes me confident, that makes me happy.”
Women’s skiing at the Olympics will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins.
A skier sustained a head injury at Eldora Mountain Resort and was taken to the hospital by helicopter on Monday afternoon.
About 1:08 p.m., the Boulder County Communications center received a report that a skier had a head injury, according to Carrie Haverfield, a Boulder County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. The skier, a 24-year-old man, was seen sliding down one of the runs and was believed to have a head injury, Haverfield said.
No one saw the man hit his head, and there was no visible trauma to the man or his helmet, she said.
The man was taken to the hospital by a Med Evac helicopter.
Eldora’s ski patrol, the Nederland Fire Protection District, American Medical Response and the sheriff’s office responded to the call.
There’s something about a real vacation that resets everything. Not the kind where you scroll through emails from a beach chair, but the kind where you actually disconnect, do something new, eat something great, and come back feeling like a different person.
Last year, that reset came courtesy of Isla Mujeres, a sleepy little island off the coast of Cancun. While Cancun is all about the party, Isla Mujeres is its laid-back, gorgeous younger sister: stunning beaches, incredible ocean views, and the kind of casual island energy that makes you forget what day it is. Driving the length of the island in a golf cart and wandering among the Mayan ruins at Punta Sur was one of those experiences that sticks with you. It’s the quiet little moments like that which make travel so worth it.
So when it came time to plan my next recharge, I wanted something completely different. Sand and sea are great, but I was craving snow. I wanted to relax without being bored, have some genuinely memorable experiences, enjoy amazing food, and maybe indulge in a little luxury along the way. If you’re in the mood to find a weekend getaway, a winter mountain escape is hard to beat. After some searching and a lot of reading, I landed on Park City, Utah, part of the Vail Resorts family of mountain destinations.
So, What Exactly Is Park City?
Nestled high in the Wasatch Mountains, Park City is a historic western mining town that dates back to the 1860s. What started as a silver rush settlement eventually became one of the most beloved ski towns in the country. Today it’s home to the largest ski resort in the United States, with over 7,300 acres of skiable terrain, plus sophisticated dining, boutique shopping, and world-class events like the Sundance Film Festival. But here’s the thing: despite all of that, Park City still has its authentic small-town feel. The mining heritage is everywhere if you know where to look, and that’s part of what makes it special.
It’s Unlike Anywhere Else
Here’s something that genuinely surprised me: Park City is the only ski resort in the country with lift access directly to its historic Main Street. That means you can literally ski down to the shops, restaurants, and galleries that line the heart of town. Just step off the mountain and into a world of boutiques and great food. For someone who gets bored easily, that kind of flexibility was a big draw.
The Food Is Where It’s At
I’ll be honest: I will absolutely travel for food. And Park City did not disappoint. The culinary scene here punches well above its weight for a mountain town, with restaurants that could hold their own in any city.
The Farm
One of Park City’s standout restaurants, The Farm is built on a farm-to-table philosophy, sourcing ingredients from local farms and artisans within 200 miles. The menu changes seasonally to celebrate what’s fresh and local. It’s the kind of place where everything on the plate feels intentional. Reservations are a must.
Viking Yurt Dinner in Park City: The Best Night Out on the Mountain
If there’s one experience that defines a Park City winter trip, it’s dinner at The Viking Yurt. This is not your average night out. Your evening begins with a 25-minute sleigh ride up 1,800 vertical feet, with sweeping views of the night sky, the twinkling lights of Park City, and the surrounding mountains. When you arrive at the yurt, you’re greeted by a warm fire and a mug of hot glögg, a spiced berry cider. Then comes a six-course gourmet dinner, all served over four hours with a live piano performance. Only 40 guests are seated each night, so it never feels crowded or rushed.
The Viking Yurt was named Best of State Utah in both 2024 and 2025, and after one night there, it’s easy to see why. Pricing runs $225 per person during regular season and $295 per person over the holidays (alcohol and gratuity not included). If you’re planning a trip to Park City this winter, book this one first. It fills up fast. It’s the kind of cozy, indulgent evening that pairs perfectly with a good hot chocolate when you get back to the lodge.
On the Mountain: Guided Ski Experiences
I’m going to be upfront: I am not a confident skier. At all. And with over 300 trails across 7,300 acres, the idea of just showing up and figuring it out sounded pretty daunting. That’s where Park City’s Guided Mountain Experience comes in. An expert guide takes you on a personalized tour across the resort, part sightseeing, part ski lesson. Your guide helps you tackle terrain you’d never try on your own, you actually learn something along the way, and you’re grouped with other adults at your level. You also skip the lift line wait, which means more time actually on the mountain. For someone like me, it was worth every penny.
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And Then There’s Snowshoeing
I’d never been snowshoeing before this trip, but think of it as snow hiking, and it might just be my new favorite thing. Park City has seasoned outdoor guides who take you off the beaten path, through aspen and evergreen forests and up to snow-covered alpine lakes. It’s a great way to discover mountain wildlife, soak in the views, and quietly shake off some stress. There are plenty of local guide companies to choose from, with options ranging from leisurely walks to serious workouts. A perfect way to spend a day off the slopes.
Getting There Is Easy
One of the best things about Park City is how accessible it is. It’s only about a 35 to 40 minute drive from Salt Lake City International Airport, and you can book lift tickets, lessons, and dining reservations online ahead of time. Less planning, more enjoying the mountain. And if you’re still figuring out what to pack, check out our packing tips before you head out.
The Bottom Line
Park City has everything I was looking for in a winter getaway: stunning scenery, great food, memorable experiences, and a relaxed mountain town vibe that never feels rushed or touristy. Whether you’re an expert skier or someone like me who just wants to enjoy the mountain without the pressure, there’s a place for you here.
Park City Mountain is one of the standout destinations across the Vail Resorts collection. If you’re ready to plan your own mountain getaway, start at parkcitymountain.com. And if you’re looking for more winter getaway ideas closer to home, we’ve got you covered there too.
Disclosure: This post was originally created in partnership with Vail Resorts and has since been updated with current information. All opinions are my own.
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How avalanches form and what to do if you find yourself in one – CBS News
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Four people in the U.S. have been killed in avalanches so far this year, according to the National Avalanche Center. CBS News Colorado meteorologist Joe Ruch explains the science behind avalanches and shares safety tips.
Australian aerial skier Danielle Scott has broken through for her first World Cup triumph in nearly three years in a timely boost to her medal hopes at next month’s Winter Olympics.
The 35-year-old three-time Olympian has had a particularly lean run this season but put her woes behind her with a morale-boosting triumph at Lake Placid in the United States less than a month before the start of the Games in Italy.
Scott scored 95.88 points in the super final to take top spot ahead of China’s reigning Olympic champion Xu Mengtai, who scored 94.01.
America’s 2025 world champion, Kaila Kuhn, was third with 92.29.
“I’m just letting this sink in. I’ve had a rough run this season,” said Scott, with the victory her first in a World Cup event since March 2023 and the seventh of her career.
“A lot of highs and lows … today I just needed to go prove myself, and I did that, so I’m stoked.”
Danielle Scott won her first World Cup event since March 2023. (Getty Images: Al Bello)
With four out of six skiers in the medal round attempting triples, Scott’s choice of a back double full-full proved a smart decision after assessing the tricky conditions of the day.
“I was hoping to do triples, and we made some hard decisions and decided to keep it on the double. I think it paid off,” she said.
“I want to do them, so let’s get Mother Nature on our side.”
In the men’s competition, China’s Wang Xindi opted to go with five twists.
Despite the conditions, he was rewarded with a win.
With landings proving to be challenging for many athletes, his back double full-full-double full earned a 103.50 and his first World Cup win of the season.
Competitors will line up for another World Cup at Lake Placid on Monday (local time) to wrap up their preparation for the Milan-Cortina Games, which start on February 6.
Geneva — The French owners of the bar in a Swiss ski resort town that went up in flames on New Year’s Eve will be questioned Friday, sources close to the investigation said. French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti owned and managed the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, which was filled with young partygoers when the blaze erupted around 1:30 a.m. on January 1.
Forty people, most of them teenagers, were killed, and 116 were injured.
The pair, who are facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence, will be questioned by the public prosecutor’s office in the nearby town of Sion, a source close to the investigation, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Thursday.
People gather during a memorial procession in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, after a devastating fire in Le Constellation bar left dead and injured during the New Year’s celebrations.
Antonio Calanni / AP
This will mark the first time the couple is questioned by investigators since the charges against them were announced on Saturday.
The pair, who have not been detained, said in a statement on Tuesday that they were “devastated and overwhelmed with grief,” and pledged their “full cooperation” with investigators.
“We will under no circumstances attempt to evade these matters,” they said.
A number of questions have been raised about whether fire safety standards were respected in the bar, where prosecutors believe the blaze started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to sound insulation foam on the ceiling in the bar’s basement section.
On Tuesday, municipal authorities acknowledged that no fire safety inspections had been conducted at the Le Constellation since 2019.
Questions have also been raised about the couple’s background and numerous real estate holdings.
The French newspaper Le Parisien reported earlier this week that Jacques Moretti was known to authorities and served some time in jail about 20 years ago in the south of France on charges related to prostitution and kidnapping.
Sebastien Fanti, a lawyer representing four families of the injured, hailed the news that the Moretti’s would be questioned in the case, telling AFP he hoped it signaled, “a welcome resurgence of the investigation.”
The questioning will focus on the couple’s personal circumstances, according to another source close to the case.
“Establishing the defendants’ personal situation, particularly from an economic standpoint, is essential,” Romain Jordan, a lawyer representing several families, told AFP.
Once the investigation concludes, the Wallis region’s public prosecutor’s office will determine whether to file an indictment against the pair or to close the case.
Telluride Ski Resort is planning to reopen on Monday, Jan. 5, after spending more than a week closed with its ski patrol on strike.
The resort announced on social media Saturday that it would run one lift with access to its bunny hill. Representatives were not immediately available to comment on what this means for negotiations with the patrollers’ union, the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association. The patrol remains on strike, union president Graham Hoffman said Saturday morning.
Reactions on social media were mixed, with comments ranging from relief and excitement to frustration and disappointment. Many expressed support for the patrol and called on the resort to settle the contract dispute. Meanwhile, the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association continued picketing at the gondola station in downtown Telluride on Saturday.
The union and resort have been negotiating a new contract since June, and patrollers walked off the job after rejecting an offer deemed the resort’s “last, best and final” in early December. It’s unclear if bargaining has resumed.
The resort’s closure has the potential to send the local economy, which relies heavily on tourism, into a tailspin. Most New Year’s Eve visitors kept their trips since the closure was announced with short notice, Telluride Town Manager Zoe Dohnal previously told The Denver Post, though that was expected to change as the situation wore on.
A week after the closure was announced, the number of lodging accommodations booked for the rest of the season dropped 54% year-over-year, according to the Telluride Tourism Board. Local officials have been pushing other winter activities, such as snowmobiling, snowshoeing and ice skating; however, “the reality is everyone comes to Telluride to ski,” Mayor Teddy Errico said previously.
“We only have three months left in our season. We know that the impact, if it lands, is people losing their jobs, people boarding up their restaurants,” Errico said. “But we’re doing everything in our power to mitigate those concerns.”
Crans-Montana, Switzerland — Investigators said Friday that the deadly fire that tore through a popular bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana early on New Year’s Day was caused by sparklers placed in Champagne bottles, which ignited the bar’s ceiling.
Police have said about 40 people were killed and dozens were badly injured. Most of the victims were just teenagers celebrating the holiday, and the intensity of the deadly fire has left authorities with grim work to identify badly burned remains, which they say may take days, as desperate families are left to wait for word of their missing loved ones.
Swiss authorities said Friday that 113 out of the 119 people injured had been identified.
Prosecutor-General Beatrice Pilloud said authorities have interviewed two bar managers to help them understand the internal configuration of the venue and its capacity. She said the investigation was still ongoing.
Video has emerged that shows the moment a man tried but failed to snuff the first flames in the basement of the Le Constellation bar with a white cloth. The fire swept upward, to the upper level of the building.
In videos posted on social media, people can be heard screaming as dozens raced to try and escape through narrow exits. Many suffered horrific burns and smoke inhalation, and dozens remained hospitalized on Friday across the country, as well as in neighboring France, Italy and Germany.
Some 36 hours after the disaster, which authorities say appears to have been accidental, at least two dozen people were still missing.
A flower with a note is laid after a fire broke out overnight at Le Constellation bar on Jan. 1, 2026, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Harold Cunningham/Getty
The facade of the bar was hidden on Friday behind a white barricade.
One survivor said bar staff had inadvertently sparked the inferno.
“One woman climbed onto another woman’s shoulders with two bottles and birthday sparklers were going off,” said 16-year-old French visitor Axel Cavalier. “She waved them too high, they hit the ceiling and it caught fire.”
Lucas Rebot, 24, told CBS News he and his girlfriend tried to get into Le Constellation at 1 a.m., about 30 minutes before the fire started, but were told the venue was full and were turned away. He said he had been at the bar a few days earlier and noticed at the time that the ceiling was covered in foam insulation, “like a music studio.”
CBS News’ partner network BBC News and France’s BFM TV published photos Friday that they said showed the moment the sound insulation on the ceiling was set alight just above people holding sparklers, as described by the witnesses.
Other witnesses have relayed similar information, though authorities have said only that there’s been no indication of an attack or explosion, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for Switzerland’s Valais Canton, said Thursday, adding later that it was unclear how many people had been in the bar at the time of the fire, but that its maximum capacity would be one of the factors looked at as part of the investigation.
“For the time being, we don’t have any suspects,” she said when asked if anyone had been arrested. “An investigation has been opened, not against anyone, but to better understand the circumstances of this dramatic fire.”
Forensic police and other officials are seen at the site of a New Year’s Day fire that broke out at Le Constellation bar, Jan. 1, 2026, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Harold Cunningham/Getty
Forensic experts, meanwhile, have begun using dental and DNA records to identify the dead.
Clavier said one of his friends had died in the fire and two or three more were among those still listed as missing.
“The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Feraud said Thursday, adding that it could take days.
Mathias Reynard, who heads the regional Valais government, said it was essential to carry out the work “because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 percent sure.”
One of the first victims identified was a promising young Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini, who was mourned by the Italian Golf Federation in a statement issued Thursday as “a young athlete who embodied passion and authentic values.”
Crans-Montana is a popular destination for skiing, but is also an international golf resort in the warmer months.
Italian outlet SportMedia said Galeppini, originally from Genoa, was 16 years old. It said his father was in Crans-Montana and had spent much of Thursday searching for information about his missing son.
