Still, this wouldn't be so without Steven Nyman, an alpine World Cup winner and longtime participant in Fantasy sports, whose desire to create more excitement for ski racing fans has found its perfect counterpart in the growing online fantasy sports community. The result: FantasySkiRacer.com, where you pick the races.

"I want to connect the fans with the racers," said Nyman. "And have them learn more about each race and learn more about each track."

Nyman hatched FantasySkiRacer.com with his brother Michael and teammate Nolan Kasper in November 2010 and, with the help of friend Pete Rugh of RughsterDesign.com, assembled the website where fans (and racers) now compete virtually on the World Cup circuit. Players pick the top 10 finishers of each race and are awarded points based on how accurately a player predicts their racers' outcomes. And though picks like Vonn, Mancuso, Miller, and Ligety are commonplace, picking a teammate like 16-year old Mikaela Shiffrin, who notched her first World Cup top-10 in November and then her first podium in December, speaks to the educational side of FSR.

"Mikaela's been good for me this year," said Nyman. "I had her in third when she got her first podium…And each track is different, and you can move your picks according to each track. You have to learn what the conditions are."

At the end of the season, the top three places overall win a Fischer ski package, a POC helmet and goggle package, and a Dragon Wax ski package, while the winner of each weekend takes home SkullCandy headphones. Nyman is also quick to note that you can join at any point, since your score is calculated as a points average of your picks. And he's beginning a "Mega-League" for USSA members only, one that starts with World Cup Finals in Schladming, Austria of this year and will feature a $500 giveaway each weekend, beginning in Austria, that will continue into next season.

"The main thing we want to do is educate people on ski racing and integrate them more with the ski industry," he said. "In any athletics these days, there's a huge separation between the athletes and the fans…I think this is a good way to connect with the fans. We want to create that camaraderie with people following their favorite ski racers. Hopefully it'll grow the fan base. Hopefully they learn more about the sport."

FantasySkiRacer already has 4,000 users, 90 percent of whom hail from North America.

"We want to have it so you can do a lot of research and follow them more, not just from America but from all over the world. Ski racing is big in Europe so I think the game could take off over there. We want to make it a world-wide game."

Teammate Colby Granstrom is currently the overall leader, and there's an unwritten law among U.S. Ski Teamers requiring you to pick yourself. As Nyman says:

"If you're racing and you're not picking yourself to win, you shouldn't be racing."

To start making your picks, sign up at FantasySkiRacer.com and sharpen your edges. USSA Members can send their user name and member number to fantasyskiracer@gmail.com to join the USSA Mega-League.

This piece was originally published on The U.S. Ski Team on February 29, 2012. This is a revised version.

It was March 25, 2007, and—down to his last dual moguls run at the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships hosted by Killington—freestyle moguls athlete Landon Gardner had all his teeth intact. Fast forward to August 28, 2011, when those in Killington and the surrounding area had all their homes, utilities and lives in tact. Within a matter of hours, however, the two would need each other in ways they never could've foreseen.

Upon landing the first air of his last run, Gardner's knee violently met his chin, splitting it open and chipping several of his teeth. Gardner still went on to finish his run, but required stitches for his chin and a dentist for his teeth. After sewing him up, a Killington clinic made a phone call to a couple in nearby Rutland, VT, who in a matter of hours had him back at the mountain, albeit bandaged, but on his way to recovery.

Over four years later, on Aug. 29, Hurricane Irene made landfall in New England, tearing through Vermont and flooding the state. Killington's K-1 base lodge was partially destroyed along with roads and homes in the Route 4 area, and 12,000 people were left without power.

It was in the wake of such devastation that Gardner channeled his inner dentist, so to speak. From September 22-28, Gardner set up ten eBay auctions, selling items such as goggles, bindings, and, notably, a bib from when Killington hosted the National Championships in 2007, with all the proceeds going to Killington Community Relief (KCR).

"It's one of the first times that I've done something like this, and I do have some really fond memories of that place," he said. "There's more than just you and the mountain, there's community, resorts and people."

In reaching out to KCR, Gardner was looking to target precisely those people who live in the Killington area and were in need post-Irene.

"They told a pretty compelling story about families who were displaced and schoolchildren who were living with other families," said Gardner. "And I knew right then that any amount of money I could raise would go to a good cause. That's one of the reasons it stuck with me, it's a little closer to the individuals."

This piece was originally published by The U.S. Ski Team on October 31, 2011. This is a revised version.

This piece was originally published on The U.S. Ski Team on December 6, 2011. This is a revised version.