SKIING / BOB LOCHNER : U.S. Women Show They May Have Mettle for Olympic Medals

Skiing’s “White Circus” has folded its tents for another year amid controversy over who should be the ringmaster, but whatever happens, 1992 is an Olympic year, and the Winter Games figure to overshadow all other activities in ski racing next season.

The big question for the U.S. ski team is whether Albertville, France, will be another Sarajevo or another Calgary--or more plausibly, someplace in between.

Seven years ago in Yugoslavia, Americans won five Olympic medals in Alpine skiing, including golds by Bill Johnson, Phil Mahre and Debbie Armstrong.

Three years ago in the Canadian Rockies, the top U.S. Alpine placings were a ninth by Edith Thys in the women’s super-G and a 12th by Tiger Shaw in the men’s giant slalom.

For a while this winter, it seemed that American skiers might again find themselves out in the cold when the 16th Winter Olympics are held next Feb. 8-23 in the French Alps. Injuries and inexperience combined to limit U.S. results on the 1990-91 World Cup circuit to occasional top-15 finishes--until the troupe hit North America earlier this month.

Now, after races at Lake Louise, Canada; Aspen and Vail, Colo., and Waterville Valley, N.H., things are looking up, especially for the women’s team, which has at least 10 racers capable of winning a medal, or at least making a respectable top-10 showing, when the big winter carnival gets under way a little more than 10 months from now:

--JULIE PARISIEN, 19, of Auburn, Me., who won a giant slalom at Waterville Valley--the first U.S. World Cup victory since 1987.

--EVA TWARDOKENS, 25, of Santa Cruz, who finished sixth in the same race, after an earlier second place at Zwiesel, Germany, and wound up fourth in the women’s giant slalom standings for the season.

--EDITH THYS, 25 on Sunday, of Olympic Valley, Calif., who was fourth in the second of two downhills at Vail, after placing second in a super-G at Furano, Japan, two weeks earlier.

--KRISTIN KRONE, 22, of Truckee, Calif., fourth in the first Vail downhill.

--MEGAN GERETY, 19, of Sun Valley, Ida., fifth in the first Vail downhill.

--HILARY LINDH, 21, of Juneau, Alaska, 10th in the second Vail downhill.

--KRISTA SCHMIDINGER, 20, of Lee, Mass., ninth in the second Vail downhill.

--HEIDI VOELKER, 21, of Pittsfield, Mass., 11th in the slalom at Lake Louise.

--DIANN ROFFE, 24, of Isle La Motte, Vt., the 1985 world giant slalom champion, who is recovering from a knee injury suffered last Dec. 19, after she scored 29 points in this season’s first five World Cup races.

--KRISTI TERZIAN, 23, of Salt Lake City and Sanger, Calif., who is also rehabilitating a knee that she injured during training last October, after a 1989-90 season in which she scored points in a team-record 17 World Cup races.

The men’s team is considerably weaker, with only A.J. Kitt, 22, of Rochester, N.Y., seemingly within striking distance of a medal. He finally fulfilled early season expectations by placing fourth in the first of two downhills at Lake Louise.

Longshots for top-10 finishes include Jeremy Nobis, 20, of Park City, Utah; Tommy Moe, 21, of Palmer, Alaska; Kyle Wieche, 23, of Killington, Vt.; Joe Levins, 22, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; Nate Bryan, 20, of Vail, and Felix McGrath, 28, of Jericho, Vt.

McGrath, who was third in the 1988 World Cup slalom standings, has failed to regain his form after off-season shoulder surgery, but is tentatively planning to ski at least one more season.

After the poor showing by the men’s team at Aspen, Coach Ueli Luthi said: “The younger guys do not have a lot of experience, but we did expect better results from our veterans. Tiger and Felix need to decide whether they are going to give everything. You have to give 100% after you get into the gate if you want to be a champion.

“I think Tiger and Felix have given 100%, but I also think they have reached their plateau.”

Shaw, at least, agreed. He retired five months short of his 30th birthday.

At the moment, no World Cup races are scheduled in the United States next season.

Howard Peterson, president and CEO of U.S. Skiing, requested that the opening women’s event be held in this country during late November, with men’s races set for the following March. However, the World Cup Competition Committee of the International Ski Federation (FIS) offered the men’s opener instead.

Peterson told the FIS to forget the whole thing, and used the rebuff as another weapon in his fight for a major overhaul of the World Cup format. He threatened again to pull the United States out of the World Cup and to form a rival circuit by the 1992-93 season in cooperation with major ski equipment manufacturers, who provide $50 million in support but have little say in World Cup matters.

“I don’t believe the current World Cup will survive without major changes,” Peterson said. “Either the changes will be made or we will replace it.”

Among the changes being sought are a greater voice for skiers, race organizers, sponsors and equipment makers in the World Cup decision-making process; more widespread and liberal prize money, and more effective marketing of the circuit.

Meetings are scheduled April 18-19 in Zurich to discuss the matter, which was first taken under consideration by FIS last October, and the federation’s president, Marc Hodler, said he was “absolutely optimistic” that some form of compromise could be reached.

In the meantime, the only North American races scheduled next season are in Canada, the women at Panorama on March 7-8 and the men at Whistler Mountain on March 14-15. Both resorts are in British Columbia.

Lake Louise, where Italy’s Alberto Tomba was barred from a race this month because of alleged run-ins with a lift attendant and a recreational skier, was dropped as a race site by the committee.

Spring arrived in California’s mountains last week, masquerading as winter, and skiing, for those who desire to pursue it, should be available clear up to the beginning of summer.

Mammoth Mountain, with up to 12 feet of snow, has a good shot at making it to the Fourth of July, owner Dave McCoy’s traditional target date.

Northwest of Lake Tahoe, Alpine Meadows will again try for a Memorial Day closing, as will neighboring Squaw Valley. Their bases range between six and 14 feet, and Squaw Valley spokesman Peter Bansen said Thursday: “We had one skier complain that we have ‘too much snow’--something unique in my experience.”

Southland ski areas are set to operate well into May, after receiving three to five feet of powder earlier in the week.

At Big Bear, Snow Summit, Bear Mountain and Snow Forest are reporting total depths as high as 11 feet. Snow Valley, near Running Springs, has up to 13 feet.

Mountain High, with nine feet, and Ski Sunrise, with almost that much, are keeping the Wrightwood area jumping. Also open daily, with five to 10 feet on their slopes, are Ski Sunrise, Mt. Baldy, Kratka Ridge and Mt. Waterman.

Skiing Notes

The Plymouth U.S. Pro Championships will be held Saturday and Sunday at Steamboat Springs, Colo., with Bernhard Knauss on the verge of topping $200,000 in prize money. The Austrian leads the U.S. Pro Tour with 732.5 points and $180,515, leaving Ove Nygren of Norway and Phil Mahre of Yakima, Wash., to battle for second place on the final weekend of the season. Nygren has 586.5 points and $86,216, Mahre 559 and $96,950. ESPN will show highlights of the competition at 3 p.m. Sunday. . . . Roswitha Raudaschl earned $42,148 while winning the Women’s Pro Ski championship. She wound up with 338 points, 40 more than Austrian compatriot Birgit Hussauf and Catharina Glasser-Bjerner of Sweden, who tied for second place.

The U.S. National men’s giant slalom, which was snowed out last month at Crested Butte, Colo., was won by Alain Feutrier of France Wednesday at Stowe, Vt. Toni Standteiner was the top American in fifth place. Joe Levins wound up with the men’s combined title. . . . The weeklong U.S. Disabled Ski Championships will begin Monday at Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore. . . . Winter Park, Colo., will play host to the U.S. Freestyle Championships next Thursday through April 7. . . . The Snowshine Festival, a potpourri of events on and off the snow, will be held Saturday through April 6 at Park City, Utah. . . . Telluride, Colo. is offering a reduced $25 daily lift ticket during its Surf the Rockies promotion Sunday through April 7.

Sunday is the last day for recreational racers to qualify for the Miller Lite NASTAR Finals and the Coca-Cola Junior NASTAR rankings. Two men and two women will be selected from each of five regions in the country, based on their ages and best overall handicaps, to receive expenses-paid trips to the NASTAR Finals next Dec. 11-14 at Snowbird, Utah. To be eligible, skiers must have raced at least three times on different days. . . . Mark Herhusky of Truckee, Calif., set a course record of 88 m.p.h. in the recent McKinney Recreational Speed Challenge at Boreal, on Donner Summit west of Reno.