Paganella, Italy – The men’s U.S. Alpine Ski Team will call the Italian province of Trentino its European base for a fifth year this season, with on-snow training exclusively hosted at the northern Italian resort of Paganella.n”The Trentino region provides great support of the U.S. Ski Team,” said men’s Head Coach Sasha Rearick. “I’m looking forward to working with them to develop a world class training facility that this team can utilize for years to come.”

In addition to World Cup caliber hill preparation, the region also provides lodging and off-snow training facilities during selected periods throughout the season. The Team has particularly utilized Paganella in the weeks leading up to the December races in Val Gardena, Alta Badia and Bormio, Itlay.

“The training at Paganella definitely helps in our preparation for the Italian races,” said Ted Ligety, of Park City, Utah, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom champion. “But it’s also a relaxing and fun place to hang out, which is really important when you spend as much time living in hotels as we do.”

Ligety captured the “fun” aspect of Paganella in 2007 with a powder skiing video that shows him and the Team dropping cliffs in their race suits. The video has since received over 8,000 hits on YouTube.

“The overall technical facilities provided by Paganella are ideal for the U.S. Ski Team,” said Regional Councillor for Tourism, Tiziano Mellarini. “It’s also very convenient location. We are close to Innsbruck and the Verona airport.”

Paganella is among the most recognized resorts in Trentino with state-of-the-art ski facilities, consisting of 30 miles of slopes and a 100% snowmaking capacity.