Mogulists Nick Page and Kasey Hogg are entering the Deer Valley World Cup this weekend as the highest-ranked locals. Page is ranked seventh in the world and Hogg 11th through the first six World Cups of the season.
The Deer Valley Cup, the Super Bowl of freestyle skiing with thousands of fans often flocking to the event, is set to run Thursday through Saturday.
Parkites often struggle with the pressure at home — Page has discussed the process of turning it from a negative to a positive. They are often busy off the course talking to family, friends and sponsors.
Page comes into Deer Valley hot, scoring two podiums the past two weeks. And Hogg is continuing to build on a career season, with three top-10 finishes thus far.
“There’s nice momentum building,” Page said about his form. “I’m seeing that in the quality of my skiing. There’s still a lot that I need to keep working on. I need to keep my foot on the pedal right now because I ‘m still not totally at the place I’d like to be.”
He’s aiming for the highest echelon of the sport, where he’d challenge for World Cup wins every week. He’s continuously trying to tinker with his skiing — add speed, improve technicality, etc. — to get that done.
Page said he thinks the quality of last week’s Val St. Come, Canada Cup will prepare the skiers well for this week. Nat Schirman’s Deer Valley course is lengthier and meaner (more challenging bumps), however. Page finished third in the Val St. Come duals Saturday.
“We will start training tomorrow. That’ll be my first look at the course,” added Page. “The goal in these next two days is to answer all questions and figure out every little detail that I need to on this specific venue so I can perform my best.”
He will be hitting the starting gates for his sixth Deer Valley Cup. It will be Hogg’s fifth, but the 22 year old has dominated Nor-Am Cup (level below World Cup for North American skiers) events there, with three wins to her name. Hogg said she isn’t feeling any pressure.
Hogg said she is excited for the warmer temperatures and roaring home crowds this week. She’s confident her previous success will translate to the World Cup-level. Last year, Hogg finished sixth and eighth in the solo and duals events.
“This is, by far, the most exciting event of the year for everyone,” said Hogg. “Being local makes it that much more exciting. I’m looking to push myself in training and stick to the plan my coaches and I set.”
Hogg’s plan is to have fun but also remain disciplined out there. She’ll have plenty of family cheering her on among the thousands in the crowd. She said she’s thrilled her loved ones don’t have to toss on a livestream to watch her in the wee hours of the morning or night.
And she loves that the World Cup is at night. Saturday for duals, the crowds usually reach their peaks — the high-speed event is a new addition for the 2026 Olympics, in which and Hogg will likely contend for medals.
“It’s really cool to have so many people watch you do what you love,” added Hogg. “When many of them are family and friends, it makes it even better.”
Page acknowleged he’ll be the boring one out of his family and friends this week, sticking to his usual routines. He said it took him a little bit to realize this is what he had to do to normalize his approach to the competition.
“They all go out and enjoy themselves the whole week,” he said. “Me, I basically treat it like another World Cup. I’m in the hotel room, in the gym and on the moguls course this week.”
Page and the field will have the added wrinkle of changing conditions this week, with warm temperatures now, and cold and possibly snowy ones later in the week.
“It might get a little icier or a little different later in the week, but I need to be in a position where, no matter the condition, I can go out and still produce a result,” he said.
He remembered when he was one of the young kids in the crowd and found his inspiration in moguls skiing. Atop the moguls world back then, men’s skiing GOAT Mikael Kingsbury, remains atop the world standings now.
Page knows that somewhere in the crowd this weekend could be one of his future peers and competitors down the line, too. He said he doesn’t take for granted his potential impact, nor the event’s.
Here’s the schedule of events, which are all free to attend. Information on where to stream the World Cup can be found on the U.S. Ski Team’s website.
Thursday — Moguls FIS World Cup
- 2:10 p.m. Women’s Moguls Qualifications
- 4:30 p.m. Men’s Moguls Qualifications
- 7:30 p.m. Women’s and Men’s Moguls Finals
- 8:50 p.m. Awards
Friday — Aerials FIS World Cup
- 11:00 a.m. Women’s Aerials Qualifications
- 1:05 p.m. Men’s Aerials Qualifications
- 7:30 p.m. Women’s and Men’s Aerials Finals
- 8:40 p.m. Awards
Saturday — Dual Moguls FIS World Cup
- 4:00 p.m. Women’s and Men’s Dual Moguls Preliminary Rounds
- 7:30 p.m. Women’s and Men’s Dual Moguls Finals
- 8:55 p.m. Awards