"I have just hung in there the longest," quips World Cup Chief of Race Jim Hancock, explaining with characteristic humility how he attained his lofty position running the most demanding of all the ski races to come to Aspen.

For those in the know, Hancock’s achievement is the result of far greater qualifications than mere tenure. Working with exacting officials from the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS), Hancock has repeatedly won their trust and respect for his successful efforts at putting on World Cup events in Aspen. And without the endorsement of the FIS, there would be no Aspen races.

Hancock was race director at Snowmass for a couple of years simultaneous to starting his World Cup career in 1981. In Snowmass, Hancock ran smaller, recreational races and through this experience he came to understand how to make a race work, prep a course and cope with the myriad details involved with ski competitions.

Hancock recalls the humble beginnings in 1981 before Ajax had winch cats or snowmaking. That was when Aspen first began hosting World Cup on a regular basis. In those days, he said, the World Cup threw Aspen course crews into a frenzy because they had to literally build the course by hand.

"I started working on the course and really liked it," said Hancock, who in subsequent races worked race preparation as a crew chief. In 1990, he became Chief of Course and in 1998, he was elevated to Chief of Race. As Chief of Course, Hancock was solely responsible for course preparation. His role today as Chief of Race entails much more.

"My duties have expanded from course safety to an overview of what happens on the mountain – security, radios, medical, evacuation and gate keepers. I am directly or indirectly responsible for everything that goes on pertaining to the race on-mountain and off-mountain."

In addition to the many physical components and endless details, Hancock acts as liaison between the race organizing committee and officials of the FIS, which governs the races on the World Cup circuit. In this job, diplomacy and a studied ability to work out compromises are essential elements. Hancock is a voting member of the World Cup Jury.

For the November Women’s World Cup, Hancock’s biggest, most obvious concern is whether there will be enough snow to set the courses properly. According to general guidelines, the courses must have a minimum base of 18 inches of hard, compact, mostly manmade snow. This firm, unyielding surface allows racers to set an edge on a base that won’t buckle under the force of their turns.

"Every time we do this in November it’s going to be challenging," admitted Hancock. "Early season has advantages for lodging and it usually brings a more enthusiastic group of spectators, but what we look for is covering the entire course with snow. We have only held a World Cup once before in the fall, two years ago, and things worked out well. Of course, when we have had them in March or the middle of winter, we have often had too much snow, so there are no guarantees."

With roughly 1,000 people involved on all levels of the World Cup, including racers, volunteers, officials, coaches, media, technicians and more, another aspect of Hancock’s job is overseeing the logistics of managing a small army.