MANILA, Philippines – Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn returned to the slopes, less than seven months after having major reconstructive knee surgery following a heavy crash while skiing. Vonn, followed closely by United States ski team coach Jeff Fergus, spent several hours skiing slowly and doing practice drills on the slopes of the Resort of Portillo in Chile. In February, Vonn crashed heavily and slid at high speed into the safety netting on the side of the course, suffering a torn ACL, MCL and tibial plateau fracture. Vonn plans to return to competition at the World Cup event in Beaver Creek, Colorado in late November. -- Mornings @ ANC, September 3, 2013