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If the FIS Alpine World Cup were a baseball player, it would be batting 0.125.
This week, FIS announced the cancellation of the Lech/Zürs World Cup parallel event scheduled for Nov. 12-13. It’s the latest casualty of the 2023 World Cup season that’s not off to a great start.
Due to the fact that the cold weather during the last days were unfortunately to late and the still unfavorable forecast, Lech-Zürs woman’s and men’s parallel events are cancelled. #fisalpine pic.twitter.com/ON1P7LjlWd
— FIS Alpine (@fisalpine) November 6, 2022
Of eight races on the schedule to date, all but one—the men’s giant slalom in Sölden, Austria on Oct. 23—has been canceled. Rain, snow, and poor visibility led to FIS canceling the Sölden women’s GS, and warm temps in Europe nixed both the men’s and women’s downhills in Zermatt-Cervinia.
Related: World Cup race with highest start elevation canceled due to lack of snow
It’s left some questioning if FIS should start the alpine World Cup later in the season. But fear not, ski racing fans, we won’t be left to watch hockey this winter.
The next scheduled World Cups are two women’s slalom races in Levi, Finland, a village so far north that the winners get their own reindeer. The U.S. women’s team has been training in Levi for the past two weeks, and the race—at least right now—is a go.
Next on the schedule for the men is a downhill and two super-Gs in Lake Louise, where it started dumping on Oct. 28. The Canadian resort opened Nov. 4 and already has a close-to-two-foot base near the summit. (It’s enough to make those of us in the balmy East want to jump on a plane.)
As for the Killington World Cup, the situation looked grim in early November when temps hit record highs, and the resort announced continued operation of its bike park.
But do not underestimate the Big K. Temps dropped into the 20s on Nov. 8, and mountain ops began blasting Superstar (site of the Killington World Cup slalom and GS) with 120 snowmaking guns, spaced 18 feet apart (compared to the usual 50 feet). The team only needs about 100 hours of cold temps to adequately blanket Superstar.
FIS plans to do snow control for the Killington Cup on November 16.
“We are experts at dealing with what Mother Nature throws our way, and our snow making team has the full force of our arsenal aimed at Superstar,” says Killington president and general manager Mike Solimano in an email. “We are taking advantage of every bit of cold weather to cover the course with the necessary snow, and I’m confident we’ll be able to hold the race as scheduled. The long-term forecast looks promising with sustained cold temperatures starting on Sunday [November 13]. We’ve been in this position before, and Killington’s team always comes through.”
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