“Not with the crowbar”
Garmisch-Partenkirchen cancels the Ski World Cup completely
January 29, 2024, 3:19 p.m
It is too warm in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At least for skiing in the Alpine World Cup. While the men were still able to race last weekend, the conditions for the women’s races were too unsafe. The organizers therefore decide to cancel.
The women’s World Cup races planned for next weekend in Garmisch-Partenkirchen have been canceled due to poor weather forecasts. The organizers of the event announced this after a tour of the route with representatives of the World Ski Association. Due to the external circumstances, it was not possible to prepare a safe slope for the racers on the originally planned downhill run on Saturday and the Super-G on Sunday. In the short term it was also not possible to move the two races to another location – so they will be canceled without replacement.
Last weekend the men were able to complete two Super-Gs on the Kandahar course in Garmisch. However, it had already become clear that the piste workers had only had difficulty in providing a surface suitable for racing due to the warm weather.
The organizers no longer saw a chance for the women’s downhill, for which training runs must also be possible. “The weather isn’t cooperating. It’s getting too warm, we can’t produce any new snow,” said OK boss Martina Betz to the “Garmisch-Partenkirchner Tagblatt”. Until recently, the organizers had hoped for lower temperatures, especially at night. However, the meteorologists then changed their forecasts, which ultimately led to the cancellation. “We don’t do it with a crowbar so that we have to cancel in the end,” said Betz.
The World Cup races in the Olympic venue remain plagued by bad weather. Last year, a men’s downhill run and a giant slalom had to be canceled due to a warm front – the women were last guests in February 2022.
This means that only one Alpine World Cup race will take place next weekend, namely the men’s slalom on Sunday in Chamonix. Speed races were actually planned in France. However, like those in Garmisch, these are canceled due to temperatures that are too high.