Ski world cup 2024: Races in Garmisch & Chamonix cancelled as high temperatures impact snow conditions

Unseasonably warm temperatures and poor snow conditions have led to the cancellation of the upcoming Ski World Cup races this weekend. Today (January 29) the International Ski Federation (ISF) has announced that the women’s World Cup downhill and super-G races scheduled in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, will be cancelled.

The women's downhill and super-G race, that were due to take place on Saturday (February 3) and Sunday (February 4) respectively, will now be removed from the race calendar. The FIS posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter: “Women's Audi FIS Ski World Cup races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) cancelled.

“This is to inform that due to the high temperatures and therefore unfavourable snow conditions the scheduled women's Audi FIS Ski World Cup races on 3rd-4th February 2024 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) are cancelled due to safety reasons. FIS worked on a potential replacement for the two races on the same dates as originally planned, but due to time constraints, no solution was found.”

The post added: “FIS worked on a potential replacement for the two races on the same dates as originally planned, but due to time constraints, no solution was found.” It comes after two men’s downhills races in Chamonix, France, have already been cancelled due to poor snow conditions.

The cancellation of the two women’s races this weekend leaves only the men’s slalom race in Chamonix on Sunday. Last December heavy snowfall in the Swiss and French mountains forced further Alpine Skiing World Cup races to be cancelled. The women's Super-G in St. Moritz and the men’s slalom in Val d'Isere were both impacted. The FIS' chief race director Peter Gerdol said it was “impossible” for a race to take place in Switzerland, while fellow director Markus Waldner said “it was not safe enough” at the French resort.

Dominic Killinger, founder of InTheSnow, told NationalWorld that the cancellations are “simply” a result of “weather patterns” and is not a worry. He said: “Last year a World Cup race was cancelled in Zermatt due to lack of snow conditions. This year it was cancelled due to too much snow. It is just a wave of weather just like it is in the UK. Currently it’s quite mild in the UK for this time of the year but generally quite dry compared to the very wet summer that we had. It is purely weather.”