Golden Fox in Kranjska Gora due to lack of snow in Maribor
Maribor, 28 December - The 54th Golden Fox FIS World Cup Women's Skiing races, scheduled for 6 and 7 January, will not be held in Maribor due to lack of snow caused by unseasonably warm temperatures with south-westerly winds and rain. FIS decided on Thursday that the giant slalom and slalom races will be held in Kranjska Gora.
Kranjska gora
Freezing rain causing poor visibility forced the organisers of Saturday's women's giant slalom World Cup race in Kranjska gora to cancel the event.
Photo: Stanko Gruden/STA
FIS controller Hans Grogl inspected the Maribor slope this morning, determining that there was not enough snow in the lower part of the piste.
Following the inspection, Grogl commended the organisers for the efforts they had invested in preparations so far but said that they could not compete against the weather.
Slovenia has seen rather warm temperatures in the past days, when temperatures reached about 10 degrees centigrade during the day and did not fall below the freezing point during the night.
This prevented organisers from using snow canons on the Maribor piste, whose finish lies at only 330 metres above sea level.
The cancellation did not come as a surprise considering the weather, and there has been a lot of talk about Kranjska Gora taking over in the past couple of days.
"Kranjska Gora is also an official backup location for the Golden Fox and such a decision was expected," Golden Fox Secretary General Srečko Vilar said. "There is enough snow... and the piste is practically ready."
Kranjska Gora took over the Golden Fox already six times in the past due to lack of snow in Maribor. Twice, the Golden Fox races were held in Bad Gastein, Austria and Jahorina, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The only problem could be accommodation, as the resort is fully booked over the holidays. Therefore spectators and teams are likely to stay in the nearby lakeside town of Bled.