Freestyle World Cup in Lake Placid canceled due to lack of snow

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The International Ski Federation announced this week that the FIS Freestyle World Cup event, scheduled to take place Jan. 14-16 in Lake Placid, NY, has been canceled.

While Lake Placid’s Whiteface Mountain is open to the public and new snow is expected, there wasn’t sufficient time to build the venues necessary for a World Cup.

Throughout much of November and December, New York State’s Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) worked around the clock to make Whiteface Mountain one of only two ski resorts open in New York for public skiing and riding.

But unusually warm temperatures and lack of natural snowfall has made it impossible to produce enough snow for a moguls course. Inclement weather has also limited snowmaking at the aerials site at the Olympic Jumping Complex.

“ORDA’s goal is to always provide the best venue and conditions possible for any and all events,” said ORDA President and CEO Ted Blazer. “Given the recent weather challenges, ORDA felt that there just was not enough time to prepare Whiteface Mountain and the Olympic Jumping Complex to accommodate this World Cup. We look forward to hosting the best freestyle athletes in the world in the future.”

As host of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games and the 1991 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, Lake Placid is a region rich in Olympic history and spirit. The town has been a stop on the FIS Freestyle World Cup since 1985 and has seen many great performances from U.S. athletes, including World Cup wins from aerialists Mac Bohonnon and Ashley Caldwell, and moguls queen Hannah Kearney.

FIS has not yet announced a reschedule of the event. The World Cup tour’s second U.S. stop, the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, is set for Feb. 4-6.