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No snow in Alps means no World Cup skiing

AFP
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No snow in Alps means no World Cup skiing
The lack of snow means there will be no World Cup alpine races in Courchevel next week. Photo: Jean-Pierre Clatot/AFP

A shortage of snow in the French Alps on Friday prompted the International Ski Federation (FIS) to cancel two days of Alpine World Cup races that were scheduled at France’s Courchevel next week.

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The women's giant slalom and slalom races scheduled for the French resort on December 13 and 14 have been cancelled, after the men's races at Val d'Isère were also called off.

The FIS said it was looking at other possible venues, such as Are, Sweden,for the races due to have taken place in France on December 13 and 14.

France is experiencing an unusually warm winter this year and has caused several ski resorts – from the Alps to the Pyrenees and Jura - to delay their seasonal openings by at least a week.

Despite the Alps getting some snow in early November, the snow has since melted away, leaving the slopes bare.

Even before the FIS announcement, Courchevel had pushed back its opening from December 6 to December 13 because it was not cold enough to make artificial snow.

The nearby resort of Meribel also said it would throw open its slopes on Dec 13 "provided there is snow", while Montgenevre further south had planned to rev up its chairlifts starting late last month but has postponed indefinitely, as have others in the region.

Resorts located in the southwestern Pyrenees mountain range and the eastern Jura range are experiencing similar problems. sons.

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