Levi passes snow control for up-coming slaloms

The official snow control for the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Slalom Opening at Levi, Finland took place on Thursday (Nov. 4). FIS Race Director Hans Pieren inspected the snow conditions on the racing hill in Levi and confirmed the competitions as scheduled November 13-14.

The course crew has been doing good work on Levi Black during the past week. Given the efficient snow-making system and experienced team it was possible to produce half of the required snow within 24 hours. Snow for the entire course was produced in record time overall.

“Snow conditions on the course are very good. At the time of measurement, there was more than 1/2 meter snow, even more in places. This allows us to confirm the organization of the competitions from the snow perspective,” said Pieren.

Next the Levi Black piste will be injected, and the safety installations placed, followed by final race preparations.

“The staff of the resort has been working very hard to ensure the race conditions. In practice, the competitions were confirmed thanks to the cold temperatures over the weekend during which every second was fully leveraged. This provides us a great basis for delivering the entire event – we expect an excellent race weekend,” praised Mikko Saarinen, Secretary General of the Levi organizing committee the snow-making team.

Last year some 20,000 spectators attended the event over the weekend, and this year at least the same number are expected.

“So far, we have already received more bookings for accommodation than last year, and new reservations are coming in all the time by phone and on the internet. There are more than 23,000 beds at Levi so rooms are still available,” commented Seija Alatalo from Levi Tourismus.

Recreational skiing at Levi will open Nov. 5. Cross-Country trails are already open and for this weekend’s Levi Days-Season Opening, there will be 28km of trails groomed.

Photo of last season’s inspection by Gepa