October 27, 2011 (Beitostolen, Norway) – The Norwegian cross country ski media is reporting that there is still no snow in Beitostolen (NOR), site of the first World Cup of the 2011-12 season, scheduled for November 19-20. With no more than a dusting of snow on the ground right now, concerns are beginning to mount that the venue might not be in condition for the FIS sanctioned Beitosprinten races the weekend prior (November 11-13) or, more importantly, for the World Cup races on the following weekend according to Langrenn.com.

While the lack of snow at this point is not of great concern, the weather forecast for the next week is – the forecast sees temperatures rising well above zero every day. With temperatures like these organizers will be hard pressed to make and stockpile the artificial snow that would be needed to run the races should there be insufficient natural snow. “There is not much we can do about it,” explains event coordinator Erik Østli to Langrenn.com “but we are on standby and ready to produce our own snow as soon as conditions permit.”

Østli explained that organizers needed 3 to 4 nights of very cold temperatures to make snow and it would take  4 to 5 nights to prepare the race course using the venue’s snowmaking system. They are capable of making a 1 km loop in a day, given the right conditions.

Østli ruled out the possibility of bringing down snow from higher elevations, as there is none present right now. For now Østli and his colleagues are proceeding as planned and counting on the colder weather to come soon: “We are still in full throttle in relation to the planning and execution of the events, and are calm under the pressure, but we are naturally dependent on snow,” he conceded. Stayed turned for updates.

Visit the Beitostolen World Cup event web site HERE.
For snow conditions in Beitostolen see a web cam HERE.