FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Garmisch-Partenkirchen cancelled due to lack of snow

An FIS Alpine Ski World Cup slalom race was held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen earlier this month, but a lack of snow has led to two cancellations in the German resort ©Getty Images

Two legs of the men's International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Alpine Ski World Cup due to be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen later this month have been cancelled due to a lack of snow.

A downhill race had been scheduled for January 28 on the Kandahar slope, followed by a giant slalom the following day in the German resort.

The FIS plans to find a replacement event.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen was able to host a men's slalom race on the Alpine Ski World Cup on January 4, but Europe has recorded a largely mild winter, and several resorts have been forced to temporarily close ski slopes.

The start of the Alpine Ski World Cup faced weather disruption, with seven of the first races across the men's and women's circuits called off.

Men's events have since been cancelled in Beaver Creek in the United States and Val Gardena in Italy, and a women's competition in Zagreb in Croatia.

Hundreds of sites across the continent have broken heat records, including temperatures reaching 20 degrees Celsius in parts of Switzerland.

🚨Due to the to lack of snow, the scheduled Downhill and Giant Slalom on the Kandahar slope on January, 28th-29th 2023 in @skiworldcup_gap (GER) are cancelled 😢
More infos are coming about the replacement. #fisalpine pic.twitter.com/vOJRcWSjvo
— FIS Alpine (@fisalpine) January 10, 2023

However, upcoming men's Alpine Ski World Cups are due to take place as scheduled in the Swiss resort of Wengen and Austrian resorts of Kitzbühel and Schladming later this month, as well as St Anton in Austria and Cortina d'Ampezzo and Kronplatz in Italy on the women's circuit.

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are also scheduled for February 6 to 19 in Courchevel and Méribel in France.

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt is the men's Alpine Ski World Cup overall leader with six victories so far this season, while America's Mikaela Shiffrin has won eight races to lead the women's standings.

There are concerns over the future of winter sports given the climate crisis and the International Olympic Committee is concerned at a reduction in the number of climate-reliable cities to stage its Winter Olympics, with the possibility of rotating its multi-sport event within a pool of hosts discussed last month.

A report by David Goldblatt released in 2020 claimed that 10 of the 19 former Winter Olympic host cities would not be reliable winter sport destinations by 2050 because of the impact of climate change.