Beaver Creek may add Lake Louise downhill; Killington GS cancelled due to high winds

While it’s warm and toasty again in the Vail Valley, weather elsewhere is wreaking havoc on the World Cup ski racing schedule, forcing the cancellation of the women’s giant slalom in Killington, Vermont on Saturday and the men’s downhill in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada on Friday.

Friday’s Lake Louise downhill may be made up at the upcoming Birds of Prey World Cup races in Beaver Creek, according to Ski Racing, which reports there’s a suggestion for downhill training on Wednesday, followed by two super G races Thursday and Friday and two downhill races over the weekend, Dec. 4-5.

That plan is very tentative at this point and is far from being finalized. Weather would be a factor, and forecasters are currently saying the next chance for snow in the Vail area is Friday, Dec. 3.

Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Mikaela Shiffrin of Edwards was a full 1.38 seconds behind leader Tessa Worley of France when Saturday’s GS in Killington was scrapped after just nine racers due to high winds.

Shiffrin won the season-opening GS in Soelden, Austria but has been struggling with back issues since then, finishing second in two slaloms in Levi, Finland.

The women are scheduled to race slalom Sunday in Killington, where Shiffrin has won four straight times.

Beaver Creek is tentatively scheduled to open on Monday after delaying its original opening day on Wednesday due to a lack of snow.