U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced that the aerials and moguls World Cup competitions in January, originally scheduled for Deer Valley in Utah, have been moved to two sites in the Northeast. Ski officials in the region say the change could be a boon to resorts in New York, New Hampshire and Vermont, which are off to a strong start to the season.
World Cup competitions determine the eligibility of athletes to compete in the Olympics. So, ahead of the 2026 Winter Games, U.S. Ski & Snowboard said it didn’t want to take any chances.
In moving the World Cup aerials competition to Lake Placid and the moguls to New Hampshire, the ski and snowboard organization said the switch is “due to unseasonably warm weather” at the Utah resort and is “designed to ensure critical qualification opportunities in an Olympic year.”
The relocations are part of an inversion of sorts that’s taking place so far this ski season, where Northeast resorts are benefiting from early snowfall and cold temperatures that have allowed for snowmaking, while interior West resorts are coping with less-than-ideal conditions.
Ski New York President Scott Brandi says the switch from a West Coast to East Coast venue for World Cup competition is unusual, but not unprecedented, adding east coast resorts have an advantage this year.
“It’s happened before. You know, we make our snow and they depend on natural snow. They need natural snow. We need cold weather. Because of our snowmaking we can pretty much get open and have consistency as opposed to the West.”
The aerials will be at the jumping complex in Lake Placid. Darcy Rowe Norfolk, Olympic Regional Development Authority spokesperson, says the village will be hosting two World Cup finals that will qualify athletes for the Olympics.
“We were already hosting a World Cup aerials competition at the aerials hill at the Lake Placid jumping complex and now we’ve stepped up to host a second World Cup during that same time period. And so we’re now just taking on the next weekend’s event that was supposed to be happening in Deer Valley to do a double World Cup in Lake Placid. So now not only are we two World Cups in two qualification periods but we’re also the finals. These athletes are looking to qualify and World Cup points is what they’re after right now to be able to make it to that next level and represent their home country at the Olympics.”
Ski Vermont spokesman Bryan Rivard says ski resorts in the Northeast have had a strong early season, and many opened a week earlier than planned.
“We do have some of the most powerful snowmaking systems in the world. We’ve been snowmaking for multiple decades now and the reason it did come on line in New England is the weather is a little fickle at times. So it was really a means of hedging the bets and making sure that there was always a consistent amount of snow on the hills. I think that is definitely is an advantage that we do have over the west. We certainly still rely on natural snow. We love it when we get it.”
Brandi says snow conditions have been fantastic and expects that the World Cup competition in Lake Placid will benefit all of New York’s ski resorts.
“Whenever there’s a televised event and there’s press on a snow sports event, be it freestyle, ski jumping, even luge, bobsled, much less specific skiing events, it always piques people’s interest and the more skiing and snow in the mountains is in the news the better for all of us in the skiing universe. This being an Olympic year we’ll definitely see a pop from the Winter Olympics. And it’s great for Lake Placid. It’s a great thing for all of us.”
While Vermont will not host any World Cup competition, Ski Vermont’s Rivard says being the crossover state between the two Olympic qualifying events could benefit Green Mountain resorts.
“I’m trying not to take it too personally the fact that they’re just skipping right over us between New York and New Hampshire. But I mean we could definitely have that traffic right across us. And I would think that if you’re passing through anyway, I certainly would stop at a mountain and take a couple of turns. So I can definitely see that helping out Vermont ski areas. It’s a great opportunity for all of New England to really showcase what they have and the conditions we’re able to provide.”
The FIS World Cup aerials will be held in Lake Placid Jan. 11-12. The mogul competition will take place at the Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire Jan. 15-16.
