Doubts Remain about PyeongChang Test Event

(ATR) Skiers are doubtful while ski federation officials are optimistic that the PyeongChang alpine ski test event on Feb. 6-7 will be contested.

The construction of a new gondola is coming down to the wire and concern over insufficient snow coverage could result in the cancellation of downhill and super-G races at the Jeongseon Alpine venue.

"I hope we can ski in Korea and try this hill, but I don’t know what the chances are for that," said Austrian Matthias Mayer, the 2014 Olympic downhill champion. "I’m not hearing good things."

"All I know is that we’re not sure if we’re going or not," said Norwegian three-time Olympian Aksel Lund Svindal. "I have heard that they will make it, then they won’t make it."

Former FIS race director and PyeongChang 2018 consultant Guenter Hujara updated teams at a meeting during World Cup races in Val Gardena, Italy on Dec. 18.

"Whatever you heard before, these rumors and bad news, a good part of it is true, but not all," Hujara said to the gathering of ski coaches. "There are delays, but in the last days, there is huge improvement to be recognized."

Referring to the gondola and snowmaking system, Hujara said: "There is a much more of a positive tendency right now."

The veteran German ski expert advised that he provided a report to the IOC via conference call on Friday morning.

Hujara said that Korean organizers and Doppelmayr, the Austrian gondola manufacturer, have assured that the gondola will be finalized by Dec. 31.

He said that the lower snowmaking system has now been operational for three days and temperatures have been cold enough for production. Snow making on the upper part of the course will begin in two days.

After a rise in temperatures, colder weather will arrive again once after Christmas and snowmaking on the piste could be completed by Jan. 10.

Hujara will return to PyeongChang on January 18, two days before a final verdict is expected on Jan. 20, the official snow control date. He would not offer a final guarantee on whether teams should book their flights.

International Ski Federation race director Markus Waldner also offered his evaluation of the situation.

"We will still push them," Waldner said of POCOG. "Hujara will be there on January 18 and then we will make a final decision if it’s possibly or not."

Regarding previous delays in gondola construction, Waldner was candid.

"The concrete was the problem," Waldner said. "They made some mistakes in the construction of the concrete."

Waldner advised that PyeongChang 2018 has provided a written guarantee that everything will be completed by the deadline.

"The FIS cannot cancel even if we have seen that there are delays," Walder said.

The Austrian resort of Saalbach has been discussed as a back-up venue on the FIS calendar should the Korean races be cancelled.

U.S. Ski Team head coach Sasha Rearick is not pleased with how the situation has been handled.

"It’s causing us a lot of work and spending money," Rearick said. "The way this is going down right now is not how we proceed normally."

While the U.S. Ski Team has purchased plane tickets to Korea, other teams including the Austrians, have held off.

"You’ve got plane tickets, we’re talking cargo and hotels," Rearick said. "We’ve got this supposed letter that we’re going to get reimbursed for anything we lose in expenses.

"We’re rolling the dice right now one way or the other," said the U.S. ski coach.

POCOG sent an observation team to the FIS World Championships in Colorado in February and on a Far East Cup race is scheduled for Jan. 23 on the Jeongseon racehill. Despite preparations, Waldner says the organizers are "going from zero to World Cup races."

"This is so important to have a strong crew – they have no idea how to run a World Cup event," Waldner said.

Adding to the challenges, the Jeongeseon venue is approximately a one and a half hour drive from PyeongChang and there are no accommodations at the base of the mountain. As is mandatory at FIS World Cup downhill races, two helicopters must be provided by organizers should a skier evacuation be necessary.

"They are still guaranteeing it," Waldner said. "Let’s see if they are right."

Written and reported in Val Gardena, Italy by Brian Pinelli

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