Organizers of the Freeride World Tour international ski and snowboard competition this week pinned their hopes for staging the event on a forecast for clear weather Thursday.
The one-day event has been repeatedly postponed since Saturday, March 14 for conditions including bad weather and avalanche danger. The skiers and film crew were ready to hit the slopes Tuesday before the competition was called off at the last minute due to poor visibility, said tourism director Leslie Ross.
“In flat light the skiers can’t read the terrain. It’s a safety issue,” Ross said.
As of press time Wednesday, the competition was scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday. “It’s going to be a bluebird. It’s going to happen,” Ross said.
Organizers must hold the event by Sunday, when their borough permit expires. Ross said they could technically file for an extension, but likely won’t do so.
“They could apply for an extension, but they have their final competition in Verbier (Switzerland) on the 28th, so they are getting out of here as soon as possible,” she said.
Though competition organizers originally wanted to hold the event on Telemark Ridge, which provides a dramatic, Chilkoot Inlet backdrop to shots, they relocated to an area above the Little Jarvis Glacier near 40 Mile Haines Highway.
Ross said the same area was used in 2002 for Red Bull’s Alaska Snowthrill competition.
The Pioneer Bar and Haines Borough Public Library will live-stream the competition from the Internet.
The public is welcome to attend an awards banquet after the competition at 8:30 p.m. at Harriett Hall.
Participants have been ferried around town to see local attractions including Chilkoot Lake and Steve Kroschel’s Wildlife Park. Many turned out to meet residents at a Friday reception at the Sheldon Museum.