Organizers of the “Bombardier presents Lake Louise World Cup” are encouraged following today’s snow conditions inspection by the International Ski Federation. Preparations are proceeding as planned for the earliest start ever to World Cup races in Lake Louise after the course inspection by FIS technical experts.

“The course is being constructed thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and the efforts of dedicated staff at the Lake Louise Mountain Resort despite challenging weather conditions,” said John Cassels, Alpine Canada Alpin Director of World Cup Events. “A lot more work remains but we are as committed as ever to making the Bombardier presents Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup one of the best ski racing events in the world.”

Almost 30 centimetres of new snow has fallen at the top of the mountain in the last week according to web reports, creating quality early season conditions with more snow in the forecast.

Canada’s CBC will televise the opening Men’s speed races of the World Cup season starting on Nov. 24. The Lake Louise races are also expected to reach more than 140 million viewers worldwide with the international networks that attend.

Lake Louise, which first hosted a World Cup race in 1980, saw three Canadians find the podium last year to launch a record-breaking season for Alpine Canada Alpin and the country’s national team racers.

Manuel Osborne-Paradis (Vancouver, BC) got it started with silver in the Men’s Bombardier Winterstart Downhill. John Kucera (Calgary, AB) followed by becoming the first Canadian male to win a Men’s Super G race on home soil. Kelly VanderBeek (Kitchener, ON) then earned the first World Cup podium of her career, finishing third in the Women’s Bombardier Winterstart Super G.

Lake Louise is the first resort outside of Europe ever to be named to the prestigious Club 5+, the organization that brings together the most famous and historic World Cup alpine racing courses in the world.

Snow control for the “Telus presents the Panorama World Cup” takes place Saturday.