Five months before its planned World Cup debut, Narvik is surrounded by doubt. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) is still unable to confirm the women's races scheduled for March 12-14, 2027, in northern Norway. On the official calendar they remain marked "TBC," to be confirmed. The programme includes a downhill, a super-G and two downhill training runs.
After his first inspection at Narvikfjellet, FIS race director Peter Gerdol did not hold back when he spoke to Norwegian broadcaster NRK. "They have to work on everything: the slope, snowmaking, the lift, safety installations – everything," he said. Then he added a comparison that leaves little room for interpretation: "You can't play football matches if you don't have a pitch."
Snowmaking must start in early December
Time is short. NRK reports that snow production needs to begin by early December for the slope to be ready in time, and the systems needed for that are not finished yet. Right after Thursday's site visit, Gerdol said there would be meetings in the coming days and more information would follow. FIS has also left open the possibility of another inspection in the next few weeks before it makes a final decision.
The project is huge. More than 700 million Norwegian kroner is going into rebuilding the ski area, with work under way since May 2025. The 2027 World Cup was meant to be the first major dress rehearsal before Narvik stages test events in 2028 and the Alpine World Ski Championships in 2029.
Organiser stays calm
Knut-Eirik Dybdal, head of the World Championships organising committee, sees no reason to panic. He told NRK that construction is on schedule and that the priority is the 2028 test events and the 2029 Worlds, not a single World Cup weekend. Rather than take unnecessary risks, he said, he is prepared to give up next March's races.
Alpine SkiingSofia Goggia to miss Sölden opener after summer battle with chikungunyaNot everyone shares that calm. NRK's alpine analyst Lars Elton Myhre believes Narvik should be worried. Test events matter as preparation for a World Championships, he argued, and without a dress rehearsal the organisers would miss out on valuable experience with the course, the logistics and the weather north of the Arctic Circle.
What a cancellation would mean for the calendar
For the speed specialists, two races in the decisive phase of the winter are at stake. Mid-March is when the downhill and super-G crystal globes are usually decided. If Narvik drops out, FIS would have to find a replacement venue or cancel the races, which would shrink an already tight speed calendar even further. For Norway, a women's World Cup in Narvik would mean a rare home race in the speed disciplines.
The criticism comes at a turbulent time for the Alpine World Cup, only days after Markus Waldner announced he was stepping down as FIS race director. Not much is likely to be settled in Narvik before the season opens in Sölden on October 24. The next inspection will be the key moment, and it will show whether the excavators at Narvikfjellet clear the way for the snow guns in time.
