The 2024 Sölden World Cup has been given the green light by the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) after a positive ‘snow control’ on Thursday, October 17. Snow control for FIS races is an inspection of the conditions on a World Cup race course prior to a race to ensure the course is prepared according to FIS standards and is safe for World Cup athletes to compete on. For more than 30 years, Sölden has been hosting the FIS Alpine World Cup season opener with two Giant Slalom events on the Rettenbach Glacier: a women’s and a men’s event. This year’s events are scheduled for October 26 and 27, with the women’s event on Saturday and the men’s on Sunday.
Last year, the women’s Giant Slalom was won by Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami ahead of Italy’s Federica Brignone and Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova. U.S. ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin narrowly missed out on a podium, coming in sixth place, 1.4 seconds behind her Swiss rival Lara Gut-Behrami. With her victory, Gut-Behrami tied with Tina Maze for the most victories at the season opener since the event started.
Unfortunately, last year, the men’s Giant Slalom was canceled due to heavy winds.
The Austrian resort has been hosting the season opener on the Rettenbach Glacier since 1993. The race is a highlight for spectators and racers alike, and almost the entire race course can be observed from the stands in the finish area. Conditions this year on the Rettenbach Glacier are excellent. Thanks to the great conditions, Sölden opened for skiing on September 20.
The Sölden ski area has two glacier ski areas and a winter ski area. The glacier ski area on the Rettenbach Glacier is located at an altitude of 2,670 meters (8,760 feet). The resort is situated at a base elevation of 1,350 meters (3,445 feet) and reaches a peak elevation of 3,340 meters (10,958 feet). The combined ski area offers 144 kilometers (90 miles) of groomed runs.
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