Norway has a fix for no snow: Lillehammer World Cup to use stored snow and be ready in a week

With the ski jumping season fast approaching, Norwegian hills are still without natural snow. Yet Lillehammer’s World Cup organizers insist the competitions will take place on schedule thanks to a tried‑and‑tested contingency plan.

Event manager Terje Lund told Nettavisen that the lack of winter conditions will not affect the timetable. The program is set to start with a mixed team competition on 21 November, followed by individual events on the subsequent days.

To secure conditions, organizers stockpiled large amounts of snow near the Lysgaardsbakken ski jumps after last season. According to Lund, these reserves are sufficient to stage the events. “It looks like all the snow we use will come from the stockpile,” he said.

Work to deploy the snow begins on Monday and is expected to be completed by the following Monday—about one week in total—replicating a method that worked well last year. The live broadcast of the mixed team opener is planned for Friday, 21 November at 16:00.