Annual ski championship in Auli postponed again due to lack of snow

Gopeshwar (Uttarakhand), Mar 17 (PTI) The annual ski and snowboarding championship rescheduled in Auli from March 16-19 has been postponed again due to lack of snow on the slopes.

Organised by the Winter Games Federation with the support of the Uttarakhand government, the event was postponed in January end as well due to lack of snow, officials said.

The competition was to start from Sunday but due to lack of snow in Auli, the federation has decided to postpone the championship keeping in mind the technical requirements for the national-level event, general secretary of the state Winter Games Federation, Ajay Bhatt, told PTI.

“There was snowfall on Saturday, but there was less snow on the lower slopes than on the upper slopes. We waited till late Saturday for the snow to fall as expected. But only about half a foot of snow could accumulate that day, which was not enough. So, the technical committee decided to postpone the competition,” Bhatt said.

While the national championship has been postponed, other competitions at the local level and the Auli Festival are being considered, he added.