Orientation | Will the snow falling in the mountains mess up the World Cup finals? – The Finnish coach was surprised by the announcement of the Swiss competition organizers

Orientation the World Cup finals will take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the Swiss Alps.

Race organizers already warned on Tuesdaythat the games may be messed up by natural forces that are quite surprising by the standards of orienteering.

Two of the three races will be held near Davos on terrains where, according to preliminary information, you will partly rise to an altitude of 1,800–1,900 meters.

For the rest of the week, cold and rainy weather is expected in the region, and at those altitudes, the rain may come as snow at this time of year. And it has already come.

According to the race organizers, the finish of Saturday’s relay is located at an altitude of more than 1,800 meters in Madrisa.

If snow comes to the competition site located at the tree line, it may become a problem to transport the equipment required to the competition center by car, according to the race organizers. Athletes and other members of the teams can go up with the gondola lift.

Finland team coach Vroni König Strait is a citizen of both Switzerland and Finland and knows the local weather conditions.

“I was surprised that they even mentioned that matter. When I look out the window, I can see snow up there. In the morning, there was more snow here and there was a little snow on the trees, but now the sun is shining and the little snow has melted,” König-Salmi said by phone from Davos, located at an altitude of about 1,600 meters, which is known in Finland, at least as a standard stop for the World Cup of Skiing, when it comes to sports.

König-Salmi suspects that it might be the equipment related to the TV production of the Games.

“I don’t see any problem, but I don’t know the backgrounds. This is quite normal, that it snows here in October,” said König-Salmi, who has also coached the Swiss national team.

The organizers of the MC finals plan to tell on Thursday whether the relays can be carried through on Saturday as planned. On Sunday, it’s time for the middle distance to be navigated in the lower terrain, and on Monday it’s higher again in the long distance race.