California drought cancels private equity-run ski resort's snowboard competition
It should be the height of ski season on the West Coast.
But instead, pro snowboarders are finding themselves snowed out of a famous California venue that hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics.
The International Ski Federation's World Cup of skicross and snowboardcross competitions at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows in California was cancelled, according to an announcement from United States Ski & Snowboard Association executives.
The culprit? Too few flakes: "Squaw Valley has just received more than two feet of snow, however the amount of snow needed to build the World Cup courses is significant, and the resort has chosen to allocate its resources to focus solely on the guest experience."
Despite a couple of recent feet of fresh powder, in California, the combination of a lengthy drought in 2014 and a dearth of snowfall have left skiers across the state with a fraction of the snow they're used to at this time of year.
The private equity firm has also backed other resorts globally, and over the years has owned more than a dozen different luxury hot spots, stretching from the United Kingdom to Arizona and Florida to Squaw Valley.
The event will not be rescheduled, and, instead, the competition will head on to stops in Switzerland and France later in March.
Squaw Valley did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
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