Freeride World Tour Georgia Pro Cancelled, Restaged at Kühtai in Austria

Freeride World Tour Georgia Pro Cancelled and Restaged in Kühtai, Austria

The third stop of the 2026 FIS Freeride World Tour by Peak Performance has been cancelled after organisers determined snow conditions at Tetnuldi resort in Georgia's Svaneti region were too dangerous to proceed. Rather than simply dropping the round from the calendar, the FWT has moved the event to Kühtai near Innsbruck, Austria, where competition is expected to take place this Thursday or Friday.

Why Georgia Was Called Off

The Georgia Pro had a competition window scheduled from February 22–28, but despite multiple assessments from FWT officials, mountain safety experts, and local professionals, the snowpack at the Mestia venue didn't come close to meeting the standards required to run a safe event.

The FWT's statement was pretty direct: "Current conditions do not meet the standards required to ensure athlete and staff safety. Multiple venue and scheduling options were carefully assessed before reaching this decision, and the structural instability observed would not sufficiently improve within the available window."

That's not a soft call to make. Georgia was added to the FWT calendar in 2024 and had built a reputation for impressive terrain in the Caucasus — but you can't run a freeride comp on a snowpack that's structurally unstable, full stop.

Why Kühtai Makes Sense as a Replacement

Kühtai didn't come out of nowhere as a replacement venue. The Austrian resort near Innsbruck already hosted a FWT Junior 3-star event — the FAI Kühtai Freeride Open — back in January 2026 as part of this season's junior and qualifier calendar. That means local organisers already understand how to set up and run an FWT-sanctioned event. The face being used for the replacement round is Schöffi's Face, which the tour confirmed meets its terrain, conditions, and operational requirements.

It's a smart call rather than a scramble. When you need to rehost a Pro Tour stop at short notice, reaching for a venue that's already in the FWT family and has a functioning local organisation is a much safer bet than trying to set up from scratch somewhere new.

What's at Stake for Athletes

Points are the reason this matters. Without the Georgia Pro being restaged, athletes would have missed the points allocation that round carries — and with the Cut approaching, that's a meaningful gap for those sitting outside the qualifying positions.

As things stand heading into Kühtai, Ben Richards of New Zealand leads the men's ski category after winning both completed stops this season and has already secured a spot in the FWT Finals. In women's skiing, Argentina's Agostina Vietti tops the standings after winning the Val Thorens Pro, and she's also qualified for the Finals. Behind them, the standings are tight enough that a result in Kühtai could meaningfully shift the picture for riders on the bubble.

Georgia Stays on the Calendar

The FWT was clear that this is a one-season workaround only. Georgia remains a confirmed stop on the long-term FWT schedule, and organisers have said they expect to return to Tetnuldi next season. Given the terrain and the unique appeal of freeride competition in the Caucasus, that's the right outcome — this year's snowpack issue doesn't change what the venue offers when conditions cooperate.

Broadcast and scheduling details for the Kühtai replacement event are expected to be confirmed shortly.