PANORAMA, Canada (AFP) - The top female skiers in the world will converge on Panorama ski resort on the weekend for a pair of World Cup races in what will be a testing ground ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The resort in western Canada's Purcell Mountain range will host a FIS World Cup ladies giant slalom on Saturday followed by the season's second slalom race on Sunday.

It is the first World Cup races at Panorama Mountain Village in 15 years since the men's and ladies competed in the 1992 Labatt Blue World Tour event.

The only other World Cup races held in Panorama was a men's downhill and super giant slalom in 1985.

This week's two women's races will be a more closely scrutinized that normal because Canada is slated to stage the next Winter Games in Vancouver in just over two years.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) gave the official go ahead for the Panorama races on Monday and organizers having been taking advantage of cold, dry temperatures to accelerate the snow making in order to get the hill ready for Saturday.

"The snow is fast and perfect for ski racing," Todd Partington, Panorama's snowmaking director said.

Organizers have spent the last four weeks preparing the course and in the last week a crew of 17 has been working 24 hours a day making snow and grooming runs. There are about 70 snow making machines on the hill.

The course that the ladies technical teams will compete on is made up of two runs, Hay Fever and Old Timer. The pitches on Hay Fever are so steep that grooming machines have to be held by giant cables so they can climb the hill.

"The slalom event will be fantastic," Dusan Grasic, Alpine Canada's Alpin programme director said. "It is a brand new run on the circuit so the racers haven't had a chance to ski it before.

"No slalom event is more challenging because Hay Fever is much steeper than what racers are used to on slalom runs."

Racers will have the complete run of the Panorama facility because the ski hill doesn't open to the public until December 7.