It appears World Cup racing has made its last call at Lake Louise

As the last woman pushed out of the gate and began her dash over the frozen white track, the awesome beauty of Lake Louise became undeniable. 

Against the backdrop of a royal blue sky and dark green forest, the ski racer whipped down the hill to become miniscule as she was gobbled up by the looming grey of the Rockies which waited patiently below.

It was just one of tens of thousands of thrilling rides that have occurred in this place over the course of its long history with alpine skiing's World Cup.

The sadness lies in the possibility that it may very well have been the last.

Since it first arrived in the 1980's, the World Cup has consistently celebrated the start of winter at Lake Louise. The snow for high-speed racing is guaranteed and while temperatures are often brutally frigid, the atmosphere in Banff National Park is unparalleled.

"It is a giant reunion of the world's ski racing family," said 1992 Olympic downhill champion Kerrin Lee-Gartner, who not only competed at Lake Louise but was CBC's television commentator on races here for 25 seasons. 

"From the racers, to the sponsors, families, and volunteers, past and present, we all had a week together united in our passion for the sport," she said.

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The reality is that financial concerns have made the Lake Louise World Cup races — the only North American stop for female speed racers — too expensive to operate. Those in the know say the business model doesn't compute these days and it all comes down to dollars and cents. 

It's nobody's fault. It's just the way of the world. 

There will be technical races for women, two giant slaloms, next year in Mont Tremblant, Que., so the World Cup will return to Canada, but the