ok, so i did go to this in the end and caught a bit of the qualifying, albeit not for long because there was good snow to be had on the mountain
perhaps it's not the best round to judge at because it's a very small twiddly little circuit, but it was free to watch and attracted maybe 500 spectators. maybe 100 of those had skis parked up and had just stopped for a look in passing. it's spectacular in a predictable kind of way, a bit like drifting. the ski bus from the airport is stupidly cheap, and only takes 90 minutes so i guess that's how a lot of people got there.
i wouldn't go specifically to see it unless i was going to be using the mountain at the same time, but it was an interesting distraction. there's not really enough in the paddock to go wandering about and look at, and even though it was above zero on saturday it's too cold to be stood around watching for long.