Olympic venue desperate for snow
Tuesday February 9, 2010 - Email this article to a friend

The weather has been unseasonably warm in recent weeks.

In January it was the warmest month since records began in 1937. There was plenty of rain, but no snow.

However, the Olympic organisers have said that they have no plans to move the competitions and that the events will take place.

Media reports in recent weeks across the world have led the organisers to go on the PR offensive with special news conferences to reassure everyone and tours of the area by top politicians and Olympic organisers.

So, what are they doing?

"Significant challenge"Workers have been putting down straw and wood chips to make the base for many courses.  This will form a base for snow to be laid on it.

There is the ski/board cross, the moguls, the half pipe and other competitions.

Over 1,000 bales of straw have been bought in and helicopters have been used to transport them around.  Helicopters have not, so far, been used to move snow around but they may be as we reported here earlier on PlanetSKI.

So there will be snow on top but the base will be made of straw.

Does it matter for the athletes?

Well actually no. One rider has said that "if the base is made of straw and wood, who cares? It is what is on top that counts." 

Other athletes have said they often race on poor surfaces and they are used to it.

Some of the snow is coming from higher up the mountain where there is plenty of natural snow and now it is also being shipped in by lorry from further afield according to local media reports.

It is reported to being brought in from Allison Pass about 150km away.

The official line is that competition will go ahead as planned, though it has been described as a "significant challenge".

It is also thought to be very expensive but no-one is revealing exactly how much it is costing.

"The latest I heard from Cypress Mountain was positive news," IOC president Jacques Rogge told international media recently.

"The field of play is absolutely impeccable and ready for competition. There is still a little bit of working on the snow but competitions, according to the latest we got from the organising committee, will take place on schedule in Cypress Mountain."

The venue is about half an hour from the centre of Vancouver.

No such problems are affecting Whistler/Blackcombe, where the main skiing events are taking place, further to the north and much higher up. 

It has had record levels of snow this winter and has just announced a season total of over 10m. The early season condtions were the best ever. We will bring you a preview of conditions there later.

The Games start on February 12^th

PlanetSKI has several readers and freelance reporters in Vancouver who will be keeping us up to date on what is happening.

We aim to cover the Games in a slightly different way.  We will, of course, bring you all the major race results and follow the sporting triumphs, but our features and other pieces will also aim to cut through all the hype and spin that will undoubtedly emerge.

Keep an eye open for our coverage - we reckon it will make interesting reading.

Bookmark this page

Related Articles