A crisp winter breeze, accompanied by the faint chirping of birds waking up to a fresh Canadian snowfall – this is something like the typical scene one would expect at the Winter Olympics after forking up all that cash to attend such a spectacle. Instead, as the Olympians began to flow into Vancouver, there was a pesky heat wave accompanied by the faint sounds of trucks backing in and dumping snow.As the Winter Olympics drew closer, the mountain on which the snowboarding and skiing events will be held remained untouched by any sort of fresh Canadian powder. According to Anne Casselman of National Geographic News, Vancouver, already the warmest city to ever host the winter games, just experienced its warmest January recorded since 1937.
“Temperatures averaged 44.8 degrees Fahrenheit (7.1 degrees Celsius), considerably warmer than the average of 37.9 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 degrees Celsius). Average February temperatures for Winter Olympic host cities are typically below freezing,” reported Casselman.
In efforts to beat Mother Nature, event officials turned to a strategy called “snow farming.” The method consists of collecting large piles of snow from neighboring mountains and transporting them via truck to the event site.
Just days before events were set to begin, Vancouver continued with its unusually warm ways, and snow still had yet to fall.
“That’s hilarious, and kind of ironic,” said first year Blane Tobin in response to the news of Vancouver desperately needing snow. He went on to say, “If they really need snow that bad, they are more than welcome to come to Guilford and pick ours up.”
Lack of fresh powder poses potential problems for Olympic events relying on ideal winter weather conditions.
“I don’t expect the competition to change. It’s the Olympics; athletes are going to come ready to compete,” said first-year Bret Peterson. He later stated, “Performance would be affected the most by poor conditions, you may not see the best show, but the competitive fire will definitely be there.”
As the opening weekend came to a close, weather conditions on the mountain still remained questionable. According to David Crary of NBC News, the less than ideal conditions delayed the alpine skiing training sessions, forcing officials to delay the men’s downhill and women’s super-combined events because athletes are required at least one training session before participating in an event.
With slope conditions sketchy to say the least, Olympic officials hope to keep events running smoothly and on time. Pushing through a rough first weekend, which included the death of a Georgian luger during a practice run, the events have weathered the first of many tests from Mother Nature. But as they stand right now, the Olympics are in good shape and on schedule. With any luck, the temperatures in Vancouver will begin to cooperate and squeeze out a little snow flurry sometime soon.