2010
29
Jan
At Vancouver Olympics, straw battles sun, rain | Beyond Binary – CNET News
With snow at a premium, Olympics organizers at one Vancouver, B.C., venue are using bales of straw to augment the white stuff as they construct runs for snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and other events.
Although there is plenty of powder at Whistler, B.C., where many of the skiing and sledding events take place, a combination of rain and unseasonably warm temperatures have left Cypress Mountain with less snow had been anticipated.
Spinning straw into snow (photos)View the full gallery
Olympics officials have taken a number of steps to preserve snow on the mountain and ensure that they have enough powder to make it through the games. Earlier this month, the alpine skiing runs at Cypress Mountain were closed to the public.
More recently, workers have been trucking down snow from higher elevations and have started using the straw bales to serve as foundational elements for the ski cross and snowboard cross events. Snow will eventually be used to cover the straw.
“That saves us an enormous amount of snow,” said Tim Gayda, vice president of sport for the Vancouver Organizing Committee.
Some 800 of the 1,000-pound bales have been put in place by helicopter, while 250 more have been brought in through other means.
“We have been very, very busy,” Gayda said, speaking to reporters Thursday.
At Vancouver Olympics, straw battles sun, rain | Beyond Binary – CNET News.