• Winter Olympics

Lack of snow causing Olympic headache

ESPN staff
February 9, 2010
Officials have been ferrying in snow from elsewhere © Getty Images
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The Winter Olympics gets underway this weekend, but the lack of snow in Vancouver is causing concern for officials.

Vancounver has enjoyed its warmest January on record; daffodils are starting to flower and tress are showing signs of being ready to blossom. With no snow of note in the area, trucks and helicopters are bringing in reserves from other regions.

Training has been abandoned at Cypress Mountain, home of the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, and US speedskater Trevor Marsicano was shocked by the scenes that greeted him on arrival in Vancouver.

He said: "When I got off the airplane it was like, 'What's this green grass doing here? This is the Winter Olympics'. For me it's nice, because I'm used to, like, zero degrees. This is awesome."

Temperatures are set to drop towards the end of week, raising hope among officials that the event will pass off without a hitch.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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