It’s been a so-so year for snow in the far west of North America. But you wouldn’t know that at British Columbia’s Whistler Blackcomb, site of the 2010 Games. Anxiety about snowfall prompted planners to expand Whistler’s snowmaking coverage to 8,000 acres (3,240 hectares). As a result, the resort boasted a 50-in. (127 cm) base in late January.
Similar concerns have dogged Sochi, which like Vancouver is near the coast and is sometimes warm in midwinter. So organizers took steps that all but guarantee snow for this year’s Games; the snowmakers have been busy all season. Rosa Khutor is the main ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana, the mountain town above Sochi where about half of the Olympic events will be held. It’s decked out like a kitschy Austrian alpine hamlet except for the outdoor borscht bar smack in the middle of the resort, staffed by uniformed Cossacks serving salo (salted hog fat) and a Slavic moonshine so authentic, it could unfreeze an engine block.
The Russians hope the Games will put Rosa Khutor on the winter tourism map. It’s spanking new but far smaller than the average European ski resort, with only about 43 miles (70 km) of trails. Italy’s Sestriere, site of the 2006 Games, can link skiers to six other resorts (one in France) and 250 miles (400 km) of runs in a region called the Milky Way; the Salt Lake City region, home to the 2002 Games, offers access to 11 ski areas.
–With Simon Shuster/Sochi
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
- What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
- How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
- Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch Horizon
- Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
- The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com