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Climate change: Athletes flag the dangers of manmade snow
AP
Climate change: Athletes flag the dangers of manmade snow
MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press 3 hrs ago
FILE - Germany's Tim Tscharnke falls in front of Russia's Nikita Kriukov, right, after making contact with the skis of Finland's Sami Jauhojaervi in the men's classical-style final of the cross-country team sprint competitions at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Feb. 19, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Olympic and World Cup race organizers are already used to needing snow-making equipment to create a ribbon of white through the forests as natural snowfall becomes less reliable. Skiers and experts say manmade snow has a higher moisture content, making it ice up quickly.(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
Dmitry Lovetsky
MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press
A British skier crashes through wooden fencing on a downhill corner and slams into a pole, breaking his leg. An American hits an icy patch at the bottom of a hill and crashes into a fence, breaking one ski and twisting the other, also breaking his leg. ... Another American, training before a biathlon race, slides out on an icy corner and flies off the trail into a tree, breaking ribs and a shoulder blade and punctures a lung. ... These were not scenes from high speed Alpine or ski cross events. They happened on cross country ski and biathlon tracks made with artificial snow.
Many top Nordic skiers and biathletes say crashes like these are becoming more common as climate change reduces the availability of natural snow, forcing racers to compete on tracks with the manmade version. Olympic and World Cup race organizers have come to rely on snow-making equipment to create a ribbon of white through the hills since natural snowfall is less reliable. .
Johanna Taliharm, an Estonian Olympic biathlete, said racing on manmade snow comes with risks. ... “Artificial snow is icier, therefore faster and more dangerous,” she said. “It also hurts more if you fall outside of the course when there is no fluffy snowbank, but a rocky and muddy hard ground.” ... Manmade snow has a higher moisture content, making it ice up quickly, skiers and experts say.
{snip}
FILE - Norway's Vibeke Skofterud, left, escapes a crash involving Sweden's Norgren Johansson, right, and Poland's Paulina Maciuszek in the women's 15-kilometer pursuit cross country skiing event at Whistler Olympic Park on February 19, 2010, at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in Whistler, B.C. Many top Nordic skiers and biathletes say crashes are becoming more common as climate change reduces the availability of natural snow, forcing racers to compete on tracks with the manmade version. (AP Photo/Andrew Vaughan, CP, File)
Andrew Vaughan
“I think it is getting a little more dangerous and I’ve noticed at the World Cup when it is manmade snow, it is scary because instead of sliding on snow you’re sliding on ice,” added {Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Nordic ski team member Jessie Diggins}, who was the overall World Cup winner for the 2020-21 season. “I think we’re seeing a higher percentage of falls. I feel it is a little more dangerous now.”
{snip}
Climate change: Athletes flag the dangers of manmade snow
MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press 3 hrs ago
FILE - Germany's Tim Tscharnke falls in front of Russia's Nikita Kriukov, right, after making contact with the skis of Finland's Sami Jauhojaervi in the men's classical-style final of the cross-country team sprint competitions at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Feb. 19, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Olympic and World Cup race organizers are already used to needing snow-making equipment to create a ribbon of white through the forests as natural snowfall becomes less reliable. Skiers and experts say manmade snow has a higher moisture content, making it ice up quickly.(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
Dmitry Lovetsky
MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press
A British skier crashes through wooden fencing on a downhill corner and slams into a pole, breaking his leg. An American hits an icy patch at the bottom of a hill and crashes into a fence, breaking one ski and twisting the other, also breaking his leg. ... Another American, training before a biathlon race, slides out on an icy corner and flies off the trail into a tree, breaking ribs and a shoulder blade and punctures a lung. ... These were not scenes from high speed Alpine or ski cross events. They happened on cross country ski and biathlon tracks made with artificial snow.
Many top Nordic skiers and biathletes say crashes like these are becoming more common as climate change reduces the availability of natural snow, forcing racers to compete on tracks with the manmade version. Olympic and World Cup race organizers have come to rely on snow-making equipment to create a ribbon of white through the hills since natural snowfall is less reliable. .
Johanna Taliharm, an Estonian Olympic biathlete, said racing on manmade snow comes with risks. ... “Artificial snow is icier, therefore faster and more dangerous,” she said. “It also hurts more if you fall outside of the course when there is no fluffy snowbank, but a rocky and muddy hard ground.” ... Manmade snow has a higher moisture content, making it ice up quickly, skiers and experts say.
{snip}
FILE - Norway's Vibeke Skofterud, left, escapes a crash involving Sweden's Norgren Johansson, right, and Poland's Paulina Maciuszek in the women's 15-kilometer pursuit cross country skiing event at Whistler Olympic Park on February 19, 2010, at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in Whistler, B.C. Many top Nordic skiers and biathletes say crashes are becoming more common as climate change reduces the availability of natural snow, forcing racers to compete on tracks with the manmade version. (AP Photo/Andrew Vaughan, CP, File)
Andrew Vaughan
“I think it is getting a little more dangerous and I’ve noticed at the World Cup when it is manmade snow, it is scary because instead of sliding on snow you’re sliding on ice,” added {Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Nordic ski team member Jessie Diggins}, who was the overall World Cup winner for the 2020-21 season. “I think we’re seeing a higher percentage of falls. I feel it is a little more dangerous now.”
{snip}