in Beijing, the Games rely solely on snow cannons

On Sunday January 30, a thin film of snow just whitened the peaks north of Beijing. It’s hard to imagine that in a few days the Winter Olympics will be held here. If the slopes are covered with snow, it is only thanks to snow cannons. “I’m under pressure, because these Olympics are entirely based on artificial snow”, says Paul Lambert, in charge of the TechnoAlpin installation. The Olympic venues are in an arid region where snowfall is rare. So, it was necessary to install 354 snow cannons, an ecological aberration for some.

“I think it’s irresponsible, it’s an environment that is not at all suitable for snowmaking”, according to Carmen de Jong, geographer at the University of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin). Millions of liters of water will have to be pumped to the Olympic venues. But Beijing assures it, this does not compromise its promise of ecological Games. These first ones relying solely on snow cannons will begin on Friday 4 February.