Slushy, Sochi Snow

If there is something that was often mentioned, but not expanded upon too much by the media, it was the quality of the Olympic snow at Sochi. The IOC and the Russians must have kept a continuous tight lid on this slushy subject. No matter what Putin supporters will say, it wasn't ideal and certainly more spring than winter like. 

For those of us who have traveled a bit and know the mountain environment, there is a clear correlation between minimum skiing altitude and latitude. In other words, Whistler Mountain that sits at only 2,840' stands under a 50 degree latitude, while Taos Ski Valley, further south in New Mexico is 9,207' high for a 36.6 latitude. It goes in between from these two extreme.

Now Rosa Khutor that falls in between these two examples has a base elevation of 3,840' at 43.6 degrees. In America, Jackson hole located at the same latitude doesn't have too much snow at 6,451'. To make matters worse, the Sochi mountain resort suffers from an even milder climate due to its proximity to the Black Sea.

There was no excuse for picking such a place as a Winter Olympic venue! Now, that you know all this, you wonder how much money from the Putin “slush” fund must have been paid the IOC delegates to clinch the Sochi nomination...