Olympic Skiers Worry About Snow Made by Machines
2022-01-18
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1Olympic skiers have said they are worried about competing safely at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing next month because there will be little natural snow.
2The athletes say snow made by machines is not as safe as snow that falls naturally.
3Some of the world's best skiers in events that include cross-country skiing say snow made with machines is not as soft as natural snow.
4Cross-country skiing takes place on both flat and downhill surfaces.
5The skiers say snow made by a machine gets icy, which makes for faster races.
6But it also leads to high-speed crashes.
7Observers say climate change is making natural snow less available around the world.
8So, people who organize ski races depend on snow-making machines.
9This is the case even in parts of the world that are cold during the winter months.
10That is because snow does not fall as often as it once did in many places.
11Organizers put snow machines along race courses before events to create a path for the skiers along hills and through forests.
12Johanna Taliharm is an Olympic athlete from Estonia in the biathlon, an event that combines shooting and skiing.
13She said it hurts more if skiers fall in an area where there is no snow.
14Chris Grover is the leader of the cross-country ski team for the U.S.
15He said the machine-made snow is "rock-hard."
16So, when a skier falls, it can feel like hitting a hard surface.
17Gus Schumacher is an American cross-country skier.
18He said, at an event in France, some skiers slipped in the corners because the man-made snow did not stay together like natural snow.
19He called it "super-unforgiving."
20John Aalberg is a former Olympic skier who now designs race courses.
21He said cross-country ski races now have more athletes on the course at one time.
22He said now the corners need to be wider to fit more skiers.
23Jessie Diggins is a U.S. team member.
24He said the skiers can reach speeds close to 80 kilometers per hour in the downhill parts of the race.
25He called it "scary" to reach such high speeds when there is not much snow outside of the racing area.
26He said he thinks the sport is more dangerous now than in the past.
27The Associated Press asked FIS, the organization that runs ski racing around the world,
28 if it had information about crashes in cross-country races.
29FIS said it did have information about crashes but would not make it public at this time.
30The group did not answer questions about man-made snow.
31Jim Steenburgh is a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah.
32He said the reason races that use man-made snow are different is that snow made by machines "isn't really snow at all."
33He explained that the machines force water through small holes.
34The water turns into droplets that freeze.
35However, he said, the structure of natural snow is very different.
36The machines that make snow are the same for cross-country and downhill races, Steenburgh said.
37The downhill racers like the man-made snow.
38He noted that natural snow is sometimes cleared from the downhill race courses so the surface can be harder and faster.
39But, he said, cross-country skiing is "different."
40Andrew Young is a cross-country skier from Great Britain.
41He crashed at an event last year and broke his leg.
42He was not able to recover in time to compete at the 2021 World Championships.
43He said climate change has changed the sport, but there are other reasons why it is more dangerous.
44He said the paths the racers take were changed so that television cameras and fans can see them more easily.
45As a result, he said, there are shorter circles, more corners and more crashes.
46Some racing areas now need less space to put on cross country events.
47For example, in 2002 at the Winter Olympics in Utah, there were 17 kilometers of racing paths.
48In future Winter Olympics, the paths will only total 11 or 12 kilometers.
49Young said race courses are built with just a "ribbon of artificial snow."
50He added that, if there is a crash, the results "of exiting the track become actually quite serious."
51I'm Dan Friedell.
1Olympic skiers have said they are worried about competing safely at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing next month because there will be little natural snow. The athletes say snow made by machines is not as safe as snow that falls naturally. 2Some of the world's best skiers in events that include cross-country skiing say snow made with machines is not as soft as natural snow. Cross-country skiing takes place on both flat and downhill surfaces. The skiers say snow made by a machine gets icy, which makes for faster races. But it also leads to high-speed crashes. 3Observers say climate change is making natural snow less available around the world. So, people who organize ski races depend on snow-making machines. This is the case even in parts of the world that are cold during the winter months. That is because snow does not fall as often as it once did in many places. 4Organizers put snow machines along race courses before events to create a path for the skiers along hills and through forests. 5Johanna Taliharm is an Olympic athlete from Estonia in the biathlon, an event that combines shooting and skiing. She said it hurts more if skiers fall in an area where there is no snow. 6Chris Grover is the leader of the cross-country ski team for the U.S. He said the machine-made snow is "rock-hard." So, when a skier falls, it can feel like hitting a hard surface. 7Gus Schumacher is an American cross-country skier. He said, at an event in France, some skiers slipped in the corners because the man-made snow did not stay together like natural snow. He called it "super-unforgiving." 8John Aalberg is a former Olympic skier who now designs race courses. He said cross-country ski races now have more athletes on the course at one time. He said now the corners need to be wider to fit more skiers. 9Jessie Diggins is a U.S. team member. He said the skiers can reach speeds close to 80 kilometers per hour in the downhill parts of the race. He called it "scary" to reach such high speeds when there is not much snow outside of the racing area. He said he thinks the sport is more dangerous now than in the past. 10The Associated Press asked FIS, the organization that runs ski racing around the world, if it had information about crashes in cross-country races. FIS said it did have information about crashes but would not make it public at this time. The group did not answer questions about man-made snow. 11Jim Steenburgh is a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah. He said the reason races that use man-made snow are different is that snow made by machines "isn't really snow at all." 12He explained that the machines force water through small holes. The water turns into droplets that freeze. However, he said, the structure of natural snow is very different. 13The machines that make snow are the same for cross-country and downhill races, Steenburgh said. The downhill racers like the man-made snow. He noted that natural snow is sometimes cleared from the downhill race courses so the surface can be harder and faster. But, he said, cross-country skiing is "different." 14Andrew Young is a cross-country skier from Great Britain. He crashed at an event last year and broke his leg. He was not able to recover in time to compete at the 2021 World Championships. He said climate change has changed the sport, but there are other reasons why it is more dangerous. 15He said the paths the racers take were changed so that television cameras and fans can see them more easily. As a result, he said, there are shorter circles, more corners and more crashes. 16Some racing areas now need less space to put on cross country events. For example, in 2002 at the Winter Olympics in Utah, there were 17 kilometers of racing paths. In future Winter Olympics, the paths will only total 11 or 12 kilometers. 17Young said race courses are built with just a "ribbon of artificial snow." He added that, if there is a crash, the results "of exiting the track become actually quite serious." 18I'm Dan Friedell. 19Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 20What do you think will happen during the cross country ski races at next month's Olympics? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 21_____________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23skier - n. a person who takes part in a sport which uses two narrow pieces of plastic, metal or wood to slide over snow downhill or over flat areas 24course - n. a path that competitors take in a race 25corner - n. a curve in a road or on a path 26scary - adj. causing fear 27droplet - n. a very small drop of water or liquid 28ribbon - n. a narrow piece of material such as cloth 29artificial -adj. not natural or made in nature; produced by people or machines