Russia has started to stockpile hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of snow to ensure the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi is insured against unpredictable weather.
Organisers have constructed a huge refrigeration facility at the Rosa Khutor ski resort for possible use when alpine skiing and snowboarding starts at next year's Games.
The stockpile will be covered by a layer of specially processed sawdust to allow it to survive for a year with minimum loss from melting.
The proximity of the Black Sea and the Sochi climate's natural humidity virtually guarantees heavy snowfalls at the 2014 Olympic venues.
However organisers decided to reserve some extra snow to fit the strict demands of the international wintersports federations and the International Olympic Committee.
The Olympic venues have suffered unpredictable weather this year varying from ideal sunny cold conditions to the muggy weather with zero rainfall that can potentially ruin a winter sports event.