But warming is forcing athletes to hunt farther from home for wintry conditions, particularly just months away from an Olympics. “Something that terrifies every winter athlete daily is the fact that the conditions are not as good as they used to be. The World Cup season began in China, and the Americans were forced to travel there not having set foot on snow in months. Lesson learned: This season, they uprooted to glaciers at Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and Ruka, Finland, for autumn training required to be competitive at February’s Winter Games in South Korea. Canadians endured issues elsewhere, scrubbing a planned summer training trip to Argentina because of hostile weather and extreme winds.

Source: National Post December 18, 2017 14:02 UTC