The 2026 Winter Olympics are beginning their final week in Italy. And it might surprise you to learn that some of those snowy race courses in the Italian Alps aren’t necessarily a product of natural snowfall.
At lower elevations, where cross-country and many other events take place, what we’re seeing is large swaths of artificial snow.
Warmer winters and less-predictable snowfall mean that winter sports must increasingly rely on machine-made snow. And while that makes it possible for the Winter Games to go on, the density and the feel of artificial snow is quite different from that of natural snow.
That makes competing in events like downhill or cross-country skiing faster and – oftentimes – more dangerous.
Keith Musselman is an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who studies mountain snow and the impact of warming winters. And Agnes Macy is a graduate student at CU Boulder and a former competitive skier.
They wrote about how artificial snow is changing winter sports in a recent article for The Conversation. They joined Erin O’Toole to explain what makes machine-made snow different from natural snow, and how athletes and coaches are adapting.
For more on Colorado and the Winter Games, check out our recent conversation about Steamboat Springs’ reputation for producing Olympic athletes; or our interview with Nikki LaRochelle, a skimo racer who’s providing commentary as that sport makes its Olympic debut.
