How climate change is reshaping the future of the Winter Olympics

(13 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Avon, Colorado – 3 December 2025
1. Wide of World Cup finish line
2. Medium of racer exiting finish area
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Johnston, Course builder, U.S. Ski & Snowboard:
"The weather's given us plenty of challenges this fall. It's been quite a bit warmer down in Colorado, in this area, in the West in general. Wyoming, Idaho”

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Frisco, Colorado – 18 December 2025
4. Snow-bare mountain top

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Avon, Colorado – 18 December 2025
5. Various of gondola hanging in front of snow-sparse mountains

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Avon, Colorado – 3 December 2025
6. Ski venue builder Tom Johnston skiing with a shovel to the top of a race course
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Johnston, Course builder, U.S. Ski & Snowboard:
“I've been working for US Ski & Snowboard and I’ve been building world class Alpine ski race venues for well over 35 years.”
8. Wide of Tom Johnston shoveling snow off downhill ski run so the fresh snow doesn’t slow down racers
9. Various of Tom shoveling snow
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Johnston, Course builder, U.S. Ski & Snowboard:
“This has been touch and go, whether we were gonna get the temps we needed to prepare these slopes."
11. Various of snow falling on venue for World Cup ski event

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Waterloo, Canada – 5 January 2026
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Scott, Professor, University of Waterloo:
"Winter is changing and that's challenging winter sports around the world. We've seen, especially the last five years, multiple cancelations of FIS races. And then that translates every four years into the challenges of the Olympics. We've seen that at Sochi, we saw it in 2010 in Vancouver. And it really puts both safety and fairness at risk for the athletes."

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ARCHIVE – Krasnaya Polyana, Russia – 8 March 2014
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13. STILL - Arly Velasquez of Mexico crashes during the men's downhill, sitting skiing event at the 2014 Winter Paralympics

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Avon, Colorado – 3 December 2025
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Johnston, Course builder, U.S. Ski & Snowboard:
"So we had to move the finish line up the hill because we couldn't provide a safe and full prepared with safety and everything in the bottom section.”
15. Various of Tom Johnston speaking with other course workers
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Johnston, Course builder, U.S. Ski & Snowboard:
“Trying to provide great venues, you know, under warm temps, it's a challenge.”
17. Tom Johnston skiing down course, carrying a shovel
18. Slow motion of snow falling ++MUTE++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Crested Butte, Colorado – 12 December 2025
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Cam Smith, Olympic qualifier, U.S. Ski Mountaineering:
"We've had to adapt as athletes to be able to compete in these environments and we're running more in the winter as part of our training and then we can use that as a warm up and cool down tool if there's less snow available."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Krasnaya Polyana, Russia – 11 February 2014
20. STILL - The lower slopes appear devoid of snow as brown, dirty snow is piled up on the road to the finish area of the alpine ski venue at the Sochi Olympics

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ARCHIVE: Zhangjiakou, China – 30 January 2022
21. Snow covered the slopes of the Zhangjiakou Olympic mountain venue region ahead of the Beijing Winter Games Opening Ceremonies
22. Various of ski race courses

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ARCHIVE: Krasnaya Polyana, Russia – 14 February 2013

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Waterloo, Canada – 5 January 2026

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