To drape the five different snow-requiring venues on the steep hills near Sochi -- elevations for venues range from 2,000 to 6,560 feet -- with plenty of powder, Sochi has about 400 snowmaking cannons producing snow crystals after cool air and water mix at just the right temperature. For in-game emergencies, Sochi has even constructed an above-zero snowmaking plant at the ski jump/Nordic combined venue at the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center, the easternmost venue sitting at the lowest elevation of 2,000 feet, that can produce snow at temperatures up to +15 Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit).
In meantime BusinessWeek has a profile of how Israeli snowmakers are helping other ski resorts around world manufacture snow - skills some acquired from their desalination knowhow from the desert.
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