Of all the adjectives that network broadcasters will use to describe Sochi, Russia, in the coming weeks, we’re unlikely to hear the word “frozen.” Sochi is one of Russia’s southernmost points, directly in the subtropics on the same latitude as the French Riviera and the city of Venice. Most of the year, and throughout its history, the seaside town has been a summer resort, welcoming sunbathers eager for a respite from Moscow’s biting cold.

One reason Sochi was chosen for the Olympics, aside from Vladimir Putin’s personal pitch to the Olympic committee in 2007, was the assurance from Russia’s Olympic committee that snow would be plentiful. If it didn’t come the natural way from the sky, then it could be made—to