tunguska shaman — Tunguska region (northern Russia) shaman in traditional costume.

Sochi, Russia is worried about snow for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Last spring, they stockpiled 450,000 cubic meters of snow for this winter’s Olympics. This fall, Olympic organizers in Sochi have brought in shamans to pray for snow. They’ve also brought in 550 snowmaking machines to take advantage of any cold weather Sochi sees leading into the Olympics this February.

In Russia, organizers of the 2014 Winter Olympics have called on dozens of shamans to pray for snow. – NPR

snow storage sochi — Sochi snow storage system at Rosa Khutor ski resort on April 5th. Photo: Natailya Vasilyeva/AP

Yep, shamans, witchdoctors, spiritual healers, magic makers. Russia isn’t taking any chances with snow during these winter games.

Their concerns are valid. Last year, Sochi had one of the worst winters on record. They got a lot of rain and very little snow. Two Olympic training events were canceled last winter in Sochi due to a lack of snow.

beach town sochi — Sochi, Russia is a beach town.

Sochi is a beach resort town with palm trees and bikinis. The mountains where the Olympics will be held are only 30 miles from those sandy palm trees.

This winter, the Russians aren’t taking any chances. Between the stored snow, shamans, and snowmaking, Sochi has nearly guaranteed that there will at least be snow on the ground this February.