With only three days until the 2010 Winter Olympics begin, the weather is still causing major headaches for the organisers. Unseasonably warm temperatures well above freezing mean a lack of snow at the Cypress Mountain ski resort where the snowboarding and freestyle events are planned to take place.

The organisers have promised that all events at Cypress Mountain will go ahead no matter what, but for days they have had to deploy trucks and helicopters to bring in snow from higher altitudes.

Rising temperatures and forecasts of rain are also causing concerns about the Whistler-Creekside venue. The men's downhill skiing race is due to be held there on Saturday, but the head of the International Ski Federation Günter Hujara says conditions resemble winter at the start of the course but spring at the finish.