International Rock Skiing Championships

The Winter Olympic Games kick off tomorrow in Turin, Italy, but it looks like they may be missing one rather important ingredient for a successful winter games - snow:

The undeniable first impression after a day poking around the city and the mountain venues to the north is that much remains to be done and little time remains. And there is one problem beyond the fixing of mere mortals: a lack of snow.

Just over a week ago, 1-2 feet of pristine white stuff fell in the region, prompting one USOC official, in an assessment of preparations last week, to write: “It was like Christmas morning, turning an industrial city into a magical Olympic host and the mountains from a brown, patchy countryside to a virtual whiteout.”

But most of all that golden snow appears gone now, the victim of three days of astonishing weather — the temperature hitting 59 on Feb. 1 — as northern Italy enjoys a mild winter much like New England. The ski venues are making snow like crazy and snow is even getting trucked in from snowier climes.

These games may come out like that Capital One commercial where the family goes skiing in the middle of summer and goes tumbling down a rock-studded mountain.

By the way, you may have noticed that NBC insists on calling the host city by it's Italian name, Torino. Some other networks are laughing:

"RIVAL networks are laughing at NBC for its decision to refer to Turin, Italy, where it is broadcasting the Winter Olympics, as "Torino." "NBC apparently thinks using the Italian version of the city's name is sexier and will somehow boost TV ratings of its Olympics coverage," said radio producer Tom Somach.