Spinning straw into snow (photos)

To preserve less-than-expected amounts of snow at Vancouver's Cypress Mountain, Olympic organizers are using bales of straw to help bulk up the snowboard pipe and other venues.

Trucks are used to carry snow from higher elevations at Cypress Mountain to venues at lower elevations where fresh powder is in shorter supply.

Workers move bales of straw into place at Vancouver's Cypress Mountain, home of events such as freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

Organizers are using helicopters to help put the bales of straw in place. Each bale weighs on the order of 1,000 pounds.

Bales of straw are being used to augment the snowboard cross course at Cypress Mountain. Organizers say they have no intention of moving the event despite encountering a lack of cooperation from Mother Nature.