Muscovites dreaming of a White Christmas are being shattered as the Russian capital is experiencing its warmest winter ever. The city has now been forced to import snow from Siberia.

The Russian capital will host the FIS World Cup Alpine promotional event on January 2, 2009. It’s aimed at stimulating interest for Alpine Skiing as part of the build up to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

For the first time in the history of the sport, the competition in Parallel Slalom will be held on the unique construction, designed by the Russian engineers especially for the event. The ramp will be about 55 metres high and 33 metres wide.

30,000 people are expected to watch the event, which is impossible to stage without 4,000 cubic metres of snow, yet Moscow has seen none so far this year.

However, the organizers have found a solution. They are now importing snow from the Kemerovo Region in Siberia, which was troubled by heavy snowfalls recently.

The Siberian snow is being packed into 300 kilogram bags and sent to Moscow in refrigerated carriages, which means the skiing event will take place in time.