VIDEO: Snow missing from European mountains, so skiers hit the rocks
The warmest weather in half a century means that many European ski resorts are without snow later in the year than any time in recent memory. Some, dedicated skiers are turning to rocks to get their fix.
In Europe, there's a shortage of snow this winter.
That's meant people in Austria have had to come up with another way to get in their skiing fix. They turned to rocks.
"At the moment we're having problems because it's too cold to make artificial snow and real snow hasn't started falling yet," said one Austrian skiier, who'd just come down a rock quarry.
It's a problem familiar to people across Europe, where winter is arriving very late.
This time a year ago, a complete blanket of snow covered ski slopes in the French Alps. Now, with the warmest weather in half a century, the ski lifts are sitting still.
"At this time, snow is lacking, especially in the North Alps," a French meteorologist said.
Ski resort officials are starting to worry that the late start to the season may irreparably set them back.
But that's not stopping the people in Austria. They're making due with a dusty, rather than powdery, descent.
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