The Austrian Army Saved the 1964 Winter Olympics with Hand-Carried Snow

A lack of snow in normally frosty Innsbruck threatened the 1964 Winter Olympics. Called to action, the Austrian army scaled nearby snow-capped mountains and carted more than 50,000 cubic yards of snow to the ski courses and 20,000 blocks of ice to the luge and bobsled tracks. The soldiers packed down the snow and ice with their hands and feet.