Photos and video on social media show the Rosa Khutor Ski Resort in Sochi blanketed in orange snow, which made the slopes look more like the surface of Mars than the hills that hosted events during the 2014 Winter Olympics.
According to meteorologists, the tinted snow is a product of dust from the Sahara and Arabian deserts that blew into the atmosphere and mixed with forming snow.
Despite the discolored snow, the slopes stayed open for business, creating irresistible Instagram fodder for skiers.