When Nature Doesn't Come Through--

Snow machine in operation at the Mt. Rose Ski Resort, near Reno, Nevada (and on the way to Lake Tahoe). They'll also run these machines, even once there's snow cover, in high-traffic areas where the snow tends to get worn away! The machine basically consists of an industrial-strength fan surrounded by misters; the idea is that the mist droplets freeze quickly and the tiny resulting crystals are a passable approximation to natural snow. Obviously the air temperature has to be below freezing for this to work! IIRC this machine is built by a Swedish company. AFAIK there are no US manufacturers of such devices.