Olympic freestyle and snowboard athletes who had planned to use Cypress Mountain for free skiing and riding sessions this weekend are being directed to Whistler Blackcomb instead.

"As a result of the ongoing unseasonably warm weather, we're taking some measures to make sure the Cypress venue is in top shape for the official training and competitions," said VANOC spokeswoman Renee Smith-Valade in a statement.

Athletes are being offered free bus transportation, lunch and lift tickets at Whistler Blackcomb.

"While we're not required to offer free skiing/boarding, we have planned for it to ensure the athletes have the best possible opportunity to prepare for their competitions," Smith-Valade said.

Official training is still scheduled to go ahead on Cypress Mountain next week, she said.

However, officials are looking at possibly tightening the number of hours athletes can train on the mountain.

All athletes will still receive the amount of training time they are required to get, but might not get much more, Smith-Valade said.

The warm weather has forced Olympic organizers to fortify the slopes with bales of straw and to truck in extra snow from elsewhere.