Giant snowflakes may have proved problematic for the organisers of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics during the opening ceremony, but it has been a lack of them that has been causing consternation since.

From the skiers at the Laura cross-country skiing course to the snowboarders on the halfpipe, grumbles about the effect of the warm weather on the quality of the snow intensified as organisers were forced to insist rising temperatures would not affect the quality of the competition.

With temperatures of six degrees on Tuesday in the lower reaches of the Rosa Khutor resort due to rise to 11 degrees by the end of the week, organisers began shovelling snow onto the pistes at the alpine courses. Temperatures on the slopes are not expected to dip below zero all week.

Nor has it snowed since the Games began and contingency plans to use 450,000 cubic metres of snow stored under special blankets from previous winters have swung into action.

Organisers injected the slalom course with water overnight in an attempt to create a harder surface and special chemicals were used elsewhere to try and harden soft snow. More than 400 snow cannons are primed to produce fresh snow, but cannot be used until temperatures fall below zero, which is not expected to happen for at least four days.

The women's downhill training run morning was cancelled due to poor conditions and ahead of the halfpipe snowboarding event, considered a key highlight for broadcasters and organisers, a string of riders complained about the condition of the pipe.

"The flat bottom is just sand and mush. It's pretty heavy. And once everyone gets in there it just turns to mush," said the American favourite Shaun White.

His team-mate Danny Davis added: "It's a bummer to show up at an event such as the Olympics and not have the quality of halfpipe to match the quality of the riders. It's a bit unsafe." Ben Bright, the brother and coach of Australian snowboarder Torah, simply said the conditions were "very shit".

At the slopestyle skiing, a string of competitors fell in the slushier than usual conditions although refused to criticise the course. Katie Summerhayes, the British 18-year-old who finished seventh, said the conditions were more akin to those they are used to in the summer.

Australian moguls skier Dale Begg-Smith blamed the snow for his bad performance on Monday night. "As of yesterday the course got really soft and it went from icy to soft," he said.

"It's not even slushy, it's just mushy," said American cross-country skier Bill Demong. "There is no structure to the snow at all. It's very hard to ski on, it's almost impossible to ski easy."

The $51bn (£31bn) that Vladimir Putin has spent transforming a single run into a sprawling winter sports resort could not guarantee the ideal climate for winter sport. When he swooped in to personally address the International Olympic Committee in Guatemala to clinch the Games in 2007, Putin had promised the first ever Winter Games in a sub-tropical climate would offer a unique experience.

Down in the coastal cluster, where futuristic venues house the ice based events, temperatures are forecast to reach 20 degrees by the end of the week and spectators are wandering around in shirt sleeves. Up in the mountains, trucks criss cross the secured mountain roads carrying deposits of snow that have been stored in special bunkers.

However, the problem is not unique to Sochi. Four years in Vancouver, Canadian organisers had to ship in snow by helicopter and trucks to deal with a lack of the white stuff.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the problems were not unusual and were being managed by the organisers and the sports federations that are responsible for running the events.

"It is a little warm and that is causing one or two problems, but so far things are running to schedule," he said. "There is plenty of snow, it is just a little bit warm."

Aleksandra Kosterina, the director of communications for Sochi 2014, confirmed that organisers had started using stored snow and said there were "strong contingency plans" in place.

In an effort to put a positive spin on the rising mercury, she even claimed that athletes had benefitted from the warm conditions during test events this time last year.

"I don't know if any of you were here during last year's test events but we had very warm temperatures and we managed to have all of the events that were planned, more than 22 international events," she said, although the skiing slopestyle test event was cancelled due to warm weather.

"Frankly we had one competition when the athletes actually enjoyed the weather by the sea and some of them ventured to swim. The weather was so great for everyone."