IOC commission chairman Chick Igaya during the venue tour Wedneday in Krasnaya Polyana, east of Sochi. (M. Bisson/ATR)

(ATR) Steady snow fell throughout the day in the mountain venues for the Sochi Winter Olympic bid, as a team from the IOC got its first look at what’s in the Russian venue plan.

The commission is in the second day of its four-day trip to Sochi. Last week the commission visited PyeongChang. In two weeks they will visit the third 2014 candidate city, Salzburg.

Wednesday’s venue tour of the Krasnaya Polyana region just east of Sochi included stops at the proposed venues for ski jumping, biathlon and cross country.

In the afternoon, the commission stopped at the sites for freestyle skiing, snowboard, alpine events, the sliding track and the location planned for a sub village in the mountains.

The commission will get to see what’

The gondola leading to the Psehako Ridge ski area visited Wednesday by the IOC evaluation commission. (M. Bisson/ATR)

s planned for the coastal cluster of venues during a tour of the site a few km from the Sochi airport.

A total of 13 competition venues will need to be built for the Sochi Olympics, plus the Olympic Village and sub village.

Competition vennue costs are estimated at just over $800 million, the highest figure among the three cities.

But the funding is more than covered in the $12 billion in federal funds allocated to Sochi to upgrade the area into a winter sports destination.

Economic development minister German Gref says 40% of the money will be used for transportation improvements.

On the scene coverage from Sochi continues throughout the week at www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.